Can Belarus catch up to Slovakia ?

[Fil]

Here is a guide @Fil

So a above average KHL Team

 

[Eye of Ra]

So a above average KHL Team

Exactly

 

[Fil]

Exactly

So why are we having this conversation

 

[Eye of Ra]

So why are we having this conversation

Im boiling. People on here putting Belarus in top 8. Of course i will engage when i see bs.

 

[Fil]

Im boiling. People on here putting Belarus in top 8. Of course i will engage when i see bs.

Lol I feel the same way

 

[Eye of Ra]

Lol I feel the same way

Means you are a man of logic. As me.

 

[Fil]

Means you are a man of logic. As me.

Amen to that

 

[kutka]

I love how this thread pits two very overconfident countries against each other.

Slovakia, as it stands, is a clear cut #9 in the world, if Russia is counted. Slovakians thought they had an explosion of young talent pouring in, they literally talked about 15 full-time NHLers on these boards like a year or two ago. It's not going to happen. 6 NHLers, not enough high-end talent, the depth is not there. They seem to be religiously convinced that they belong to the elite of the hockey world by divine providence. Or due to them being there 20 years ago. Well, it's not 2004. However, they are still clearly better than Belarus. Slovakia is not trending upwards, though.

Germany is half a step better and just has more high-end talent. Switzerland is better by a mile, both in terms of high-end talent and depth and is not really even a comparable to be used here. Neither of these two belong in this conversation.

Latvia a clear cut #10. It has way more depth than before and has one of the most efficient programs in the world. 5 NHLers and a bunch of young prospects coming up. Trending upwards and holding their own. However, their growth is capped due to their small population size.

Denmark is #11, but has an aging core and is clearly trending downwards. 5 NHLers, not a lot of depth at all.

Belarus would currently sit at #12, but they do have a young team and they still do have room to grow. As it stands, they are clearly trending upwards and are in the process of overtaking Denmark. If we look at the 2025 and 2026 NHL draft prospects, the number of recent NHL draftees, Belarus does not seem to be poised to close in on Latvia in the coming few years. At least not yet.

However, given the increase in the number of rinks available in Belarus, their outlook is positive and they do have the potential to build on their program over the long-term.

If they stop supporting a war of aggression and there's a regime change in Belarus and Russia and they are allowed back into IIHF competitions, we would have 11 competitive teams at the Worlds capable of beating any other team on a good day. That has never been the case before.

slovakia is NOT trending downwards with 5 1st rounders, 4 2nd rounders and 15 drafted players in the last 3 drafts. and high-end draft eligibles such as radivojevic, pobezal, nemec, chrenko, kazda, chovan, svrcek, tomik, straka, ozogany, valek, melicherik...
latvia does NOT have this type of prosects
belarus is NOT overtaking Slovakia, nor Latvia

 

[WarriorofTime]

Slovaks release a pretty good contingent every year, not necessarily to the big 5 levels but pretty consistently at a top 8 level every single cycle. Of course things like 1st Round Picks or future superstars is going to come and go, but there's still a steady enough churn (even if not at Czechoslovakian levels). I never see their players at the U18s and think "wow these kids couldn't make a U18 AAA team in North America" or anything like that.