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WJC: Divisions I-III

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Lithuanians get silver and Netherlands avoid relegation. Good for all. Too good for all.. Smells fishy. This was all a conspiracy between Lithuanians and Dutch!!! You heard it here first!

Seriously though, perfect scenario for both teams.
 
She's all over
GB Gold
Lithuania Silver
Korea Bronze
Estonia & Netherlands are bridesmaids
Romania relegated
 
habsterr said:
Any prediction on who wins division 1A and 1B?
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Div IA:

Latvia or Norway, but I'm going to say Norway

Italy for relegation


Div IB:

France or Kazakhstan; I'll say Kazakhstan, but it'll be close

Japan is going to be relegated; only here due to a technicality
 
Yeah, Kazakhstan will take the 1B. Too bad Koshelev isn't playing, they would absolutely dominate it then.

1A, however, might be pretty interesting this year. Latvia looks weak, Belarus looks relatively strong. I'd say Norway should win it.
 
kaiser matias said:
Div IA:

Latvia or Norway, but I'm going to say Norway

Italy for relegation
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I am a little skeptical on the Norwegian team. I don’t think the team have all what it takes to win the tournament. Belarus is a good team, I think they can go all the way. Latvia are favorites imo.
My predictions on the upcoming tournament:

1.Latvia
2.Belarus
3.Norway
4.Austria
5.Slovenia
6.Italy
 
Old Norse Hockey said:
I am a little skeptical on the Norwegian team. I don’t think the team have all what it takes to win the tournament. Belarus is a good team, I think they can go all the way. Latvia are favorites imo.
My predictions on the upcoming tournament:

1.Latvia
2.Belarus
3.Norway
4.Austria
5.Slovenia
6.Italy
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Latvians are pessimistic, Norwegians are skeptical. This is the Belarussian year! :sarcasm:
 
In what world an based on what are Latvians the favorites? Maybe I fail to see something but IMO even Belarus has a better team this year. It's also hard to see the reasons for skepticism about Norway. Nostrebo and Soberg are 19 and they have a good supporting cast in a tournament which seems to be relatively weak (just compare last year's Latvian team and this one)..
 
Rosters are finally out and there is no Martin Gran on the Norwegian one. I suppose he's injured, isn't he? What a huge loss for the team.
 
Propane Nightmares said:
FWIW I feel qualified as a native English speaker to add that in hockey "spare part" is a good phrase to use to describe a fourth liner
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In an NHL context a 'spare part' would be an NHL/AHL guy, who gets scratched often, etc.

That analogy doesn't translate to junior hockey, considering that:
a) there's only 22 players on the final roster
b) there's little to no depth in the team.

Also, Rutkis most likely wouldn't be a 4th-liner.
 
Namejs said:
In an NHL context a 'spare part' would be an NHL/AHL guy, who gets scratched often, etc.

That analogy doesn't translate to junior hockey, considering that:
a) there's only 22 players on the final roster
b) there's little to no depth in the team.

Also, Rutkis most likely wouldn't be a 4th-liner.
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Lets drop this controversial subject and focus on tournament which start today.

Fun fact via eliteprospects, Latvia will have four out five youngest players in the tournament. It could look really sexy, if we win this damn thing, but, if we fail to do so, we won't need to look further to find a good excuse.
 
SoundAndFury said:
In what world an based on what are Latvians the favorites? Maybe I fail to see something but IMO even Belarus has a better team this year. It's also hard to see the reasons for skepticism about Norway. Nostrebo and Soberg are 19 and they have a good supporting cast in a tournament which seems to be relatively weak (just compare last year's Latvian team and this one)..
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On what specifically is your opinion based on?

Latvia is definitely better offensively when compared to Belarus, even with Bukarts, Golovkovs and also Smits missing from the line-up. If you compare all the players, Latvia, Belarus and Norway are all pretty evenly matched. It can go either way and there's no clear favorite.

The Latvians are missing several productive North American players and the Latvian coach has taken an unorthodox approach by snubbing a few major junior players/draftees (also Buncis, Jansons), but they're still a very solid, talented team for DivIA.

Yes, they're slightly worse than last year, but the last year's line up was extremely talented on paper. In the end they were really underwhelming when it mattered, so it doesn't mean everything. :)

The Latvians also have a solid top 4 defensively. Rubins is definitely going to get drafted in 2016. Jaks already made his debut with the senior national team.

Abols, Balcers and a couple of others can potentially get picked this year. Also some good chemistry in the top forward lines - Abols, Dzierkals and Maslovskis all play together in HK Riga and all 3 of them are on pace for PPG+ in MHL. Balcers and Egle have played together in Liepaja, etc.

Yes, it's a very young roster, but it can potentially pay off, if they do clinch the promotion to the Elite division, considering that there's a huge number of carry-overs to next year's WJC.
 
ozo said:
Fun fact via eliteprospects, Latvia will have four out five youngest players in the tournament. It could look really sexy, if we win this damn thing, but, if we fail to do so, we won't need to look further to find a good excuse.
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To be honest, I'm struggling to understand Ankipans's motives.

He clearly stated that the player selection had nothing to do with improving our chances next year.

He also laughed about the suggestion that a PPG QMJHL forward is better than an MHL forward with 4 points in 25 games.

Seriously, I'm not sure if he's blatantly incompetent or a genius. The way he communicates with the media is just infantile. Arrogant, patronizing, not looking at the camera. Is he a Znaroks wannabe or something?
 
Belarus 6-1 Slovenia, Ambrozheichik 2g+2a.

Nothing surprising there, Slovenia vs. Italy is going to be the deciding game for both of those teams.
 
Namejs said:
Belarus 6-1 Slovenia, Ambrozheichik 2g+2a.

Nothing surprising there, Slovenia vs. Italy is going to be the deciding game for both of those teams.
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I think you are giving too much credit to Austria.
 
In Division IB Japan defeats France 2-1 in a shootout. I'd call that a bit of an upset, and certainly not the way France wants to start the tournament.
 
ozo said:
I think you are giving too much credit to Austria.
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Austria actually has a pretty decent team. They're a league above Slovenia/Italy, the way I see it.

Austria-Latvia started just now, Dzierkals (assists from Abols, Jaks) with the opening goal for Latvia.

A lot of unnecessary penalties for Latvia. :shakehead

When they are playing at ES, they're pretty dominant offensively, so everything should be alright today, as long as they can play a more disciplined game.
 
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