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Finland's status and reputation in the hockey world (merged)

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Lexus said:
Because they lack top-end talent players (except in goal).

They are the best at forming a TEAM however.
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This, this, and this again.

I think Finland is definitely respected by people who really follow hockey. When it comes to big name players, and when talking about pure talent, I think they are on the outside (of the top tier) looking in... but Finland is always competitive, and they are always dangerous. They always find a way to put an actual team together that could beat anyone in a short tournament like this.

The players buy in to the system, they have a feisty no quit attitude, and they are always threats to medal.
 
This was pretty much the consensus for semi's, minus Russia. I don't think anyone had Finland outside of their top 5.
 
Ugh.

A few blowhard opinions from Ameircans/Canadians does not equal ALL North Americans.

I'm a Bruin fan who also follows the Wild closely and was fully aware of how good Finland can be long before this tournament started.

I'm going to hit myself repeatedly over the head with a dictionary open to the page with the word "disrespected."
 
The reason I am not a big fan of Finland is because to be successful they have to play such a defensive game. I wait four years for these games so I can see the best going for it, not laying and praying in front their goalie for 60 minutes.
 
I haven't seen a lot of Finland's games before this year unless the US was involved. Based on the semifinals in 2010 (when the US killed them), I didn't have a very positive opinion of them, but they are absolutely earning my respect so far.
 
I don't work with anyone who doesn't respect Finland here in NA. They are regarded among the elite by everyone I know.
 
Finland top 4!?!? :laugh: no ****ing way, we are top 7 and NEVER will be able to challenge the big ones like Sweden, Canada or USA. You can already ease down, no worry about us finns :naughty:
 
Why does Finland need respect from North America anyway? I personally couldn't care less about the Canadians, Swedes, Russians, Finns, etc...opinion of USA Hockey. Couldn't care less about what the other 29 fanbases think about the Blackhawks either. I never understood the outrage behind "Hey someone who never watches our team, or only sees them a couple times a season, doesn't respect us!"

For the Olympics i look at these national teams and how they stack up to my nation's team. That's it. I look at Finland and see a team decimated by injuries, with a lackluster D-core, backstopped by the best goaltending in the world. I'm not sure how they're doing it, but they're winning games in this tournament and have a shot at a medal. They've proven they're not to be taken lightly.
 
What Finland does almost every international tournament, with such inferior talent compared to the other top nations - is nothing short of amazing.
 
Onehitwonder said:
I have followed lot of international hockey conversations here and in other places, and I always see this same story. Lot of north americans see finland as a mid class team. Similar to swiss or so. Then when I see europeans talking about finns (even swedes) they always consider finland as one of the favourites, an opponent that is to be feared. Why is this?
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Why do you think that????

i certainly dont.

The top 5 countries are Russia, Canada, USA, Sweden, and Finland. any of these 5 could have won.

the next 2 are Slovakia and Czech Republic..they are just below but any given dday they can compete with the 5 above.

then a notch below are Switzerland and Germany.
 
I mean, I don't know that anyone would call them a favorite, but I would hope most North Americans know that Finland's an entirely different beast at hockey than your Austrias or Norways.
 
Cyris said:
Russia hasn't won a best on best tournament since 1981. How can they be in the top tier and not Finland?
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If you're discounting the World Hockey Championships, then there really isn't enough of best on best tournaments to use that as an argument as to why Russia shouldn't be in the top tier over Finland - as Finland hasn't won anything either.
 
I've got all the respect in the world for Finland.
Despite facing the most challenges due to injuries they continue to be an absolute threat out there. I think people are insane to write Finland off. It would not surprise me in the least to see them knock off one of the NA teams. When Rask goes into beast mode, god help you. They've found their game structure and play as a team more than anyone else right now. They may not have the most talent but that's not what matters at the end of the day. I think there definitely is a certain arrogance among many NA fans that our teams are on another level and I think it's pretty ridiculous.
 
weaponomega said:
If you're discounting the World Hockey Championships, then there really isn't enough of best on best tournaments to use that as an argument as to why Russia shouldn't be in the top tier over Finland - as Finland hasn't won anything either.
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They have finished 2nd or 3rd in 4 of the last 5 best on best tournaments.
Russia has twice.

In the last 8 years Finland has more medals at the world championships than Canada including a gold 3 years ago.
 
I think Finland gets a lot of respect. The only knock against them is they lack offensive gamebreakers compared to the other major hockey nations, which makes it easier to overlook them.
 
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