Rabid Ranger said:
Malkin should do great in this tournament, but I don't know if that should automatically make Russia the favorite. One player, regardless of talent (especially at forward) rarely makes that much of a differance.
RUSSIA - 10 returning players
They have two returning defenseman in Belov (0) & Yemelin (1) and their starting goaltender from last year in Khudobin. They have Lisin (5), Malkin (10), Parshin (2), Shirokov (8), Yunkov (2), Voloshenko (2) and Radulov (3).
USA - 6 returning players
They have one returning defenseman in Lee (0) and their back up goalie from last year in Schneider. They have Bourque (2), Kessel (6), Porter (5) and Shremp (5).
Jack Johnson should have played for the USA last year, but he would have likely taken Lee's spot. Bobby Ryan probably should have been on the team as well.
() are for points from last year's tournament.
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Goaltending is a toss up between these teams. Schnieder was pretty bad in the period he played last year, but USA's defense last year was not good. He should be a lot better this time around, but I would give the edge to Khubodin based on experience.
Defense is a strength for the USA, but they have a very young group. Russia's defense will be mainly made up of 86 birthdates. This is a 19 year old's tournament, so even though I would give the edge to the USA, it might not be a huge difference maker if these two face each other.
At forward, both teams have great players. Last year Russia had Shirokov-Malkin-Radulov playing together and also had Parshin-Yunkov-Voloshenko together and they are all back. The seventh returnee at forward was on the top line. USA has four returning forwards and for the most part they didn't play together. The USA is fielding one of their strongest groups ever, but again Russia has a mainly 19 year old core of veteran players. Malkin is by far the best player in the tournament, but I would give the edge to the USA on depth.
Goaltending and experience make a huge difference in a short tournament and even though the USA may have an overall more talented team, I'd give the edge to Russia as the overall favorite.