Olympics 2026 qualification
- Thread starter slovakhockeyfan12
- Start date
ugh.. Gudlevskis is the better option it would seem. I wouldn't trust Merzlikins in a big game.
I'm not going to weigh in on that, but a certain beloved Latvian friend of ours may come upon you with the heat of a thousand suns.
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
Iihf is a joke. Promising to put the games on their yt channel but then change their mind. Thats satanic.
vorky
@vorkywh24
- Jan 23, 2010
- 11,489
- 1,312
Fehervary joined the camp with some injury, they tried to fix it. Sadly, he is not 100% ready, so Capitals gave him a stop.
Youtube streams are now available through the IIHF website.
Group D
Group E
Group F
Geoblocking applied as detailed at the bottom of each page.
aquaregia
Registered User
Opening day is upon us, time for some predictions:
Hungary 3-4 Kazakhstan
Slovakia 3-2 Austria
France 1-2 Ukraine (at least this fixture has the most upset potential here I reckon)
Latvia 4-0 Slovenia
Norway 6-1 Japan
Denmark 5-1 Great Britain (if I'm pessimistic I'm less likely to be disappointed!)
Hungary 3-4 Kazakhstan
Slovakia 3-2 Austria
France 1-2 Ukraine (at least this fixture has the most upset potential here I reckon)
Latvia 4-0 Slovenia
Norway 6-1 Japan
Denmark 5-1 Great Britain (if I'm pessimistic I'm less likely to be disappointed!)
They're going to ride Gudlevskis. It was likely agreed upon with Merzlikins before the training camp that Silovs is going to be the 1st goalie so they did not even invite Elvis.
So now in an ironic twist we're left without any NHL goalies.
The 2nd goalie is Grigals.
For some reason, though, they've left one goalie spot open
Unless Merzlikins himself declared he will not be a back-up (which he might have), I see no reason not to invite him.
So, Merzlikins is out for some personal reason, Silovs is out with a last minute fatigue / injury, Punnenovs is out because, I dont know - bad season? Not like Grigals had any better.
Every time we get a new goalie prospect, I shrug a little - another one? We have plenty of those, we need skaters. And yet for the most important tournament in several years, if Gudy is for some reason out, we are left to decide between ECHL goalie and Mestis goalie, who wasnt even in camp (Vitols coming to help).
Thats a weird situation to be in for a nation, that has top league goalies to fill two rosters.
I don't hold onto my views if facts come in the way.
But whenever people discuss goalies, somehow stats no longer apply as much as the general vibe people get from watching said goalie. I have no idea why is that.
Merzlikins is mentally volatile. However, as of this point and time, Merzlikins is an average NHL goalie. His career SVS% is almost exactly the median. Whatever you're projecting on him, you can't argue with numbers.
Gudlevskis was a below average AHL goalie. He has since been very solid in Euro leagues.
Now, the median rate of production for NHL forwards is about 0.40 PPG. So the Merzlikins equivalent among forwards would be someone scoring at that rate over his career.
Some comparables:
Pius Suter
Lars Eller
Lawson Crouse
Scott Laughton
Martin Pospisil
Now, would you snub any of these guys over a forward who played on the 2nd line in Slovakia, did not make it in SHL, had a stint in ICEHL and now plays in DEL?
Does that make sense to you? It makes no sense to me.
Gudlevskis is still the best goalie of the Riga tournament, so it's not like this affects our chances in a major way. Statistically, we could expect to concede an extra goal *at most* over the span of those 3 games due to missing Merzlikins/Silovs.
Still three games in four days (although Grigals or Vitols might start against Ukraine), and now we need to pray nothing happens to Gudlevskis. France has enough capable forwards, including from the NHL, so we need the best goalie in the best shape.
We could ice 5 different teams capable of beating Ukraine. Grigals is a globetrotter of a goalie compared to anyone they have. It's really not an issue if we ice Grigals. It's not an issue Silovs is not playing.
And, no, we don't need Silovs to beat France.
Blueger not joining had a bigger impact on our %chance of qualifying. Which is about 70%.
I was referring to Gudy being in the best shape. Hope they dont just decide to ride him for three games straight. Agreed that Grigals or Vitols are capable enough to easily beat Ukraine.
kudla
Registered User
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
Fjorden
Registered User
Do anyone have information on Russia and potential participation in olympics.
Belarus is out as i read on iihf, but they will a take a decision on Russia in may 2025 monitoring the situation Russia/Ukraine. So the Donald might have time to get Russia in If not the best 2nd placed team will take the last spot.
IIHF - Russia and Belarus not reincorporated into 2024/2025 IIHF Championship Season
Belarus is out as i read on iihf, but they will a take a decision on Russia in may 2025 monitoring the situation Russia/Ukraine. So the Donald might have time to get Russia in If not the best 2nd placed team will take the last spot.
IIHF - Russia and Belarus not reincorporated into 2024/2025 IIHF Championship Season
aquaregia
Registered User
I doubt the Russia situation will be changing any time soon whatever happens in the US, so would just hope the IIHF do the sensible thing of giving their place to the best 2nd-place in the qualifiers rather than by world-ranking.
Fjorden
Registered User
Norway's lineup against Japan. Today 15.30
Artnzen starts in the goal.
Zuccarello and Thoresen in the 1. line with Salsten Erik.
Artnzen starts in the goal.
Zuccarello and Thoresen in the 1. line with Salsten Erik.
However they do it, the decision is going to be made after the fact. Which by default means it's not going to be fair.
The IIHF should have made a decision regarding this a long time ago. Whether Russia is banned or not, they could have thought of an if/then scenario. It's not that hard.
Youtube streams are now available through the IIHF website.
Group D
Group E
Group F
Geoblocking applied as detailed at the bottom of each page.
The France-Ukraine feed is horrible.
aquaregia
Registered User
I can't disagree; the 'Russia staying banned' scenario wasn't exactly a difficult one to forsee was it l0l
It is indeed.
Ukrainian feed is okay, so is the French one on HockeyFrance.tv... so no comment
- YouTube
Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.
www.youtube.com
SoundAndFury
Registered User
- May 28, 2012
- 11,724
- 5,663
aquaregia
Registered User
1st and 3rd KAZ goals were pretty comical from a Hungarian defensive viewpoint, I'd have said against betters Kazakhstan would probably still end up losing but Hungary's offence hasn't really been too sharp either.
and just as I say that there's another... Poor Ortenszky has been having an absolute nightmare.
Ad
Latest posts
-
-
-
Prospect Info: Vsevolod Komarov, RD Drummondville (QMJHL) - 134th overall in 2022 (Signed)- Latest: SergeConstantin74
Upcoming events
-
-
Preliminary Final Port Adelaide Power vs Sydney Swans - SCG, SydneyWagers: 1Staked: $500.00Event closes - 2 days from now- Updated:
-
Preliminary Final Brisbane Lions vs Geelong Cats - MCG, MelbourneEvent closes - 3 days from now
- Updated: