WJC: Predictions

[Namejs]

Is Latvia taking a medal sir ?

In the U18 WJC, yes. The WJC in 2 years.

 

[Wieters]

Canada gold. Then who cares.
Nobody cares about silver or bronze. You don't get silver or bronze in the Stanley Cup.

There's a difference between domestic leagues and international tournaments. It makes sense to recognize second and third place when the pool is ostensibly composed of the entire world rather than just the fixed number of teams in a domestic league.

 

[Eye of Ra]

In the U18 WJC, yes. The WJC in 2 years.

Based on what?

 

[Svedu]

1. Canada.
2. USA.
3. Sweden.
4. Finland.
5. Czechia.
6. Slovakia.

Exciting stars to follow: ASP, Hagens & Mckenna.

Other interesting prospects to follow, at least for me: Reber, Muggli, Meier, Gredig, Dorthe, Helenius, Eklund, Willander, Stenberg, Gidlöf, Edstrom, Lindstein, Wahlberg, Martone, Barkey, Bonk, Catton, Luchanko, Rehkopf, Strbak, Radivojevic, Murnieks , Osmanis, Chovan, Pekarcik, Urban, Rimpinen, Vali or Saarinen, Buium, Hutson, Eiserman, Connelly, Leonard, Miettinen, Kiiskinen, Augustine, Perreault, Galvas, Badinka, Jiricek, Sale? Zidlicky, Hrabal, Stancl, Curran, Jecho, Sikora, Dvorak, Holinka, Hradec.
You are welcome guys.

Of course a bit Finnish and Flyers biased. And some prospects that aren't from the bigger nations are mentioned because of young age.

Not sure the US are better than Sweden this year though. Perhaps Sweden in the final game and the US for the bronze.
Swedens D will be like their best-on-best roster for men, stacked!

 

[Goodman68]

1. Canada.
2. USA.
3. Sweden.
4. Finland.
5. Czechia.
6. Slovakia.

Exciting stars to follow: ASP, Hagens & Mckenna.

Other interesting prospects to follow, at least for me: Reber, Muggli, Meier, Gredig, Dorthe, Helenius, Eklund, Willander, Stenberg, Edstrom, Wahlberg, Martone, Barkey, Bonk, Catton, Luchanko, Rehkopf, Strbak Radivojevic, Murnieks , Chovan, Pekarcik, Urban, Rimpinen, Vali or Saarinen, Buium, Hutson, Eiserman, Connelly, Leonard, Miettinen, Kiiskinen, Augustine, Perreault, Galvas, Badinka, Jiricek, Sale? Zidlicky, Hrabal, Stancl, Curran, Jecho, Sikora, Dvorak, Holinka, Hradec.
You are welcome guys.

Of course a bit Finnish and Flyers biased. And some prospects that aren't from the bigger nations are mentioned because of young age.

Badinka is not nominated (again), Curran the same, Jiříček probably won't be available (injury).

 

[Svedu]

Badinka is not nominated (again), Curran the same, Jiříček probably won't be available (injury).

My bad But if they participate or would've they would be interesting to follow.

Also, Hrabal is perhaps just as uncertain as Rimpinen for me, but Hrabals size and experience will make him one of the most intriguing goalies going in to this tournament.

 

[Czechboy]

Badinka is not nominated (again), Curran the same, Jiříček probably won't be available (injury).

And Sale may still get blocked.lol

It is going poorly for us!

 

[Czechboy]

1. Canada.
2. USA.
3. Sweden.
4. Finland.
5. Czechia.
6. Slovakia.

Exciting stars to follow: ASP, Hagens & Mckenna.

Other interesting prospects to follow, at least for me: Reber, Muggli, Meier, Gredig, Dorthe, Helenius, Eklund, Willander, Stenberg, Edstrom, Wahlberg, Martone, Barkey, Bonk, Catton, Luchanko, Rehkopf, Strbak, Radivojevic, Murnieks , Osmanis, Chovan, Pekarcik, Urban, Rimpinen, Vali or Saarinen, Buium, Hutson, Eiserman, Connelly, Leonard, Miettinen, Kiiskinen, Augustine, Perreault, Galvas, Badinka, Jiricek, Sale? Zidlicky, Hrabal, Stancl, Curran, Jecho, Sikora, Dvorak, Holinka, Hradec.
You are welcome guys.

Of course a bit Finnish and Flyers biased. And some prospects that aren't from the bigger nations are mentioned because of young age.

ASP is one I'm very interested to see. Wing's fans are very high on him.

 

[Svedu]

ASP is one I'm very interested to see. Wing's fans are very high on him.

Yep, his numbers are insane and his style of playing makes it even more exciting. I believe he's a PP1 quarterback for a future Wings if everything pans out for him. Seider can be their most important two-way guy. But ASP has "The new Lidström" written all over him.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Yep, his numbers are insane and his style of playing makes it even more exciting. I believe he's a PP1 quarterback for a future Wings if everything pans out for him. Seider can be their most important two-way guy. But ASP has "The new Lidström" written all over him.

Lidström is one of the best defenders ever. Asp will never reach Lidströms level.

 

[Namejs]

Based on what?

Based on probability theory, I give a slightly over 50% chance of that happening over the next 7 WJCs, both U20s and U18s combined.

The depth we're going to have is unprecedented, along with some top round prospects.

All you need is 2 wins to have a shot at bronze. It's really not that big of a deal. Without russia, there's always going to be one weaker top 4 seed in the QFs.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Based on probability theory, I give a slightly over 50% chance of that happening over the next 7 WJCs, both U20s and U18s combined.

The depth we're going to have is unprecedented, along with some top round prospects.

All you need is 2 wins to have a shot at bronze. It's really not that big of a deal. Without russia, there's always going to be one weaker top 4 seed in the QFs.

Do Slovakia have a chance to medal?

 

[Namejs]

Do Slovakia have a chance to medal?

That's exactly the reason why they have medaled before. It's not that big of an achievement in an IIHF format. It's why the Latvian men's team won bronze too.

All of these teams overlap in terms of talent to some extent. Having a lucky run is bound to happen at some point, and that applies to each team.

 

[Eye of Ra]

That's exactly the reason why they have medaled before. It's not that big of an achievement in an IIHF format. It's why the Latvian men's team won bronze too.

All of these teams overlap in terms of talent to some extent. Having a lucky run is bound to happen at some point, and that applies to each team.

But who would you say has the best chance to medal, in u18 and u20, now and in the future, Latvia or Slovakia?

 

[Namejs]

But who would you say has the best chance to medal, in u18 and u20, now and in the future, Latvia or Slovakia?

That is entirely dependent on each generation of players and the roster of players available to them.

There are years when Slovakia have been a distinct favorite, and there are years when there's a complete overlap in talent. The current trend is for this gap to close on average. Slovakia was clearly the better team 10 or 15 years ago.

Sometimes the coaching might be subpar and sometimes the player selections made by Slovakia are clearly influenced by nepotism. It's a mismanaged system, which further closes up the gap.

Looking at the rosters, I think Latvia are going to be the favorites in the U18 WJC next year, after beating Slovakia already this year. This will trickle down to the U20 WJC in a year or two.

It's impossible to predict things beyond a few years, we shall see how they do in the future. Since it's a mismanaged system, there's always the potential for them to turn the ship around, which would be great for hockey.