GDT: Quarter Final | Russia Vs Germany | 1/2 @ 10 AM | TSN/NHL

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The interesting question is how would Stuetzle do if he reversed spots with Marco Rossi? It’s one thing to be on a team with no depth, but still have a couple of great linemates, which Stuetzle has benefited from. I would like to see how well he would have played on Austria, with pretty much zero help.

Probably a little better because he's a better player, but I think he wouldn't be praised anywhere near as much. If your team has the puck 15% of the team, it's hard to stand out for a forward.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

4 games today at the best hockey tournament annually to watch.

Are we counting the Stanley Cup Playoffs in that debate?

Otherwise, I agree.

 

[jj cale]

..

 

[snipes]

Raymond with a beauty snipe.

Wrong thread bro lol

 

[jj cale]

Wrong thread bro lol

I just noticed that, i had clicked on the wrong one,lol

Helluva shot though!!

 

[Juppy61]

Exhibition.

I would prefer to say that they looked 'ok' against Canada.

Oh. Ok. I don’t place much stock in exhibition games.

 

[Juppy61]

It was a draw basically. Larionov gave Askarov a rest in the 3rd period, and his backup let in a soft wrist shot from outside to make it a 1-0 final. To be honest, for all the hype surrounding the "best Canadian junior team ever" talk that was filling the posts, Canada didn't look that impressive. Maybe just a pretournament warmup, but they looked beatable from a very average Russian team.

Again, just an exhibition game.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

They're creating a hell of a base for a national team... Good to great NHL goalies (Grubauer and Greiss), Hart trophy winner (Drai), exceptional Dman coming (Seider), some beauty prospects (Stutzel, Reichel, Peterka) and a few established NHL guys (Kahun and Reider). Things are looking great plus the Olympic final 2 years ago.

I think 2022 will come too soon. They also need to develop some better defensemen. Besides Seider, it's pretty weak on defense. Their forward core is only a few more good players off a full teams of NHL caliber players. 2026 is more likely when they can start competing with teams like Switzerland and maybe Czech Republic in the mens competition, but will Grubauer still be playing at a good level in 2026? He'd be 34 at the 2026 Olympics. Greiss almost certainly will not make it another five years at a good level.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Russia is loaded with sneaky skilled forwards. Just missng that sniper to finsh plays.

Thats supposed to be Chinakhov.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Stutzle can do now wrong for these commentators, but Askarov is hopeless

Also on this website though.

People say things like Stuetzle will win the game by himself. Does Russia not have a player on their roster that is pretty close or equal to Stuetzle? And goalies usually are more capable of stealing a game than a skater.

If anything, Askarov neutralizes Stuetzle's impact or comes close to it, and the difference between the two teams is the level of the rest of the players where Russia has a clear advantage.

 

[Firsov99]

From the IIHF site for this tournament:

In the semi-finals the best-ranked team - criteria: 1) placement in the group, 2) points in the preliminary round, 3) goal difference in the preliminary round, 4) goals scored in the preliminary round, 5) seeding coming into the tournament - will play against the lowest-ranked semi-finalist. The 2nd-best ranked semi-finalist will play the 3rd-best ranked semi-finalist. The host if qualified, or otherwise the best-ranked semi-finalist according to beforementioned criteria, shall play the early game. The time slots will officially be determined after the quarter-final games.

IIHF - Tournament Info 2021 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Yes, the wiki I posted covers this. It even has the seeding table.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I am not trying to complain or anything, but is it only me who noticed that judges are being a bit biased towards Russians compare to other teams? I swear they miss so many calls on Russian players but yet give every call whenever a Russian player does something... And not just todays game by the way but most of the tournament

I thought the idea of only Canadian officials was a terrible idea. I'm not suggesting that these officials are going to make calls based on the nationalities of the teams, but it's not unrealistic that officials could be biased based on their nationality in how they officiate a game. It's a bad look for the tournament. It invites criticism that doesn't need to be there.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

"Kuh-nizz-ee-ehv"

"Kuh-nye-ah-zev"

How hard is it to say Knyazev

I think part of it is the distinctly Middle/non-coastal West of Canada accent from Beyak. I'm not Canadian, and even I can tell when someone is from Winnipeg as opposed to Toronto or Vancouver. The way his pronunciations sound is probably different than some of you Canadians, as well.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Russia never plays too well against highly defensive styles of play and usually "shows up" against the top contenders, with all due respect to the German team and their effort tonight. I wouldn't be too quick to judge the team after this QF.

Theres truth to this. In the past Canada has struggled against defensive teams that seemed to have a Brick wall in net aka the Swiss.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I gotta get off my chest something I wanted to for a week or so: I don't get why people say Askarov is the best goalie prospect since Price. To me it was Vasilevski. One could argue Vasi was the best junior goalie since Tretiak. Askarov is so flawed technically, it's mind boggling. If not for his athleticism, he shouldn't have been taken in the 1st round last year.

They mostly say that because a lot of the people saying that are Canadian and he's the best goalie from Canada produced the last 20 years. I'm sure Russians will compare him to Vasilevskiy.

As a neutral, I would say it's a pretty similar level, so I don't see a huge distinction between Price/Vasilevskiy.

 

[Brucelenok]

I thought the idea of only Canadian officials was a terrible idea. I'm not suggesting that these officials are going to make calls based on the nationalities of the teams, but it's not unrealistic that officials could be biased based on their nationality in how they officiate a game. It's a bad look for the tournament. It invites criticism that doesn't need to be there.

There is a reason why in 99% of all other sports, the refs are not allowed to be the same nationality either of the team... This is the first time that I see something like this to be honest. COVID cannot be the excuse, they can test those refs of different nationalities just like the players and coaching staff. Don't see a problem. I agree, this is a terrible idea and most importantly - wrong one.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He's not a passenger while playing on the best line in the tournament. Impressive for a guy that wasn't even drafted.

It's been a very successful line for Germany, but are numerous better lines. Germany's at an unfair advantage competing against teams who can stack three big talents that'll all be top 6 NHL'ers on a line.

 

[Bure80]

I think 2022 will come too soon. They also need to develop some better defensemen. Besides Seider, it's pretty weak on defense. Their forward core is only a few more good players off a full teams of NHL caliber players. 2026 is more likely when they can start competing with teams like Switzerland and maybe Czech Republic in the mens competition, but will Grubauer still be playing at a good level in 2026? He'd be 34 at the 2026 Olympics. Greiss almost certainly will not make it another five years at a good level.

So you really think Germany cant compete with Switzerland now?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Reseeding takes place, so you can't tell yet. Assuming Canada and USA take care of business (which they might not, who knows), and Sweden beats Finland, it's:

Canada - Sweden
USA - Russia

But if Finland beats Sweden (they seem to have Sweden's number the past several years), it's:

Canada - Russia
USA - Finland

So Russia plays either Canada or USA, assuming those two teams get in. Czechs can be a frustrating opponent though. And tough. So the bracket goes upside down if the Czechs win. And so on.

Is reseeding new or have I not known about it all these years?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

So you really think Germany cant compete with Switzerland now?

On the mens level, maybe they can be competitive, but I still say that the Swiss are better.

This is one example of what their team could look like. Germany is still a little too weak defensively, in my opinion, to be able to beat this team.

Sorry about those mistakes. I'll try again now:

Meier - Hischier - Suter
Fiala - Malgin - Niederreiter
G.Hofmann - Haas - C.Bertschy
Bartschi - Thurkauf - Kurashev
Riat, Knak, Rochette

Josi - T.Geisser
Mueller - Delemont
Diaz - Siegenthaler
Kukan,Weber

G.Senn
Genoni

Here's another.

Suter should not be on 1st line. Geisser, Delmont, Riat, Knak, Rochette ? There is better players in NLA.

Fiala - Hischier - Meier
S.Bärtaschi - Malgin - Nino
Hofmann - Haas - Andrighetto
Suter - Corvi - Hollenstein
Martschini, Praplan

Muller - Josi
Siegenthaler - Sbisa
Kukan - Weber
Diaz

Genoni
Berra
Senn

 

[Fried Tree Sap]

They've looked pretty good against the US and Sweden, who are top contenders, and beat them. They seem to play well against those teams.

Russia has a history of looking very mediocre against lesser teams, and then still competing for a medal. 2016 is probably the best example where Russia was seconds away from losing to Denmark in the quarterfinals.....before beating the U.S. and then taking a very talented Finnish team to OT in the gold medal game. Of course past performances don't mean anything for this particular group...but it's hard to ignore it entirely.

*edit

Come to think of it....I can't think of the last time Russia got blown out in the medal round. The 2015 final is probably the closet they've come going down 5-1.....but they still managed to bring it back to 5-4. Russia almost always gives the other top 5 a close game when it counts.

 

[snowkiddin]

The man crush was invisible today. You love to see it.

 

[Smif]

I'd say it's extremely close at every level.. Jr. World's and best on best.
I have no doubt that this years full team would've beat the Czechs... we have nothing like a Stutzel or a Seider... or a Peterka and Reichel.lol
It was a very nice win last year over us. I was really impressed.

I'm talking about just the juniors.

For me, it's Germany had a great tournament but still didn't make it past the quarters. The Czech's have a weaker team and still made it to the quarters. When Germany has a weak team they get relegated. When is the last time Czech was relegated?

Also, how long ago was it when Czech had Kaut, Necas, Chytil, Hajek and Zadina?

 

[c9gunner]

If they should draw Canada as their SF opponent, maybe Canada will discount them and take them lightly.

I don't think Canada will take lightly on any team, but somehow I think that Canada would be a better opponent for Russia in the semis than the US.

P.S. I got what I was hoping for. LOL

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Russians stagnated Stutzle hard.

With that being said, he received no breakout passes entire game. Russia did phenomenal job of making sure the D couldn't get the puck to him. His best chances came when he himself carried the puck up ice but by the time he entered offensive zone 2 Russians were on him at all times. That's why Peterka had more ice to work with on the right side but the defense did a really poor job of keeping up with the play.

What a defensive display by the Germans. I expect them to challenge for the Gold. Their defense and physical play too good. But their goaltending must be better to win Gold against Canada. Askarov has not impressed me at all this tourney.