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Olympics: Team Russia 2022

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SoundAndFury said:
People who consider them to be or even are happy to have them as #1 and #2 Ds when I'm fairly certain the absolute majority of Tampa fans would consider Sergachyov to be their 4th best D.

Provorov is obviously better but you can look at it the way Nikolishin phrased it: would you consider him to be top-20 D in the NHL? No. And that's your #1 D. So you are probably not in great shape.

Don't know how is Sochi or Vancouver relevant. Yes, the situation is better compared to teams that couldn't ice even full complect of NHL-level Ds. If you are happy with that consensus I don't know what goals or expectations you have for this team. To concede less than 7 against Canada?
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You’re underrating the D. The defense is 4th best, only behind USA, Canada and Sweden. And combined with Vasilevsky in net, the back-end isn’t in bad condition.
Provorov was recently rated 20th best NHL dman by HF (poll); which is more accurate than Nikolishin’s stupid opinion.
So there’s Provorov at mid/low #1. Plus Sergachyov, Orlov, Zub and Gavrikov are all legitimate top 4 NHL dmen.
If we look at Finland; who do they have beyond Heiskanen and Lindell? Nobody. Certainly no-one who’s top 4 NHL calibre, and 2022 might be their best team ever on paper. Czechs are even worse for depth beyond Hronek.
 
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SoundAndFury said:
I agree but that gap is huge.
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Not really, not with Vasilevsky in net. You could say the same with Finland considering their team defense is always impeccable.
To call any of the top 5 nations not in great shape is just ignorant. Of course some teams weaker aspects than others, but the gap isn't so huge whereby teams can't compensate.
All of RUS, SWE, CAN, USA, FIN have a realistic chance of winning. We're not talking about Germany or Latvia here.
 
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Provorov-Zub
Orlov-Gavrikov
Sergachev-Zaitsev

Yes, it is still worse than D of Sweden, USA and Canada, but this is the most reliable and balanced defense for Russia in many years. Add to this the fact that Russia has the best goalie in the world, and the difference will be reduced to a minimum. And F of RUS will put this team on a par with USA and Sweden: Kucherov, Panarin, Ovechkin, Malkin, Tarasenko, Kuznetsov*, Svechnikov, Kaprizov, Radulov, Buchnevich, Dadonov.
I am waiting for Russia in the final, if Canada does not meet on the way.
 
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Vasy,Bobrovsky

Russian top9
Panarin-Shipachyov-Kucherov
Ovechkin-Namestnikov-Svechnikov
Kaprizov-Malkin-TARASENKO

grinders line)
Nichushkin-Barbashev-Buchnevich







Provorov-Zub
Orlov-Gavrikov
Sergachev-Zaitsev

7d Voinov

Looks like gold contender. Main problem inexperienced coach. Ship best KHL player and he can help.
 
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ViD said:
Canada’s defense is weakest in years, I am not even sure I’d rank it first, so I think the play field is more balanced this time around
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As a Canadian, I personally think USA and Sweden do have a better defense than Canada. And then there's a large drop off after those 3 teams before you hit Russia and Finland
 
Bear12Good said:
Vasy,Bobrovsky

Russian top9
Panarin-Shipachyov-Kucherov
Ovechkin-Namestnikov-Svechnikov
Kaprizov-Malkin-TARASENKO

grinders line)
Nichushkin-Barbashev-Buchnevich







Provorov-Zub
Orlov-Gavrikov
Sergachev-Zaitsev

7d Voinov

Looks like gold contender. Main problem inexperienced coach. Ship best KHL player and he can help.
Click to expand...
My queston is still is why we would need such an uneventrful mediocre player as Nichushkin? And for all our woes at center I still don't see Namestnikov there.
 
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There's plenty of offense on the roster. Nichushin can be like Telegin, a big body good on the defense.
And please no to Namestnikov. Move Barbashev to that role and someone like Kamenev, Voronkov or Andronov can be in the '4th' line. Or maybe even convert someone like Buchnevich to C.
 
NatusVincere said:
What? Russias potential roster will be stronger than everything we had til back to Salt Lake I think. Vasy alone can win us the tournament. And with Kucherov and Panarin, which will be on this roster as like Malkin, we have the strongst Goalie, okay not great D, but better than everything the last 20 years, and maybe the second or third best offense. Not a bronze medal at least would be a disappointment for sure.
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The best point that you make is that Vasilevsky could win the tournament by himself. That would be a miracle, but it is very unlikely to happen. The lineup pales in comparison to what Canada and the United States can put on the ice. The Bronze medal will be a struggle between Russia, Sweden and Finland, and one thing that can safely be predicted in advance is that Sweden and Finland, who are bigger and stronger than Russia, will win the physical battles. Team members from the KHL will be 3rd and 4th liners, and are highly unlikely to make any kind of positive contribution toward an advanced medal.

Sometimes, the difference is made by teams that want to win the most, and are willing to get their noses bloody to fight for the puck. I haven't seen that in a long time at the national team level. The closest I've seen to that by teams wearing the Russian logo is at U18 by teams coached by Filatov. The Russian Olympic team will be coached by a rookie who will have had no chance to earn the respect of the multi-millionaires that he is coaching. Bronze is not outside the range of possibility, but I'm not holding my breath over it!
 
Bear12Good said:
Vasy,Bobrovsky

Russian top9
Panarin-Shipachyov-Kucherov
Ovechkin-Namestnikov-Svechnikov
Kaprizov-Malkin-TARASENKO

grinders line)
Nichushkin-Barbashev-Buchnevich







Provorov-Zub
Orlov-Gavrikov
Sergachev-Zaitsev

7d Voinov

Looks like gold contender. Main problem inexperienced coach. Ship best KHL player and he can help.
Click to expand...


Sorry but this is a weak weak weak center line.
 
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Shipachyov, being the best KHL player and whatnot, actually only has 9 points in 12 games in October. It's almost like one actually can't continue scoring 2 PPG all season long.
 
iginlafan77 said:
As a Canadian, I personally think USA and Sweden do have a better defense than Canada. And then there's a large drop off after those 3 teams before you hit Russia and Finland
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I don’t see how Sweden has a better defense then Canada.

Id say Canada and the States are on par.
 
The way Kuzy is playing right now makes me wanna cry that he won’t be able to play in this tournament. It’s especially painful since Russia doesn’t have depth at center.
 
Bear12Good said:
Vasy,Bobrovsky

Russian top9
Panarin-Shipachyov-Kucherov
Ovechkin-Namestnikov-Svechnikov
Kaprizov-Malkin-TARASENKO

grinders line)
Nichushkin-Barbashev-Buchnevich







Provorov-Zub
Orlov-Gavrikov
Sergachev-Zaitsev

7d Voinov

Looks like gold contender. Main problem inexperienced coach. Ship best KHL player and he can help.
Click to expand...
Inexperienced coaching and zero depth at center - serious problems. Everything else looks great though: elite goaltenders and wingers, and very solid D. I wish Kuzy were able to play, and Datsyuk were younger…
 
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Namestnikov is a good option as a 13th forward.

Versatility might be the most important asset that 13th forward can bring to a roster, and that is Vlad's only ace.
 
Firsov99 said:
Inexperienced coaching and zero depth at center - serious problems. Everything else looks great though: elite goaltenders and wingers, and very solid D. I wish Kuzy were able to play, and Datsyuk were younger…
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When you are looking at names like Namestnikov and Buchnevich and Nichushkin and Shipachyov and Barbashev being consistently named as members of a 4-deep roster, it highlights the fact that lack of depth and quality afflicts the team far beyond merely centers. The RHF has done a substandard job in promoting the sport and recruiting and developing talent, and the KHL has made absolutely zero contribution to excellence. Thus, this incomplete lineup is what we are stuck with!
 
Yakushev72 said:
When you are looking at names like Namestnikov and Buchnevich and Nichushkin and Shipachyov and Barbashev being consistently named as members of a 4-deep roster, it highlights the fact that lack of depth and quality afflicts the team far beyond merely centers. The RHF has done a substandard job in promoting the sport and recruiting and developing talent, and the KHL has made absolutely zero contribution to excellence. Thus, this incomplete lineup is what we are stuck with!
Click to expand...
I don’t think that there is anything more glaring than the problem with the centers, as far as the roster goes. Not even close.
 
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