WC QROUND: May 7 GDT - Belarus vs. Kazakhstan
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Douggy
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Mr. Penguin
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Hmm, this could be an interesting game. It's tough to predict which team will win, but I say 3-1 Belarus.
VanIslander
20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
Kazakhstan just had a 5-on-3 powerplay and couldn't do anything. In fact, Belarus got the puck up ice and two of the three players were pressing deep! 
Although there are a couple of exceptions, Belarus has superior skating skills and it shows!
It'll be like a 4-0 final.
Although there are a couple of exceptions, Belarus has superior skating skills and it shows!
It'll be like a 4-0 final.
VanIslander
20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
A Belarussian shooter beat the goalie but the puck rang off of the crossbar.
It's only a matter of time...
It's only a matter of time...
VanIslander
20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
Tviplakov or something like that I think. I'm half-watching the game. It isn't competitive enough to capture my full attention and it takes full attention to read names or even numbers on jerseys on the small screen on my computer.The Great One said:
Grabovsky has impressed me since early in the tourney. Kostitsyn is MIA this game.
Le depisteur
Registered User
Le depisteur
Registered User
VanIslander
20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
Yep.eddy said:
Excusez moi. Je ne sais pas tous francais tres bien, mais terrible!
(Excuse me. I don't know your French very well, but awful!)
MIA is assumed knowledge of native English speakers. But of course most knowledgeable hockey fans didn't learn English first and foremost, a fact I sometimes forget here at HFBoards.
VanIslander
20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
I was in vienna and watched the game yesterday. it was typical russian-old-school hockey. good puck skills everywhere, solid defense.
i watched grabovsky, kostitsyn and koltsov and here is what i have seen. grabovsky was the outstanding player in this game. he does it all for belarus, wins faceoffs, makes plays, checks back, a very good player. he seems to have a nose for the right position everywhere on the ice, so he was able to break up some plays and set up a counter. additionally he is very explosive, is on full speed within a few steps. his defensive work is very good too, he is able to stay with his man and is not afraid to go into the corners even in his own zone. he seemed to be a little out of position in his own zone once or twice, but i think that was a result of his agressive style, not of a lack of hockey sense (aggressive not in an agitating or tough way, but aggressive in wanting to break up plays and stealing pucks). grabovsky got slashed on his hand midway through the second period and as i sat right behind the belarussian bench i could see that it hurted pretty much. he played through it, though it could be seen that he wasn't comfortable anymore. his only downside is his size. it doesn't hold him back when he has a little space to move and skate, but i'm not sure if he could be as good when he has to play through really tight and physical checking (though kazakhstan played real good defense).
koltsov plays on a line with grabovsky and tsyplakov and is a perfect fit on that line. grabovsky and tsyplakov are great passers and and koltsov with his break-away speed profits a lot of it. he was able to beat the defensemen numerous times by just taking them wide and skate around them - this boy can really fly. he is a very important player for belarus, plays in all situations, takes faceoffs and is responsible defensively. all forwards for belarus play good team defense and koltsov is no exception, he is the first forward back in his own zone very often and does all the unnoticed things to break up plays, he uses his speed also quite good on defense. he voted was best player for team belarus in this game, my choice would have been grabovsky, though koltsov looked really good.
kostitsyn played mostly on the second line and on the second powerplay unit. he played solid, but not outstanding. he isn't nearly as explosive as koltsov or grabovsky but makes up for that with smart positioning in the offensive zone. he also was willing to check back and work on defense. what i liked most about his play was his vision. he set up a breakaway twice from his own zone with eye-opening passing. the nicer one was when he got the puck of a bad pass from a kazakhstan player, took a quick look and set up his linemate (i think it was dudik) with a pass over the boards which took 2 kazakhstan players out of the play.
i'd like to see him more often to get a better impression of his play, that's what i have seen in this one game. i definitly think he has to work on his acceleration.
overall the game was entertaining, but not as fast as czech republic - slovakia obviously. both teams played solid defense and the goalies were hot, that's why the score was low.
(please take my opinion with care, i'm not a scout
)
i watched grabovsky, kostitsyn and koltsov and here is what i have seen. grabovsky was the outstanding player in this game. he does it all for belarus, wins faceoffs, makes plays, checks back, a very good player. he seems to have a nose for the right position everywhere on the ice, so he was able to break up some plays and set up a counter. additionally he is very explosive, is on full speed within a few steps. his defensive work is very good too, he is able to stay with his man and is not afraid to go into the corners even in his own zone. he seemed to be a little out of position in his own zone once or twice, but i think that was a result of his agressive style, not of a lack of hockey sense (aggressive not in an agitating or tough way, but aggressive in wanting to break up plays and stealing pucks). grabovsky got slashed on his hand midway through the second period and as i sat right behind the belarussian bench i could see that it hurted pretty much. he played through it, though it could be seen that he wasn't comfortable anymore. his only downside is his size. it doesn't hold him back when he has a little space to move and skate, but i'm not sure if he could be as good when he has to play through really tight and physical checking (though kazakhstan played real good defense).
koltsov plays on a line with grabovsky and tsyplakov and is a perfect fit on that line. grabovsky and tsyplakov are great passers and and koltsov with his break-away speed profits a lot of it. he was able to beat the defensemen numerous times by just taking them wide and skate around them - this boy can really fly. he is a very important player for belarus, plays in all situations, takes faceoffs and is responsible defensively. all forwards for belarus play good team defense and koltsov is no exception, he is the first forward back in his own zone very often and does all the unnoticed things to break up plays, he uses his speed also quite good on defense. he voted was best player for team belarus in this game, my choice would have been grabovsky, though koltsov looked really good.
kostitsyn played mostly on the second line and on the second powerplay unit. he played solid, but not outstanding. he isn't nearly as explosive as koltsov or grabovsky but makes up for that with smart positioning in the offensive zone. he also was willing to check back and work on defense. what i liked most about his play was his vision. he set up a breakaway twice from his own zone with eye-opening passing. the nicer one was when he got the puck of a bad pass from a kazakhstan player, took a quick look and set up his linemate (i think it was dudik) with a pass over the boards which took 2 kazakhstan players out of the play.
i'd like to see him more often to get a better impression of his play, that's what i have seen in this one game. i definitly think he has to work on his acceleration.
overall the game was entertaining, but not as fast as czech republic - slovakia obviously. both teams played solid defense and the goalies were hot, that's why the score was low.
(please take my opinion with care, i'm not a scout
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