What country did make a great progress and what country did a great fall down?
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Eye of Ra
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ORRFForever
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- Oct 29, 2018
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The Czech and Slovakia have fallen off a cliff.
Germany has made great strides in the opposite direction.
Germany has made great strides in the opposite direction.
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Name Nameless
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- Apr 12, 2017
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I honestly expected a steady stream of ex-Soviet republics coming up and being top nations when the old Soviet Union collapsed. Well, we have gotten Bellarus, Latvia, Kazaksthan into the top division. But it hasn't been the way I expected it to be. It looks a bit like the Soviet Union was mostly Russia, after all.
Of new nations- Switzerland?
Of new nations- Switzerland?
Fjorden
Registered User
Soutk Korea had a fast journey up in the elite divison. Same thing with Great Britain.
Ukraine, they were good 15 years ago, and just dissappeared. Japan also. Odd that a big country like Ukraine aren't better surrounded by so many icehockey countries.
Fall down - Czech and Slovakia.
Step ups - UK, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark
Step ups - UK, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark
Japan always got a free spot, there was a Asian-qualifier with Japan, South Korea and China which got an automatic spot at the WC.
[QUOTE = "NorwayIce, příspěvek: 178435324, člen: 330767"] Soutk Korea prošla rychlou cestou nahoru v elitní divizi. Totéž s Velkou Británií.
Ukrajina, byli dobří před 15 lety a prostě zmizeli. Japonsko také. Zvláštní, že velká země, jako je Ukrajina, není lépe obklopena tolika zeměmi ledního hokeje. [/ QUOTE]
I think that hockey in Ukraine is played only in the central and eastern part of the country. And the east of Ukraine is hit by the war, the best team Donbass Donetsk is from the east. Historically, the sport is the number one is football, the popular sport has long been boxing, because the brothers Klitschko. Now tennis is on the course again, from winter sports it is biathlon thanks to the Semerenko sisters. The eastern part of the country has always been richer than the west, people from the west only play football. Hockey stadiums are 90% in the eastern and central part of the country. In the west, I think is the only hockey stadium in Uzgorod.
Ukrajina, byli dobří před 15 lety a prostě zmizeli. Japonsko také. Zvláštní, že velká země, jako je Ukrajina, není lépe obklopena tolika zeměmi ledního hokeje. [/ QUOTE]
I think that hockey in Ukraine is played only in the central and eastern part of the country. And the east of Ukraine is hit by the war, the best team Donbass Donetsk is from the east. Historically, the sport is the number one is football, the popular sport has long been boxing, because the brothers Klitschko. Now tennis is on the course again, from winter sports it is biathlon thanks to the Semerenko sisters. The eastern part of the country has always been richer than the west, people from the west only play football. Hockey stadiums are 90% in the eastern and central part of the country. In the west, I think is the only hockey stadium in Uzgorod.
SotasicA
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- Aug 25, 2014
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Speaking from just observation/interest in the Asian nations;
It's disappointing what happened with Japan, as I think they have the ingredients for success as an elevator team going from Div1 to WHC. Wealthy nation, interest in obscure things and certainly not incapable of producing top tier athletes in sports (Ryo Hachimura, Naomi Osaka, Ichiro Suzuki, Hidetoshi Nakata). Came close in 2014 to finally getting promoted for the first time in a long while, if not ever without the benefit of having some Asian qualifier. They now seem stuck in Div1/Div2 mediocrity for the short-medium term.
Korea peaked and will likely trend downwards. They have a very small window left I think with the dual nationals to still try to qualify back for the top division to inevitably get drubbed, but that might spark a bit of interest in the nation to keep them at the Div1A level.
China will put resources at their disposal over the next six months to not humiliate themselves in 2022 but really took a setback with the pandemic. I think they might have had a shot at playing at the Div1B level by now had COVID not hit, but I think they'll establish themselves eventually at around that level. They have plenty of winter cities/provinces and it's not inconceivable they'll be where Japan is now going forwards.
It's disappointing what happened with Japan, as I think they have the ingredients for success as an elevator team going from Div1 to WHC. Wealthy nation, interest in obscure things and certainly not incapable of producing top tier athletes in sports (Ryo Hachimura, Naomi Osaka, Ichiro Suzuki, Hidetoshi Nakata). Came close in 2014 to finally getting promoted for the first time in a long while, if not ever without the benefit of having some Asian qualifier. They now seem stuck in Div1/Div2 mediocrity for the short-medium term.
Korea peaked and will likely trend downwards. They have a very small window left I think with the dual nationals to still try to qualify back for the top division to inevitably get drubbed, but that might spark a bit of interest in the nation to keep them at the Div1A level.
China will put resources at their disposal over the next six months to not humiliate themselves in 2022 but really took a setback with the pandemic. I think they might have had a shot at playing at the Div1B level by now had COVID not hit, but I think they'll establish themselves eventually at around that level. They have plenty of winter cities/provinces and it's not inconceivable they'll be where Japan is now going forwards.
Oilslick941611
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Antiillafire
Registered User
Ehh, their football program is still decently well funded and they have had very good results recently with youth national teams. I expect Ukraine to have a very good football team in 5-6 years. I think interest factor is more prominent
A Bundy
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- Mar 3, 2021
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Hungary qualified for the OG qualifier ahead of Kazakhstan. They have good stints in junior international games. They also have sole credit for bringing hooliganism into the WC - not sure what category to put that into but would very much like to see them in WC, preferably without their goons.
tobu
Registered User
Slovakia hit the ground and is picking itself up right now. Juniors are starting to produce potential 1st round picks starting from 2022.
A Bundy
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- Mar 3, 2021
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I love hockey! Every little piece and corner of it. What a wonderful game!
Because hockey development was state funded, like everything else, there was no guarantee that it would survive the collapse of the Soviet Union and the accompanying economic collapse. Ukraine and Belarus fared worse economically and lost their share of players. Kazakhstan has done well economically, but about half of the ethnic-Russian population of Kazakhstan, which was the population hockey players were drawn from, has moved to Russia.
Latvia is perhaps the ex-Soviet hockey country that has fared the best economically, but they are more similar to Czechia in that the number of youth players has plummeted as the state de-invested in sport. My Blue Jackets are likely to have an all Latvian goaltending tandem next year in Elvis Merzlikins and Matiss Kivlenieks. But the country is unlikely to match their new Irbe with a new Ozolinsh, because there are only 2,000 registered youth players in the country. Per IIHF statistics, there are 2.5-3 times as many senior players in Latvia and Czechia than there are youth players, indicating a massive drop in youth participation. For context, Canada and Sweden have far more youth players than adult players.
I wouldnt be suprised if Germany followed the path Swizerland has taken in the last 20-30 years, just maybe 5-10 years behind on the curve
I'm not saying you're wrong about Germany, but has their overall system really improved? Obviously there's Draisaitl and Stutzle, and Seider looks very promising, but has the amount of German high picks increased in the last few years compared to like 10 years ago? Or is it just a Slovenia/Kopitar type situation with a few more high end players?
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