The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are finally here and undoubtedly one of the most talked about events is the Men’s Ice Hockey, where Canada tries to win a Gold Medal on home ice. It will not be easy though as they face competition from a super-talented Russian side, the defending champions Sweden, a young American team and several other quality outfits. This article breaks down the challengers in Group C.
Sweden: Don’t forget them again!
In the 2006 Torino games, Sweden were able to slip under the radar somewhat and claim an impressive victory. Still, once again this year it is Canada, Russia and the US collecting most of the attention with Sweden getting a ‘mention’ as defending champions. This Swedish team is very talented, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is amongst the best in the game and will be the team’s cornerstone again this year. Nicklas Lidstrom, Mattias Ohlund, Niklas Kronwall and Tobias Enstrom will eat up minutes on a very good six-man Swedish defense. Henrik and Daniel Sedin have been red hot in the NHL of late and the Swedes will be hoping for more of the same in the Olympics. Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Backstrom and Loui Eriksson also feature in a forward group that shouldn’t have any trouble scoring. Another big story surrounding this team is Peter Forsberg, just how well will he perform?
Key Factor- Sweden is as complete as any other team, but they will be reliant upon the performance of their depth, they need Forsberg to give them a strong third line. Equally, the third defensive pairing will need to play well and the likes of Patric Hornqvist and Fredrik Modin will need to contribute.
Projection- Noticed or not, I believe this Swedish team is arguably the second most complete in the tournament and I expect a Silver Medal, only just losing out to a Canadian team that will just have a little too much.
Finland: It’s all about the system
Finland was the Cinderella story in Torino and more than any other team in the Olympics they rely upon an excellent system and discipline. They will apply the same formula this year, but in smaller rinks and will be much less of an underdog. Mikka Kiprusoff’s decision to take part in the Olympics gives Finland a goaltender as good as any, Kiprusoff is having a strong season for the Flames as well. Kimmo Timonen and Joni Pitkanen will be crucial on a blue-line that possesses mobile defensemen who are also solid in their own end. Scoring wise, Teemu Selanne will once again be key to the forwards, but Saku Koivu, Mikko Koivu and Olli Jokinen are also proven scorers in the NHL. The forward group is fast, gritty and they will be difficult to play against, don’t expect anyone to have an easy ride against Finland.
Key Factor- Defensemen like Sami Salo and Toni Lydman will have to be very solid logging solid minutes on a team that is perhaps just lacking a shutdown defensive pair. Finland will quickly need to find a defense pair to ice against Sweden, Canada and Russia’s top lines.
Projection- Finland won’t repeat their amazing Torino performance, but will instead have to be content with a quarter-final finish.
Belarus: Do you remember 2002?
Belarus upset the Swedes in the 2002 quarter-finals in what was one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. Things are not looking good for a repeat performance of that feat as they are desperately scrambling to see if NHL stars Ruslan Salei, Mikhail Grabovski and Andrei Kostitsyn will be fit. Sergei Kostitsyn is the only other NHL player on a roster that does have a pretty good body of international experience. Andrei Mezin has a good reputation at international level in net and with the country’s recent injuries; he is now more than ever its key player.
Key Factor- Mezin will need to steal a game if the team is to cause an upset, if somehow Belarus could ice two of its injured NHL stars, they might would be a much more serious threat.
Projection- Germany will be this team’s key game, if Kostitsyn and Grabovski miss out, then the rest of the forward group will need to prove their scoring prowess as they take on another of the developing hockey nations. A quarter final appearance is not completely out of the question if they get a favourable draw and Mezin is able to steal a game.
Germany: Formula for an upset?
Germany has been a regular representative at the Olympics and they are slowly progressing as a hockey nation. Tomas Greiss will probably be the team’s goaltender, a position that they needed to feel after the retirement of long-time goalie Olaf Kolzig. The team’s defense is actually fairly good with Dennis Seidenberg and Christian Ehrhoff serving as two excellent two-way players who will lead this group. Alexander Sulzer is also on the D corps along with a couple of other players who have limited NHL experience. Marco Sturm leads a forward group that may just struggle for scoring; Marcel Goc and Jochen Hecht are the team’s other two NHLers, but the rest play in the not particularly high standard German league.
Key Factor- Germany is not going to score too many goals so the performance of their defense and Greiss stealing a game could be the key to their success. Expect a tight checking game from this team, their execution of it will be the key to their success.
Projection- Germany will be targeting Belarus especially with their recent injury troubles, arguably Germany has the better structured team, but it all comes down to one game and two goaltenders.
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