Olympic Hockey Predictions
Busy with a writing project, so not a lot of time to blog this week. But before the Men's Olympics ice hockey starts in a few hours, I wanted to get my predictions in now.
First off, my Womens' Hockey predictions. Gold to Canada, Silver to U.S.A., and Bronze to... I dunno, Jamaica. Damn. Been a while since someone made a Jamaica/Winter Olympics joke, huh? I miss the 90s. Anyways, I'm predicting Sweden for the Bronze - because it'll be either them or Finland.
Okay - onto the Mens. There are twelve teams in the Mens' tournament - any of the top seven have a shot at winning Gold. Here's what I predict-
#7. Sweden
Surprise, huh? Sweden is considered one of the powerhouses this year. But with Peter Forsberg questionable with a gimpy groin, Markus Naslund at home injured, Matty Norstrom at home injured, and Mats Sundin having a bad year after taking a puck to the face - I think Sweden is vulnerable. In a tournament like this where they'll be playing a lot of games in a short amount of time? I don't think they can do it.
#6. U.S.A.
Even though this is an off-year for them, Team U.S.A. has a great mix of forwards and defensemen to roll out there. But the goaltending.... not so good. Rick DiPietro and Robert Esche are usually pretty solid - but this year, both have been absolutely atrocious. I'll be rooting for Team U.S.A... but I ain't betting my money on them. Maybe Wayne Gretzky's wife will, but not me.
#5. Finland
Like the U.S., Finland has a great line-up of forwards and defensemen. And if they had Mikka Kiprusoff in goal, there's no question in my mind that Finland would be winning a medal. But with Kiprusoff and Kari Lehtonen both out due to injury, Finland had the same problem as Team U.S.A.. Can Antero Nittymaki steal games for them? I wouldn't count on it.
#4. Slovakia
Here's my sleeper pick. Slovakia has so much talent, but they've never gotten the opportunity to really showcase it at the Olympics. They've won at the Hockey World Championships and they have so much offensive firepower on their team, it's almost disgusting. Their problem is in net, where neither Peter Budaj or Jan Lasak are going to get them to a medal stand. But when you've got that much offense, with Zdeno Chara and Lubomir Visnovsky on the blueline? 10-8 wins anyone?
#3. Canada
Blasphemy! Odds-makers have Canada as a 4 to 5 favorite to win Gold. They're stacked at talent at every position. They're the defending gold medal winners. They're Canada, for Cherry's sake! They're also beat-up on the blue line - no Ed Jovanovski, and both Rob Blake and Chris Pronger are gimpy. But most importantly, losing Scott Niedermayer to a knee injury was HUGE - Niedermayer can do everything and his loss is irreplaceable. Up front, some of their star forwards like Martin St. Louis and Jarome Iginla are having terrible years offensively. I think the lack of a veteran leader like Steve Yzerman or Mario Lemieux is really going to hurt Canada. Okay, not hurt them THAT much. Even with all the problems above, they can still win Gold and they're going to take home no worse than Bronze.
#2. Czech Republic
They have the best goalie in the world in Dominik Hasek - along with great forwards and defensemen. Top to bottom, this team has no weaknesses. I think the only thing that could possibly hinder them is that defenseman corps, which is a talented bunch but a little inexperienced at the Olympics.
Which leads me to who I think will win Gold this year.
#1. Russia
I could make all sorts of arguments to support my prediction. How about Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin out on the ice at the same time? Maybe with Pavel Datsyuk between them? And then if that's not scary enough, imagine the forwards being rolled out after them - Alex Kovalev, Maxim Afinogenov, Alexander Frolov, Victor Kozlov, Evgeni Malkin, that overpaid whats-his-face from the New York Islanders. Of course, Russia's problem is that it has an average defense (comparatively to the other teams in this tournament) and a questionable situation in goal, with Evgeni Nabokov having an awful year this season.
But let's face it. They're DUE.
The Soviet/Russian team won gold in 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, and 1992. They haven't won since. They're DUE. Somewhere, Viktor Tikhonov is re-fi-ing the mortgage on his soul - and Satan (prince of darkness, not Miroslav) is realizing that it's been over a decade since the Russians won gold. There's not a lot of science or analysis involved with my pick for the Gold. I just think this is their year. I have that feeling in my gut that they're going to get revenge for 1998.
Part of the fun of the Olympics is that there are such great stories written. Who can forget 1992 when the Soviet Union, having just broken up, won a gold medal even though their country had no name? Or 1994 when Peter Forsberg turned Corey Hirsch into a postage stamp? Or 1998 when Dominik Hasek stopped every Canadian shoot-out attempt? Or 2002 when Canada ended 50 years of heartbreak by stabbing the Americans in the heart?
Can't wait to see this year's story. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
First off, my Womens' Hockey predictions. Gold to Canada, Silver to U.S.A., and Bronze to... I dunno, Jamaica. Damn. Been a while since someone made a Jamaica/Winter Olympics joke, huh? I miss the 90s. Anyways, I'm predicting Sweden for the Bronze - because it'll be either them or Finland.
Okay - onto the Mens. There are twelve teams in the Mens' tournament - any of the top seven have a shot at winning Gold. Here's what I predict-
#7. Sweden
Surprise, huh? Sweden is considered one of the powerhouses this year. But with Peter Forsberg questionable with a gimpy groin, Markus Naslund at home injured, Matty Norstrom at home injured, and Mats Sundin having a bad year after taking a puck to the face - I think Sweden is vulnerable. In a tournament like this where they'll be playing a lot of games in a short amount of time? I don't think they can do it.
#6. U.S.A.
Even though this is an off-year for them, Team U.S.A. has a great mix of forwards and defensemen to roll out there. But the goaltending.... not so good. Rick DiPietro and Robert Esche are usually pretty solid - but this year, both have been absolutely atrocious. I'll be rooting for Team U.S.A... but I ain't betting my money on them. Maybe Wayne Gretzky's wife will, but not me.
#5. Finland
Like the U.S., Finland has a great line-up of forwards and defensemen. And if they had Mikka Kiprusoff in goal, there's no question in my mind that Finland would be winning a medal. But with Kiprusoff and Kari Lehtonen both out due to injury, Finland had the same problem as Team U.S.A.. Can Antero Nittymaki steal games for them? I wouldn't count on it.
#4. Slovakia
Here's my sleeper pick. Slovakia has so much talent, but they've never gotten the opportunity to really showcase it at the Olympics. They've won at the Hockey World Championships and they have so much offensive firepower on their team, it's almost disgusting. Their problem is in net, where neither Peter Budaj or Jan Lasak are going to get them to a medal stand. But when you've got that much offense, with Zdeno Chara and Lubomir Visnovsky on the blueline? 10-8 wins anyone?
#3. Canada
Blasphemy! Odds-makers have Canada as a 4 to 5 favorite to win Gold. They're stacked at talent at every position. They're the defending gold medal winners. They're Canada, for Cherry's sake! They're also beat-up on the blue line - no Ed Jovanovski, and both Rob Blake and Chris Pronger are gimpy. But most importantly, losing Scott Niedermayer to a knee injury was HUGE - Niedermayer can do everything and his loss is irreplaceable. Up front, some of their star forwards like Martin St. Louis and Jarome Iginla are having terrible years offensively. I think the lack of a veteran leader like Steve Yzerman or Mario Lemieux is really going to hurt Canada. Okay, not hurt them THAT much. Even with all the problems above, they can still win Gold and they're going to take home no worse than Bronze.
#2. Czech Republic
They have the best goalie in the world in Dominik Hasek - along with great forwards and defensemen. Top to bottom, this team has no weaknesses. I think the only thing that could possibly hinder them is that defenseman corps, which is a talented bunch but a little inexperienced at the Olympics.
Which leads me to who I think will win Gold this year.
#1. Russia
I could make all sorts of arguments to support my prediction. How about Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin out on the ice at the same time? Maybe with Pavel Datsyuk between them? And then if that's not scary enough, imagine the forwards being rolled out after them - Alex Kovalev, Maxim Afinogenov, Alexander Frolov, Victor Kozlov, Evgeni Malkin, that overpaid whats-his-face from the New York Islanders. Of course, Russia's problem is that it has an average defense (comparatively to the other teams in this tournament) and a questionable situation in goal, with Evgeni Nabokov having an awful year this season.
But let's face it. They're DUE.
The Soviet/Russian team won gold in 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, and 1992. They haven't won since. They're DUE. Somewhere, Viktor Tikhonov is re-fi-ing the mortgage on his soul - and Satan (prince of darkness, not Miroslav) is realizing that it's been over a decade since the Russians won gold. There's not a lot of science or analysis involved with my pick for the Gold. I just think this is their year. I have that feeling in my gut that they're going to get revenge for 1998.
Part of the fun of the Olympics is that there are such great stories written. Who can forget 1992 when the Soviet Union, having just broken up, won a gold medal even though their country had no name? Or 1994 when Peter Forsberg turned Corey Hirsch into a postage stamp? Or 1998 when Dominik Hasek stopped every Canadian shoot-out attempt? Or 2002 when Canada ended 50 years of heartbreak by stabbing the Americans in the heart?
Can't wait to see this year's story. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
posted by Eugene at 9:10 PM
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