2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship @ Cologne & Paris

[Puupi]

It's that time of the year again - Skoda Cup is starting!

Group A LANXESS arena, Cologne

• RUS - Russia
• USA - USA
• SWE - Sweden
• SVK - Slovakia
• GER - Germany
• LAT - Latvia
• DEN - Denmark
• ITA - Italy

Group B AccorHotels Arena, Paris

• CAN - Canada
• FIN - Finland
• CZE - Czech Republic
• SUI - Switzerland
• BLR - Belarus
• NOR - Norway
• FRA - France
• SLO - Slovenia

Schedule:

Nr	Group	Date	Time	Phase	Venue	Game
1	A	5 May, Fri	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	SWE vs RUS
2	B	5 May, Fri	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	FIN vs BLR
3	A	5 May, Fri	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	USA vs GER
4	B	5 May, Fri	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	CZE vs CAN
5	A	6 May, Sat	12:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	LAT vs DEN
6	B	6 May, Sat	12:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	SUI vs SLO
7	A	6 May, Sat	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	SVK vs ITA
8	B	6 May, Sat	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	BLR vs CZE
9	A	6 May, Sat	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	GER vs SWE
10	B	6 May, Sat	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	NOR vs FRA
11	A	7 May, Sun	12:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	ITA vs RUS
12	B	7 May, Sun	12:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	SLO vs CAN
13	A	7 May, Sun	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	USA vs DEN
14	B	7 May, Sun	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	FIN vs FRA
15	A	7 May, Sun	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	LAT vs SVK
16	B	7 May, Sun	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	NOR vs SUI
17	A	8 May, Mon	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	GER vs RUS
18	B	8 May, Mon	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	BLR vs CAN
19	A	8 May, Mon	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	USA vs SWE
20	B	8 May, Mon	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	FIN vs CZE
21	A	9 May, Tue	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	ITA vs LAT
22	B	9 May, Tue	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	SLO vs NOR
23	A	9 May, Tue	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	SVK vs DEN
24	B	9 May, Tue	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	SUI vs FRA
25	A	10 May, Wed	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	USA vs ITA
26	B	10 May, Wed	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	SUI vs BLR
27	A	10 May, Wed	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	SVK vs GER
28	B	10 May, Wed	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	FIN vs SLO
29	A	11 May, Thu	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	RUS vs DEN
30	B	11 May, Thu	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	CZE vs NOR
31	A	11 May, Thu	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	SWE vs LAT
32	B	11 May, Thu	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	CAN vs FRA
33	A	12 May, Fri	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	SWE vs ITA
34	B	12 May, Fri	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	CZE vs SLO
35	A	12 May, Fri	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	DEN vs GER
36	B	12 May, Fri	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	FRA vs BLR
37	A	13 May, Sat	12:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	LAT vs USA
38	B	13 May, Sat	12:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	NOR vs FIN
39	A	13 May, Sat	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	RUS vs SVK
40	B	13 May, Sat	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	SLO vs BLR
41	A	13 May, Sat	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	ITA vs GER
42	B	13 May, Sat	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	CAN vs SUI
43	A	14 May, Sun	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	SVK vs USA
44	B	14 May, Sun	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	FRA vs CZE
45	A	14 May, Sun	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	DEN vs SWE
46	B	14 May, Sun	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	SUI vs FIN
47	A	15 May, Mon	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	DEN vs ITA
48	B	15 May, Mon	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	CAN vs NOR
49	A	15 May, Mon	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	RUS vs LAT
50	B	15 May, Mon	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	FRA vs SLO
51	A	16 May, Tue	12:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	SWE vs SVK
52	B	16 May, Tue	12:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	BLR vs NOR
53	A	16 May, Tue	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	RUS vs USA
54	B	16 May, Tue	16:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	CZE vs SUI
55	A	16 May, Tue	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	LANXESS arena	GER vs LAT
56	B	16 May, Tue	20:15 GMT+2	PRE	AccorHotels Arena	CAN vs FIN
57		18 May, Thu	16:15 GMT+2	QF	LANXESS arena	vs
58		18 May, Thu	16:15 GMT+2	QF	AccorHotels Arena	vs
59		18 May, Thu	20:15 GMT+2	QF	LANXESS arena	vs
60		18 May, Thu	20:15 GMT+2	QF	AccorHotels Arena	vs
61		20 May, Sat	15:15 GMT+2	SF	LANXESS arena	vs
62		20 May, Sat	19:15 GMT+2	SF	LANXESS arena	vs
63		21 May, Sun	16:15 GMT+2	BMG	LANXESS arena	vs
64		21 May, Sun	20:45 GMT+2	GMG	LANXESS arena	vs

http://www.iihfworlds2017.com

[Puupi]

Team Finland has been published today.

Goaltenders

Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets*
Joni Ortio, Skellefteå AIK
Harri Säteri, HK Vitjaz*

Defense

Juuso Hietanen, Dynamo Moskova
Julius Honka, Dallas Stars*
Topi Jaakola, Jokerit
Joonas Järvinen, Kunlun Redstar
Lasse Kukkonen, Kärpät
Ville Lajunen, Jokerit
Mikko Lehtonen, HV 71*
Atte Ohtamaa, Ak Bars Kazan

Offense

Juhamatti Aaltonen, HIFK
Miro Aaltonen, HK Vitjaz*
Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
Valtteri Filppula, Philadelphia Flyers
Markus Hännikäinen, Columbus Blue Jackets*
Joonas Kemppainen, Sibir Novosibirsk
Jani Lajunen, Tappara
Oskar Osala, Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Antti Pihlström, Jokerit
Jesse Puljujärvi, Edmonton Oilers*
Mika Pyörälä, Kärpät
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche
Tomi Sallinen, Kunlun Redstar
Veli-Matti Savinainen, Tappara

* National team debutantes (is that the correct word to use in English?)

Quite a poor team this year, so many NHL players declined - mostly for contract or injury reasons. The ones who came aren't exactly super tier material, but NHL players anyway! There are a couple choices the coach made that made the public uproar like every year here. Goaltenders are good, Finland has so much good goalies that wouldn't even need a NHL goalie - even the guys in Europe are great.
Otherwise the team is very shallow - I expect Finland to play very defensively with this kind of material. If they don't, they are going to lose against all other top countries. Finland has 6 NHL players, of which 3 or so are decent. In comparison to Sweden, which is running with 16 NHL players and have many top tier guys (eg. Ekman-Larsson, Hedman, Landeskog).... Finland is quite underpowered.

Yet, in the last EHT games, Finland just won Sweden yesterday and Russia the day before. So who knows how this tournament will go. I still think Sweden is the #1 candidate to win the tournament - followed by #2 Canada, #3 Czech rep, 4# USA, #5 Russia, 6# Finland.

[Greeney]

Canada's offense seems like it will be dominant enough to win even if the defense and goaltending isn't as good as a team like Sweden.

Point - Giroux - Simmonds
Skinner - Scheifele - Marner
Duchene - O'Reilly - Mackinnon
Killorn - Couturier - Schenn
Konecny

[Puupi]

Canada's offense seems like it will be dominant enough to win even if the defense and goaltending isn't as good as a team like Sweden.

I consider goaltending to be the Sweden's weakest point, as always. There's just something about Swedish goalies... they aren't good and reliable. Lundqvist is pretty good, but others not really.
Eddie Läck is their supposed #1 goalie now... in his last EHT game, which was against the Czechs on Saturday, he had to pick the puck from the net 7 times. Viktor Fasth played against Finland yesterday and was sloppy - he is usually either a wall or a hoover, kind of an on-off goalie.

[Stommped]

Why isn't Tuevo playing for Finland?

[Puupi]

Why isn't Tuevo playing for Finland?

It's Teuvo, you dyslexic Americano!

He doesn't have a contract at the moment, his rookie contract ended this season.

[Silakka]

I'm a finnish guy too and i think Sweden will win. Their team looks pretty solid.

[Puupi]

In my eyes, team USA looks rock solid, too.

POSITION	NO.	NAME	HT (CM)	WT (KG)	BIRTHDATE	S/C	HOMETOWN	MOST RECENT TEAM (LEAGUE)
G	37	Connor Hellebuyck	6-4 (193)	207 (94)	1993-05-19	L	Commerce, Mich.	Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
G	35	Jimmy Howard	6-1 (185)	218 (99)	1984-03-26	L	Syracuse, N.Y.	Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
G	40	Cal Petersen	6-3 (191)	190 (86)	1994-10-19	R	Waterloo, Iowa	University of Notre Dame (HEA)
D	6	Daniel Brickley	6-3 (191)	205 (93)	1995-03-30	L	Sandy, Utah	Minnesota State (WCHA)
D	65	Danny DeKeyser	6-3 (191)	192 (87)	1990-03-07	L	Detroit, Mich.	Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
D	55	Noah Hanifin	6-3 (191)	206 (93)	1997-01-25	L	Norwood, Mass.	Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
D	25	Charlie McAvoy	6-0 (182)	208 (94)	1997-12-21	R	Long Beach, N.Y.	Boston Bruins (NHL)
D	5	Connor Murphy	6-4 (193)	212 (96)	1993-03-26	R	Dublin, Ohio	Arizona Coyotes (NHL)
D	8	Jacob Trouba	6-3 (191)	202 (92)	1994-02-26	R	Rochester, Mich.	Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
D	57	Trevor van Riemsdyk	6-2 (188)	188 (85)	1991-24-07	R	Middletown, N.J.	Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
F	10	Anders Bjork	6-0 (182)	181 (82)	1996-08-05	L	Mequon, Wis.	University of Notre Dame (HEA)
F	14	Nick Bjugstad	6-6 (198)	218 (99)	1992-07-17	R	Minneapolis, Minn.	Florida Panthers (NHL)
F	7	JT Compher	6-0 (182)	193 (87)	1995-04-08	R	Northbrook, Ill.	Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
F	9	Andrew Copp	6-1 (185)	206 (93)	1994-07-08	L	Ann Arbor, Mich.	Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
F	18	Christian Dvorak	6-0 (182)	187 (85)	1996-02-02	L	Palos, Ill.	Arizona Coyotes (NHL)
F	15	Jack Eichel	6-2 (188)	196 (89)	1996-10-28	R	North Chelmsford, Mass.	Buffalo Sabres (NHL)
F	13	Johnny Gaudreau	5-9 (170)	157 (71)	1993-08-13	L	Salem, N.J.	Calgary Flames (NHL)
F	12	Jordan Greenway	6-5 (198)	230 (104)	1997-02-16	L	Canton, N.Y.	Boston University (Hockey East)
F	21	Dylan Larkin	6-1 (185)	190 (86)	1996-07-30	L	Waterford, Mich.	Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
F	19	Clayton Keller	5-10 (179)	168 (76)	1998-07-29	L	St. Louis, Mo.	Arizona Coyotes (NHL)
F	27	Anders Lee	6-3 (191)	228 (103)	1990-07-03	L	Edina, Minn.	New York Islanders (NHL)
F	29	Brock Nelson	6-3 (191)	206 (93)	1991-10-15	L	Warroad, Minn.	New York Islanders (NHL)
F	17	Nick Schmaltz	6-0 (182)	177 (80)	1996-02-23	R	Madison, Wis.	Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)

[Stommped]

Weird to see a guy named Anders Bjork on team USA

[Puupi]

Weird to see a guy named Anders Bjork on team USA

How so? It's a land of immigrants after all.

- - - Updated - - -

Team Czech Republic (sorry no clubs on the list I found):

Goaltenders:
Francouz, Pavel
Mrazek, Petr
Furch, Dominik

Defense:

Gudas, Radko
Jerabek, Jakub
Kempny, Michal
Rutta, Jan
Kolar, Jan
Krejcik, Jakub
Simek, Radim
Kundratek, Tomas
Sulak, Libor

Offense:

Cervenka, Roman
Plekanec, Tomas
Birner, Michal
Vrna, Petr
Lev, Jakub
Kovar, Jan
Horak, Roman
Repik, Michal
Radil, Lukas
Hyka, Tomas
Hanzl, Robin
Zohorna, Tomas
Holik, Petr
Pastrnak, David
Voracek, Jakub

They have a semi good NHL goalie, Mrazek. 4 very good solid defensemen and their top 6 forwards are awesome. It's a very good team. Their first line (Plekanec, Pastrnak, Voracek) might be one of the toughest in the tournament.

[Puupi]

Team Switzerland:

Goaltenders:
Leonardo Genoni, SC Bern
Jonas Hiller, EHC Biel
Niklas Schlegel, ZSC Lions Zürich
Defense:
Raphael Diaz, EV Zug
Philippe Furrer, HC Lugano
Joel Genazzi, Lausanne HC
Dean Kukan, Cleveland Monsters (AHL)
Romain Löffel, Geneve-Servette
Christian Marti, ZSC Lions Zürich
Dominik Schlumpf, EV Zug
Ramon Untersander, SC Bern
Offense:
Cody Almond, Geneve-Servette
Andres Ambühl, HC Davos
Simon Bodenmann, SC Bern
Damien Brunner, HC Lugano
Gaetan Haas, EHC Biel
Fabrice Herzog, ZSC Lions Zürich
Denis Hollenstein, EHC Kloten
Denis Malgin, Florida Panthers (NHL)
Vincent Praplan, EHC Kloten
Tanner Richard, Syracuse Crunch (AHL)
Thomas Rufenacht, SC Bern
Reto Schäppi, ZSC Lions Zürich
Reto Suri, EV Zug
Pius Suter, ZSC Lions Zürich

Team Norway:


Goaltenders:
Lars Haugen, Farjestad Karlstad (SWE)
Henrik Haukeland, Leksands IF (SWE)
Steffen Söberg, Valerenga Oslo
Defense:
Jonas Holös, Färjestad Karlstad (SWE)
Johannes Johannesen, Frölunda (SWE)
Erlend Lesund, Mora IK (SWE-2)
Mattias Norstebo, Frölunda (SWE)
Villiam Ström, Lörenskog IK
Dennis Sveum, Stavanger Oilers
Daniel Sörvik, HC Litvinov (CZE)
Henrik Odegaard, Frisk Asker
Offense:
Anders Bastiansen, Frisk Asker
Kristian Forsberg, Stavanger Oilers
Michael Haga, Örebro HK (SWE)
Jörgen Karterud, Linkopings HC (SWE)
Söndre Olden, Leksands IF (SWE)
Ken Andre Olimb, Linkopings HC (SWE)
Mathis Olimb, Linkopings HC (SWE)
Mats Rösseli Olsen, Frölunda (SWE)
Thomas Valkvae Olsen, BIK Karlskoga (SWE-2)
Aleksander Reichenberg, Storhamar Hockey
Niklas Roest, Sparta Sarpsborg
Patrick Thoresen, ZSC Lions Zurich (SUI)
Mathias Trettenes, Almtuna IS (SWE-2)

[Skayaq]

Team Denmark:
DENMARK
Goaltenders:
Simon Nielsen, Herning Blue Fox
Sebastian Dahm, Graz 99ers (AUT)
George Sorensen, Almtuna IS Uppsala (SWE-2)
Defencemen:
Jesper B. Jensen, Jokerit Helsinki (FIN)
Oliver Lauridsen, Jokerit Helsinki (FIN)
Markus Lauridsen, Leksands IF (SWE)
Matias Lassen, Mora IK (SWE-2)
Nicholas Jensen, Rungsted Ishockey
Nicolai Weichel, Rungsted Ishockey
Phillip Bruggisser, Esbjerg Energy
Emil Kristensen, Linkoping HC (SWE)
Forwards:
Jesper Jensen, Brynas Gavle (SWE)
Mathias Bau, Frederikshavn White Hawks
Peter Regin, Jokerit Helsinki (FIN)
Nicolai Meyer, Tingsryds AIF (SWE-2)
Morten Poulsen, Pelicans Lahti (FIN)
Morten Green, Rungsted Ishockey
Morten Madsen, Karlskrona HK (SWE)
Steffen Klarskov, Rodovre Mighty Bulls
Julian Jakobsen, Aalborg Pirates
Patrick Russell, Bakersfield Condors (AHL)
Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
Nichlas Hardt, Malmo Redhawks (SWE)
Mads Christensen, Red Bull Munich (GER)
Frederik Storm, Malmo Redhawks (SWE)

[Puupi]

Day 1:

Finland vs Belarus 3-2

Sweden vs Russia 1-2 (shootout)

Czech Rep vs Canada 1-4

Germany vs USA 2-1 (!!)

Czech vs Canada was a great intense fast paced hockey game. Both goalies were excellent, Pickard was a wall. Got to watch that Germany vs USA game recap - must have been great.

[Henx]

Oh god Finland played poorly today, they need to wake up!!! 5-1 loss to France, unbelievable... Marjamäki (the coach) has to go, they should have realized at the World Cup already that he is not the right coach.

[Puupi]

Oh god Finland played poorly today, they need to wake up!!! 5-1 loss to France, unbelievable... Marjamäki (the coach) has to go, they should have realized at the World Cup already that he is not the right coach.

Yeah, France was better on all accounts of the gameplay. Totally deserved the win, it was great to see the French so happy! I hope this tournament doesn't end up in the grandest disaster of them all - Finland dropping to B division.

Would be a nice wake up call though. Don't hire shit coaches and get a decent team for the worlds. Finland hasn't had this poor team in almost 30 years.

Tomorrow will be horror.....the Czech are going to beat us down so hard.

I really hope we get some help from the NHL. Lehterä could join now that Blues is out....

- - - Updated - - -

Now that I've seen 3 games from all top teams, my ranking is as follows:
1. Canada
2. Russia
3. Czech Rep.
4. USA
5. Sweden
6. Switzerland
7. Latvia
8. Germany
9. France
10. Finland
11. Norway
12. Denmark
13. Slovakia
14. Slovenia
15. Italy
16. Belarus

Luckily Belarus is so shit and Finland won them already that staying in A-division is quite certain for us. This year has been catastrophic for our men's team, the coach should be unemployed in a week.

[Henx]

Can't really blame the players for not coming, Ristolainen and Laine has both been playing a lot so they are understandably tired. A lot of players with expiring contracts and injuries aswell.

I've also got the feeling that Marjamäki is the reason some of the players didn't come.

They played quite well against the Czechs but should not have let the Czechs put so much pressure on and the defending was indeed horrible in the third period. Could have killed the game during regular time or in the overtime. Puljujärvi showing he belongs to the squad aswell and I can't understand why Aaltonen and Philström are in the second line, Philström should be in the fourth and Aaltonen on the bench...

[Puupi]

Finland got two lucky goals and one decent goal in the first period. The Finnish puck control is absolutely zero. All they can do is defend. The game should have been 5-1 for the Czech's, but Korpisalo played so awesome in the net and Finland was extremely lucky with the goals so we ended up going to overtime and shootout. Obviously there were some ridiculous refereeing in the game - but that doesn't matter, Czech's were still the better team in every way.

[Skayaq]

stupid fucking video ref doesn't know the rules costing us at least a point

RULE 98 – SCORING A GOAL/GOAL FRAME OFF i. If a defending player displaces his own goal frame and the opposing team scores a goal, the goal will be allowed provided: 1. The opponent was in the act of shooting prior to the goal frame being displaced; 2. The referee determines the puck would have entered the goal net had the goal frame been in its normal position.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, we won, but that game should have never gone to overtime

[Puupi]

Tyson Barrie from team Canada is out of the tournament. He suffered a leg injury while wrestling with a team mate in a hotel room.

Not sure what to think of this. Drunk stuff? Fool kids play? An "argument"? Homosexual encounter?

[Skayaq]

Aside from ~70 seconds late in the second, we actually played fairly well against Russia. ofc in those 70 seconds we made every error possible and Russia punished every one of them.