IIHF World Hockey Championships: 5 Reasons to Watch
By Ryan Ritchie
IIHF World Hockey Championships Officially Begin in Russia on Friday; 5 Reasons to Watch
IIHF World Hockey Championships are set to kick-off on Friday in St.Petersburg/Moscow, Russia.
Preliminary will take place between Friday May 6th – Tuesday May 17th. Quarterfinals will be played on Thursday May 19th, Semifinals on Saturday May 21st, and finishing with Bronze/Gold Medal games on Sunday May 22nd.
16 teams are split into two divisions (Group A and B)
Group A: Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Latvia, Norway, Denmark, Kazakhstan
Group B: Canada, Finland, USA, Slovakia, Belarus, France, Germany, Hungary
1. Auston Matthews vs. Patrik Laine
Recent rumors have swirled around that Patrik Laine is closing the gap on the consensus 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews. Laine had a spectacular postseason in the Finnish Elite posting numbers rarely seen by teenagers in a league among men.
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To be fair though, Matthews Swiss team was knocked out of the playoffs while the Finn was lighting it up.
Regardless of individual or head-to-head performances in this tournament, there’s little Patrik Laine can do to overtake Auston Matthews atop the draft board.
We see this commonly around this time of year when scouts have watched so much of these players for so long, you start to plant seeds of doubt in your mind. Scouts can actually over-analyze it so much, they begin to find reasons to stop trusting their eyes and defy the logic which got them to their original conclusions.
Even though Laine is unlikely to surpass Matthews, it should still be fun to watch this pair of draft-eligible prospects compete with men at a higher level of competition. We hear all year long how both players have excelled in their respective leagues, at least now fans have an opportunity to watch them in live game action.
On a side note, for Toronto Maple Leafs fans, another reason to watch aside from Auston Matthews is Russian defenseman Nikita Zaitsev (recently signed). Rumors suggest he has top four abilities, we’ll see how he fares against tougher competition.
More puck prose: World Hockey Championships Will Help Remind Us of Auston Matthews Skill
2. Triple Gold Club Seekers
In 2015, Sidney Crosby became the newest member of the exclusive Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup Win, Olympic Gold, IIHF World Hockey Championships Gold).
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Heading into this year’s tournament, the list is strictly reserved to Canadians who have an opportunity to join the TGC. Corey Perry is the only active player on the roster currently with a chance to make history, although several players eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs may also have an opportunity should they decide to travel to Russia – this also includes a few more players that could be eliminated in the second round (i.e. Patrick Sharp).
via Official IIHF World Hockey Championships Website,
As for players who would join TGC with a Stanley Cup victory, we started with five possible names and we’re now down to three. Roberto Luongo, trying to be the first goaltender to make the TGC, is out of the running now that his Florida Panthers have been eliminated. Rick Nash of the Rangers is also in the same situation. Both will have to wait a year to try again.
Still in the running are 32-year-old veteran Jay Bouwmeester of St. Louis; 36-year-old Patrick Marleau of San Jose; and, 30-year-old captain Shea Weber of Nashville.
The last non-Canada team to win Olympic gold was Sweden in 2006, but only three players remain active from that team: Henrik Lundqvist and Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Time is running out for this trio to join the TGC, and beyond that a team other than Canada will have to triumph in PyeongChang in 2018 for new, non-Canadians to have a chance to join.
Of the 26 Triple Gold Club members, only seven are still active: the ageless wonder himself, Jaromir Jagr, Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg, Eric Staal, Jonathan Toews (the youngest ever member), Patrice Bergeron, and Crosby (the only player to captain all three teams of TGC requirements).
More puck prose: CHL Finals Set: Road to Memorial Cup
3. IIHF Fantasy Hockey Available for First Time
Are you a fantasy sports fan? For the first time ever, fans will be offered an interactive experience for the IIHF World Hockey Championships.
Prizes include: official tournament puck awarded to the competitor with the highest daily score at end of each game day, four tickets to a 2017 preliminary round game to the winner at the end of the “preliminary round”, and the grand prize, four tickets to the 2017 gold medal game.
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So how does it work? You start with a budget of 130. You have 10 roster spots to fill, five of which are bench slots that only earn 1/2 (half) points. Your main starting lineup is rewarded full points, other than one player who is designated as your captain gaining double points.
The main roster consists of one goalie, two defensemen, and three forwards. Same designation for your bench players.
Some of the prices of certain players are strange. The best strategy is to scour near the bottom for bench players (some value guys in the 10-12 range). It should leave just enough for a pair of expensive players and a few moderately priced ones.
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4. World Cup Impressions
As World Cup of Hockey participants are due to name their final seven roster spots on June 1st, this tournament can serve almost as a try-out for certain players with one last chance to make an impression.
If Mark Scheifele continues his hot play that seemingly took off after the original World Cup roster snub, Peter Chiarelli and company will have tough decisions to make.
Other players looking to make an impact include: Corey Perry, Brendan Gallagher, Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, Nick Foligno, Alex Radulov, Gustav Nyquist, Mikael Backlund, the list goes on.
5. Familiar Old Faces and Some New Ones
The IIHF World Championships is one of the few places for North Americans to watch ex-NHL talent now playing overseas somewhere in Europe or Russia. As usual, this year’s tournament will once again feature some names that fans are very familiar with.
Those names include:
Slava Voynov (Russia) – ex-Los Angeles Kings defenseman
Evgeny Dadonov (Russia) – ex-Florida Panthers forward
Sergei Shirokov (Russia) – ex-Vancouver Canucks prospect
Viktor Fasth (Sweden) – spent time with ANA/EDM
Linus Omark (Sweden) – ex-Edmonton Oilers forward
Mattias Ritola (Sweden) – spent time with DET/TB
Tomas Kundratek (Czech Republic) – spent time with NYR/WSH
Roman Cervenka (Czech Republic) – ex-Calgary Flames forward
Tomas Vincour (Czech Republic) – spent time with DAL/COL
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Andrej Meszaros (Slovakia) – long-time NHLer
Sergei/Andrei Kostitsyn (Belarus) – the pair showed promise in Montreal early in their careers
Kaspars Daugavins (Latvia) – spent time with OTT/BOS
Jonas Holos (Norway) – ex-Colorado Avalanche prospect
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Norway) – spent time with CLB/PHI
Cristobal Huet (France) – had some good years with MTL
Jerome Flaake (Germany) – ex-Toronto Maple Leafs prospect
Marcel Goc (Germany) – long-time NHLer
Brandon Bochenski (Kazakhstan) – American-born now with duel citizenship after spending several years in the KHL. Spent time with six different NHL clubs
Dustin Boyd (Kazakhstan) – Winnipeg native spent most of his time with Calgary. Like Bochenski, several years in the KHL sparked duel-citizenship.
Nigel Dawes (Kazakhstan) – Another North-American (Winnipeg) on duel-citizenship. Spent time with several NHL clubs
Frank Banham (Hungary) – Capitals 1993 draft pick spent time the majority of his NHL life with Anaheim. The Canadian has duel-citizenship in Hungary.
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We’ve also got some prospects worth keeping an eye on (excluding AHL prospects):
Steve Santini (USA) – New Jersey Devils top defensive prospect
J.T. Compher (USA) – Univ. of Michigan product is a Sabres 2nd rounder that was traded to Colorado in the Ryan O’Reilly deal
Kyle Connor (USA) – Recently signed his entry-level deal with the Jets, big hopes for this promising prospect
Hudson Fasching (USA) – He saw a short stint with Buffalo upon leaving school. Chance to be an impact player with top nine potential
Tyler Motte (USA) – Blackhawks 4th rounder had a big year at Michigan followed up by a productive AHL stint. Chicago strikes in the mid-rounds once again
Miles Wood (USA) – Devils 4th rounder looks ready to make an NHL impact upon leaving Boston College
Martin Reway (Slovakia) – undersized but very talented Montreal prospect
Sebastian Aho (Finland) – Carolina Hurricanes 2nd rounder in 2015
Kristians Rubins (Latvia) – 2016 draft-eligible prospect
Mathias From (Denmark) – 2016 draft-eligible prospect