(1) an all-out tournament will remain our rosy dream so long as WHC and The Cup are owned by More...
...separate business enterprises like IIHF and NHL; (2) best players are just as good as they perform in crucial games. Say, Kovalchuk had been called every Russian synonym of good-for-nothing during the 2008 WHC before he stole the gold, whereas the MVP and "best forward" Dany Heatley failed to make a single shot in the 3rd of that final game.
Posted By: Andrei on May 25, 2012 09:09PM
A huge Congratulations to Slovakia & The Czech Republic for a beautifully played tournament. More...
... In reality regarding rustya, no mattter the outcome of that excuse for a nation, they will still be ruskies. No amount of medals can change the fact that the fans whom haven't polluted other parts of the world still have to return to that miserable stain on the map after everything is said and done. -Even after winning, they are still losers.
HATS OFF TO SLOVAKIA & CZECH REPUBLIC!
Posted By: Capt.BeefStick on May 25, 2012 02:09AM
Andrei; By your logic, if Canada showed up with most of their best players and beat teams without More...
...their best players, then Canada would claim hockey supremacy. Oh and lets not forget, you would love it because they won all their games easily. The point you seem to miss is this; the WHC is a great tournament, but will NEVER represent a true world championship as long as it is played when most of the worlds best players are involved in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Posted By: David on May 24, 2012 10:53PM
Next year is Canada's time
Posted By: Jeremy on May 24, 2012 07:49PM
David: IIHF rightly (not "conveniently") forgets individuals, no matter what might happen if they More...
...showed up on international ice. A WHC with strongest in each team's lineup is every fan's dream. Yet the best dream is one the Russians made come true: straight wins (not a single fluky OT or one-point one), unbeaten defense, no uncalled roughing, and Bill's level-headed coaching above all!
Posted By: Andrei on May 24, 2012 12:45PM
Andrei: with all due respect, the Russians had access to many of their top players (Datsyuk, More...
...Malkin, Ovechkin, Semin). Canada was missing their top players (Crosby, Toews, Stamkos, Giroux, Seguin). How do you think the Russians would have done without Malkin, Ovechkin and Semin; these 3players scored most of the Russian goals.
Posted By: David on May 23, 2012 02:07AM
Russia who has won WHC gets put in group of death with USA and Slovakia while Canada who has not More...
...taken WHC seriously enough and knowcked out in quarter finals three years in a row gets easiest group with only strong team is Finland. Rankings system needs altering
Posted By: wilheim on May 23, 2012 01:38AM
The current Russian team would be tops no matter what tournament
particularly with added More...
...unstoppable Kovalchuk or Radulov, the younger but seasoned Voynov and Anisimov, brilliant Kuznetsov allowed to go full throttle... But paper/guesswork aside, the Russian "top secret weapon" is Bill the coach. Reviving the Red Machine style is one miracle to his credit. And last but not least: with Malkin rising to Gretzky-like reign, you really care about the tournament's rank?
Posted By: Andrei on May 21, 2012 06:03PM
The Russians are full value for their win. More...
... They played beautiful, skilled hockey, and seem to have solidified the team approach to defense. However, this victory does not put them on top of the hockey world. The IIHF conveniently forgets that many of the top players for a number of countries were not available for the WHC. The WHC is a great tournament, but a true world championship it is not.
Posted By: David on May 21, 2012 02:27PM
i love hockey
Posted By: Félix on May 21, 2012 02:07PM