In Canada this time around (Moncton, Halifax). Already time for the quarterfinals - coming up tomorrow:

- Finland - Sweden
- Czechia - Switzerland
- USA - Germany
- Canada - Slovakia

Regretfully, from my point of view, Team Sweden doesn't look that good this year. Anyway here are my odds for the results:
Fin-Swe 55/45, Czh-Sui 75/25, USA-Ger 80/20, Can-Slo 90/10. Who will win? My guess:...Canada. Not a wild guess though..

A couple of interesting matchups in the QF's.

Canada looks scary good. Bedard is just unreal.

This is the best time of the year! Outdoor hockey and the World Jrs.

Go Canada Go!

Yes, Connor Bedard is unreal! As a Chicago Blackhawks fan, they're tanking this year in hopes of finishing low/last and getting the best shot at the first overall pick this year. They have 4 players on this years Team Canada so the rebuild is in place. If they manage to get Bedard, I can see another Stanley Cup before the end of the decade.

This really is the year to full out tank. Interesting to see where Kane and Toews end up being traded to.

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Topi
This really is the year to full out tank. Interesting to see where Kane and Toews end up being traded to.

Yes, hopefully Hawks can acquire a lot more draft picks for them, win the draft lottery, then they both come back to the Hawks as unrestricted free agents on much lesser deals to help mentor Bedard! One can dream!!

Hawks fans deserve another franchise type player to replace Kane/Toews

I do hope Bedard ends up in a traditional hockey market over a, say, Arizona.

So, Sweden got away with a 3-2 win against Finland. The last goal in boxplay with only a minute left of the game. With luck on their side. We have a good goalie though, Carl Lindbom.
That is a very important tool in final games. Canada is still my favorite though to win the tournament. They usually are..

Finland just didn't have it this year, you could tell.

What an exciting game CAN vs SVK was! I only watched the 3rd period and the OT in the morning.

That Bedard guy, though.

"Boxplay" is an interesting term in the Swedish (and German) language meaning being short-handed. Was it ever used in English, I wonder? (I mean, hey, there is a guy in the penalty box, after all! )

As far as hockey vocabulary goes, the word "bully" is still used in German when talking about faceoffs. In the early years of hockey, there really was a "bully" to start play: [birthplaceofhockey.com]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2023-01-03 07:17 by Topi.

Bedard on his OT winner:

[www.tsn.ca]

"I couldn't score on a shot so I had to do something"

This kid!

Connor is now the all time leading scorer for Canada in the tournament! Big semi final match against the US!

Yep, I guess it will be Czechia and Canada in the final. And Czechia will really stand a chance this time around. They have the best looking team so far.
I'm still hoping for a Sweden-USA final though...

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DGA35
Yes, Connor Bedard is unreal! As a Chicago Blackhawks fan, they're tanking this year in hopes of finishing low/last and getting the best shot at the first overall pick this year. They have 4 players on this years Team Canada so the rebuild is in place. If they manage to get Bedard, I can see another Stanley Cup before the end of the decade.

He is an amazing talent for sure, I'm a bit skeptical about his size... he will be a good NHL player but I don't think he is the next one like he's being portayed. That being said he would look good in a Canuck uniform... haha

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umakmehrd

Quote
DGA35
Yes, Connor Bedard is unreal! As a Chicago Blackhawks fan, they're tanking this year in hopes of finishing low/last and getting the best shot at the first overall pick this year. They have 4 players on this years Team Canada so the rebuild is in place. If they manage to get Bedard, I can see another Stanley Cup before the end of the decade.

He is an amazing talent for sure, I'm a bit skeptical about his size... he will be a good NHL player but I don't think he is the next one like he's being portayed. That being said he would look good in a Canuck uniform... haha

He's only 17 still so he can still grow a bit more! He's not much shorter than Patrick Kane and look how his career has gone! I remember the 1980 NHL draft when the Canadiens passed on Denis Savard and took Doug Wickenheiser, big 6 foot 2 centre, vs Savard at 5 ft.9. We know how their careers went.
Actually, for this upcoming draft, the first 3-4 players are all really good.

Yes its a very good draft year - I agree he is very young and he will be a great player for who ever wins the lottery.. The game has really changed especially in the junior levels not nearly as physical as years past.

Let's go Canada tomorrow that's gonna be a great game !

Match up in the gold medal game:

[auctionet.com]

[images.auctionet.com]

Tell you what, I used to play that exact game as a kid. It had belonged to my uncle in the 1950s.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2023-01-04 17:25 by Topi.

HaHa Love it I had one also - Vancouver Canucks version ! when there was only 16 teams in the NHL

Well, well, a rematch of the round robin game with CZE vs CAN in the gold medal game.

USA got the wind knocked out of their sails with those two disallowed goals. Give the Team Canada video coach keys to Halifax city right now!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-01-05 04:39 by Topi.

My f*^king nerves until Canada finally pulled away

Must have been insane at the arena.

Ohhhhhh Cannnnn aaaadaaaa

Never a doubt!

Congrats to Team Canada! One thing to mention is that the European rinks are larger, 200x100 vs standard 200x85 NHL rinks. I wonder if the Euro teams find it tough to adjust to the smaller rinks, opposite of when games are held in Europe? I realize a number of Euro jr. players play in North America.
Also, nice to see games held in smaller Canadian cities where I think it's a bigger deal locally than if it were held in Toronto/Montreal, etc.

Canada seems to have that quality to decide games on extra time or in the last minute. Something most European teams lack. So, congrats to Canada on their 20th gold medal in the IIHF WC.

The Swedish team underperformed as usual these days. We have fallen behind Finland in both junior and senior hockey now. I don't know if it's bad leadership or lack of cohesion in the group (most of the players are already stars on their own and signed of for big clubs). I hope hockey doesn't end up like tennis here, (we used to have big stars [Borg, Wilander, Edberg and more]), now we're a b-nation in that sport.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2023-01-06 10:48 by Stoneage.

Hey Stoneage, you're from Sweden, correct?

Will I see you at the next World Jrs. in Gothenburg?

Just bought day tickets to the quarter finals, the semi-finals and the medal round yesterday. The bronze+gold medal games sold out pretty fast, but I lucked out.

Gotta say these were affordable tickets - the most expensive day ticket cost 750 SEK. That's fair for 2-3 games.

Anyways, hope to see some of you hockey fans in Gothenburg next January!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-03-03 07:06 by Topi.