2006 Olympic Hockey Preview Part 2: Group B
Here is part 2 of a 3 part series previewing the upcoming Olympics. This part is dedicated to Group B.
Russia
Goaltending
Despite not having Nikolai Khabibulin in nets, the Russians are still pretty strong in goal. The Bulin wall was not having a good tear anyway and it is not known how effective he could have been. I think it would have been hard for him to get out of his season long slump in a 12 day tournament. Instead, Evgeni Nabokov will be the main man in goal. He has had an up and down year with the Sharks but is still a pretty good goalie. He is more than capable of delivering a top performance for the Russians. They are going to need their goalie to be dynamite as the Russians are bringing a much younger team than normal and many of their players are not considered good on the defensive side of things. But we’ve seen Nabokov steal a win or two in the past and that is maybe all the Russians need to secure gold.
Backing him up will be the Ducks Ilya Bryzgalov. He actually has a bit better numbers than the man he backs up in Anaheim. He was also played very well at the World Cup. Also on hand is Russian League veteran Maxim Sokolov who is no stranger to international competition.
Defence
This may not be the best defence core in the tournament but still a talented group nonetheless. Leading the way on offence is the Pens Sergei Gonchar. He has been one of the leading scorers among blueliners the last 5 years. But that has not helped him avoid having a terrible season this year with the Pens. He has usually hit the 20 goal mark but just has 6 this year and is a horrific -18. He’ll at least have some talent to play with on the Russian team. Leading the way physically and spiritually is Darius Kasparitius. The hard hitting Ranger is no stranger to the tough and rugged part of the game. He loves the big hit and will probably be seeking some blood in Torino.
Kaspar the unfriendly ghost does have help however in the physical department. The likes of Danny Markov, Anton Volchenkov and Alexei Zhitnik are more than willing to mix it up. Markov is a warrior. He is one of those players that looks like he is willing to die to win a hockey game. Volchenkov is a big time hitter and has been able to patiently grow his game playing for one of the NHL’s top teams. Zhitnik is a savvy veteran who loves the challenge of standing up to the opposing team’s top players. He may see a lot of them in Torino when the Russian are up against any of the other top hockey nations.
Rounding out the defence is Andrei Markov, Fedor Tyutin and Denis Kulyash. Markov is a solid offensive defenceman who is starting to be a more well rounded, reliable defender. Tyutin plays with Kasparitius in New York and continues to show glimpses of how good he can be night in and night out. Kulyash is a prospect in the Predators organization who has been playing over in Russia the last few years.
The Russians may be void of a top go-to guy on defence, but this is a very well rounded group that will individually bring different elements to the team.
Forwards
Break out the highlight reel and get your camcorders ready because the Russians are coming and they are coming to dance. To me, the Russians have the most exciting and dynamic group of forwards in the tournament. There isn’t just 1 guy who is dangerous. They have about a half dozen forwards who can dangle with the puck.
First, there’s the NHL’s leading goal scorer Ilya Kovalchuk. They can devote the entire hour of Sportscentre on all the highlight reel plays this guy makes. He has good size, great game breaking speed and a natural talent to score. And boy does he ever love to score. If he isn’t powering he way to the net, he’s blowing right by you and leaving you in the snow dust. He is arguably the NHL’s most exciting player.
I say arguably because another dynamic young sniper is also suiting up for Russia, His name is Alexander Ovechkin. This rookie sensation is as advertised and then some. He is right there with Kovalchuk for the scoring lead and is as dynamic and exciting as Ilya. He may not reach the record 76 goals as a rookie that Selanne holds, but 50 is not out of the question. Only a handful of rookies have accomplished that feat. He IS the Caps offence and has been pretty much carrying the team on his back all year. Pretty good for a rookie who is only 20.
You want more? How about Alexei Kovalev? Or Pavel Datsyuk? Or Alexander Frolov? Or youngster Evgeny Malkin? All bring an obscene amount of skills to the team. Kovalev is arguably the World’s best stickhandler. This guy can dangle and catch a defenceman flat footed in a phonebooth. The best thing is that he looks like he isn’t even trying. It comes so natural to him to make it look like the puck in on a string. Giving him international sized ice and more room to operate just isn’t fair. Datsyuk is also highly skilled. He has a rocket of a shot he rarely uses as he is too busy finding teammates who are seemingly impossible to find. He too will be awesome on the big ice. Frolov is big and he uses his size well. I have watched him play with the Kings a few times and he always leaves me wondering: how’d he do that??? He may not be as slick as the others but who am I to question him. Malkin hasn’t even reached the NHL yet and he is one of the most talked about young players in the game. He has all the tools to be one of the best. Great size, speed, tons of skill and if he wants to he can play nasty. Many were saying he was maybe better than Ovechkin and perhaps in a few years that prediction may be true and in a word that’s scary.
The rest of the forward group is pretty talented in their own right. The enigmatic and overpaid Alexei Yashin is a very talented player but because of his fat paycheck and so so numbers, he is often considered overrated. That may be true but he still is a highly skilled player. Viktor Kozlov has teased the NHL and several teams with his high end skill but he has never really been able to put it all together full time. He has great size and skill but it’s the head of his that needs work. Relatively the same things can be said about Maxim Afinogenov. He was touted to be a Pavel Bure like player because he had breakaway speed. But production wise, he has and probably never will reach the 50-60 goal plateau that Bure did regularly. Alex Korolyuk is a small speedy forward who played well for the Sharks before heading back to Russia for more money. Joining him are a couple of other players playing overseas: Alexander Kharitonov who is a Sens prospect and Maxim Suchinsky who is a good scorer in the Russian league who didn’t pan out for the Wild.
This will be one tough offence to stop. The ice is bigger which gives them more room to work with. But based on their play at the NHL level, they really don’t need it. The likes of Kovalev, Kovalchuk and Ovechkin could turn an iceberg inside out. I am not sure if that will be enough to win gold, but they are going to excite us trying. It will be up to how well their goaltending holds up and how well this group of talent can play as a team. The Russians have been the most successful country at the Olympics. If past history is any indication, then the team has a great shot at winning. But if recent history holds true, there may simply be too many individuals on this team that may do more harm than good. But I am going to be more than happy to watch how their games unfold.
Sweden
Goaltending
The King is here. No not Elvis, but King Hendrik as in Hendrik Lundqvist. The talented rookie goalie is the best goalie Sweden has produced since the late Pelle Lindbergh. He has been a big reason why the Rangers went from last place to first place. He has put up big numbers, made big saves and stolen a few games. That is what he’ll need to do for the Swedes to recapture gold. It’s pretty impressive for a rookie to be among the league leaders in wins, save percentage and GAA. And he’s won over the New York faithful which in itself is amazing.
Backing him up will be Leaf’s backup Mikael Tellqvist. He has had a good year to date, his first full season as an NHLer. He has tons of international experience representing Sweden several times at the Worlds. Also on hand is Wings prospect Stephan Liv.
With the kind of quality goaltending the Swedes have, I don’t think they’ll get upset this time around.
Defence
Any team that has a guy like Niklas Lidstrom on defence is going to be pretty good. Arguably the best blueliner in the last decade Lidstrom is having another big year for the Red Wings. He is a terrific offensive defencemen who makes a great first pass out of the zone and is great at quarterbacking the PP. But he is also one of the best defensive defencemen in the league using not toughness and physical play but excellent position and smart stickwork.
Joining him are veterans Mattias Ohlund, Mattias Norstrom and Kenny Jonsson. Ohlund is a solid two way blueliner who, with the Canucks, often plays against the opposing teams top players. Norstrom, the Kings captain, plays a rugged, tough defensive game and will bring size and leadership to the team. While Jonsson is an experienced ex-NHLer who brings solid two-way play to Sweden.
Rounding out the defence is Mattias Tjarnqvist of the Wild, Niklas Havelid of the Thrashers and Christian Backman of the Blues. Tjarnqvist is the injury replacement for top prospect Niklas Kronwall. Havelid was just added when Kim Johnsson bowed out due to injury. Backman is the kid of the group. He too has had some injury trouble this year but is healthy enough for Torino. All 3 are sound puck moving blueliners that should fit in well with the Swedes puck control game.
Forwards
The Swedes suffered a big loss when top sniper Markus Naslund chose to rest up rather than suit up for the Swedes. He has been nursing a groin injury for a few months. It is not like the Swedes don’t have enough talent to score, but Naslund is a special player.
A much larger concern is one of the team’s other top players as Peter Forsberg is currently questionable for action in Torino. Naslund’s loss already is big, Forsberg’s loss would be huge. He is one of the world’s best players. His impact on whatever team he is playing for is second to none. Whether it be his playmaking skills, his puck skills, his vision, his smarts, his ability to hold the puck there is simply nothing he can’t do. Many countries have suffered losses, but none will be as big as Forsberg. We have already seen what that has done to Philly when he has been missed.
So who does that leave for Sweden up front? Well there’s Mats Sundin. Yes he has not been scoring a lot of goals this year, has been hurt and perhaps is starting to slow down. But in big games, he can deliver. He is still a point per game player who with good size and speed can be a handful. There’s also Daniel Alfredsson. You know him, captain of the Sens, an energizer bunny on the ice, and a big scoring threat. He is one of the NHL’s leading scorers and is who makes the Sens go. Also on the team is Hendrik Zetterberg. Without Naslund and maybe Forsberg, Zetterberg may be the team’s most dynamic player. He has game breaking speed, and lots of flash, but he does tons of other things that make him one of the best all-round players in the NHL. He wins faceoffs, plays strong defence, is versatile, and can do the little things as well as he can be dynamic. These 3 give the Swedes a good core of dangerous offensive players, despite losses.
Joining them offensively will be the Sedin twins, Fredrik Modin and Tomas Holmstrom. The Sedins have had a very good season this year for the Canucks. They are playing with a bit more consistency and been much more productive averaging about a point a game. They should shatter their career highs in points. Modin is a sniper who has a big heavy shot. He also uses his large frame to get position in front. He was integral in the Bolt’s cup win. Holmstrom is a power play specialist who creates tons of havoc for opposing goalies. Not sure how effective he’ll be with that international rule that has the refs blow the whistle right away if an opponent is in the crease. But he is a hard worker and a winner.
Providing some defensive prowess will be the likes of PJ Axelsson, Mikael Samuelsson and Samuel Pahlsson. All three are decent penalty killers. They can also chip in a few goals here and there and they may need it if their 2 top forwards are out. Samuelsson has 20 goals so far with the Wings.
Rounding out the forward group will be a couple of players in Europe right now in Jorgen Jonsson and Mika Hannula.
The Swedes have a good enough team to medal. They have strong goaltending, a deep defence and plenty of guys who can score. But they have been hit hard with injuries which may be too much to overcome. Forsberg and Naslund are two elite players. They are impossible to replace. The Swedes are deep and have plenty of talent still left. But losing those two may be the difference between gold or nothing.
USA
Goaltending
Goaltending is a bit of a question mark for the Americans. They have talent, but can they deliver in this short tournament remains to be seen. Dipietro has been touted as the number 1 guy for the US. But he has the worst stats among the US goalies. His GAA is over 3.40, his save percentage is under .900 and he has not helped his struggling Islanders. Esche based on experience may get the nod as the starter. But he has had an up and down year and has struggled with injury. He is back now but has continued his up and down play. If he is to be the starter for the US, he cannot play inconsistently in a single elimination game tournament. Grahame has the best stats among the US goalies but is expected to be the 3rd guy. The team could do what they did in Salt Lake and that was to play all 3 of their goalies and then go with the hot hand in the playoff. The team really has to hope one of their goalies can pull a Mike Richter and steal a few wins if they hope to medal this time around. One question though, where is Ryan Miller????
Defence
The team is once again relying on an aging group to get the job done. However I was very surprised that veteran Brian Leetch failed to make the squad. Instead the team will be led by 43 year old Chelios. I am not sure how much of a contribution Chelly can make. He is not as big an offensive threat as in the past and he no longer logs 30 minutes a game. How effective can he be in a short tournament with several games in a short period of time remains to be seen. Schneider will probably quarterback the PP. He is tied for the lead in points among US blueliners and is still a threat with his big shot. Schnieder is tied for defence scoring with Liles, both with 38 points. Liles is one of the two young blueliners on the team. He is small but is a fine puck carrier and dangerous on the rush. He should be able to take advantage of the big ice. The other relatively young blueliner on the team is Leopold. Leopold has been reliable in his own end for the Flames, but has not produced offensively as expected. With only 9 assists to his credit so far, more was expected from such a skilled defenceman. He can skate and move the puck and that should help him on the big ice. Another smallish blueliner who should thrive on big ice is Rafalski. His experience playing in Europe should help him easily adapt to the new surroundings. He has not played as well as in past years, but he was forced into being the Devils top Dman with the losses of key veterans which isnt his thing. In an effort to counter-balance larger more physical opponents such as Canada, the team has brought veteran stay at home types in Hatcher and Miller into the fold. Hatcher has done a fine job in Philly and has been elevated to temporary Captain of the Flyers. He is a top shutdown blueliner but his lack of mobility may be a concern on the big ice. Aaron Miller is a steady stay at home defencemen who will probably quietly go about his business in his usual effective manner.
Forwards
This group has an excellent blend of size, speed, skill and toughness. They can roll out 4 trios that will cause opponents havoc. It will be interesting to see who plays with whom in Torino. Modano and Guerin are teammates in Dallas, but havent played together much this year. Modano is having a much better season this year averaging a point a game. But Guerin has struggled badly with only 8 goals. Weight and Tkachuk were teammates a few days ago in St Louis but Tkachuk has been hurt most of the year and those two didnt play together very much in their time in St Louis. It will be interesting to see if Tkachuk has recovered fully from his injury. If not they will need to find a replacement but that will be tough to find someone with his power forward type ability. Weight on the other hand is having a decent offensive season and has now been united with his US coach Peter Laviolette in Carolina. It will be interesting to see how big a role Weight will play as the team is stocked with playmaking centres. Weight is one of two Canes players on the US roster. Eric Cole is also on the team and he has been a very dangerous player on the NHL’s top team. His speed and grit will be a big asset. Gomez and Gionta are linemates in Jersey and will likely be kept together. With the number of centres on the roster it would not surprise me if Gomez shifts to the wing. He will certainly be a key part of the PP wherever he plays. Gionta too will be key on the PP. 16 of his 29 goals were powerplay markers.
With such offensive depth, it is expected the likes of Parrish, Drury, Blake, Rolston, Conroy and Knuble will fill more defensive roles with the club. But at the same time provide some offense as well. All 6 players are hovering around the 20 goal mark. Parrish and Blake have played under Laviolette in the past and know what the coach expects. Drury is a leader and a winner and has been a key part in helping the Sabres become a top team. Conroy is an excellent defensive centre who is also dangerous on offence. Knuble brings excellent size and grit to the team while Rolston is
a very good two-way threat who can play the point on the PP.
The Americans have a great shot at winning gold. They have built a very fast skating aggressive team that should definitely be competitive. The only question marks are their old defence and their suspect goaltending. In such a short tourney if that part of your game is not solid, expect the worst. talent alone will not get you buy because many teams have tons of talent. If they dont get the goaltending they need, this will be one sport the Americans wont medal in.
Slovakia
Goaltending
Goal is going to be the achilles heel that will probably bring down the Slovaks. Despite an abundance of talent in other positions, goal is pretty thin. The best of the bunch is Avs backup Petr Budaj. He has shown glimpses of being a decent NHLer but can he carry the hopes of his country? not likely. He is still young and fairly raw against top end competition. If he can get hot, it wouldnt surprise me if the Slovaks came home with a medal. but that is a huge if. Backing him up will be former Preds prospect Jan Lasak who simply has not been very consistent for Slovakia. Either he is leading the country to success at the Worlds or getting pounded at the World Cup or Olympics. Whomever is tending goal, they will need to come up big, huge even, to bring home a medal and/or at least topple their former Czech brothers.
Defence
The Slovaks have 3 top notch defencemen. The main man is Zdeno Chara of the Sens. The big 6’9 blueliner is a force all over the ice. His main job here will be to shut down all those big time forwards that the top nations will be throwing over the boards. It will be tough though without a very good goalie. The Slovaks are really going to need him to clear the crease, make sure the goalies see the shot and prevent any rebound chances. It will be a tall order for the tall blueliner. Joining him will be his teammate Andrej Meszaros. The Sens rookie has been sensational. He has been among the league leaders in plus/minus and in any other year would be among the top rookies in the NHL. He is going to be a stud blueliner for years to come. Providing the bulk of the offence from the defence will be Kings defenceman Lubomir Vishnovsky. Vishnovsky leads NHL defencemen in scoring and has been great at starting the rush and running the PP. He will need to do the same in Torino and the big ice should make him even more effective.
After the big 3, the talent level takes a bit of a dropoff. Ivan Majesky, Radoslav Suchy and Martin Strbak have been around a while representing Slovakia numerous times in their career. All 3 at some point in their careers have been decent depth blueliners for their respective NHL clubs. Majesky is playing with the Caps and brings size to the D at 6’5 225lbs. Suchy is a puck moving blueliner who has struggled at bit with injuries and inconsistency in his first year with the Jackets. Strbak is formerly of the Pens and Kings who is now back in Europe after not reaching at deal to stay in Pittsburgh. Rounding out the D is B’s prospect Milan Jurcina.
The Slovaks have a pretty formidable big 3 on D. They will need to come up big to protect their average goaltending. But Chara is a monster and a Norris trophy candidate capable of coming up big and Vishnovsky is an offensive dynamo who should be able to get the puck to all the team’s dynamic forwards. It’s the deepest blueline the country has ever put together in a tournament and it may go a long way to helping the country earn it’s first Olympic hockey medal.
Forwards
The Slovaks suffered two significant losses when Zigmund Palffy retired suddenly and Ladislav Nagy suffered a season ending shoulder injury. It was a big blow to the team as these two were arguably the country’s two top forwards. But the Slovaks are loaded with skill up front and they will need all hands on deck to not only overcome their losses but to prevent losses in the standings
Leading the way will be team captain Pavol Demitra. He has been a scoring machine when he started his career with the Blues to now with the Kings. Him along with Craig Conroy and Alex Frolov have been one of the most dangerous trios in the league when they have been healthy. Demitra has been playing wing mostly but will likely find himself at centre as he has tremendous playmaking skills.
A host of wingers will get a chance to lineup beside Demitra. Marian Hossa is the best of the bunch. The former Sen continues to light the lamp as a member of the Thrashers. He has great size, speed and skill that is unmatched by many. He is on pace for a career year. Marian Gaborik is perhaps the flashiest player on the team as night in and night out he seems to make dynamic plays despite playing for the rather stifling Jacques Lemaire and the Wild. He is a game breaker who will certainly use the extra ice to his advantage. Marek Svatos has been a major surprise among the rookie class this year. While the talk has been Ovechkin or Crosby, Svatos is on pace for a 40 plus goal season. He has taken over the spot on the top line with the Avs beside Joe Sakic and has been a key cog in overcoming the team’s loss of the great Peter Forsberg. He may be a bit small, but this youngster can score. Miroslav Satan is one of the more prominent hot and cold players in the NHL. He started the year cold in his first season as an Isle but has been very hot of late with 7 goals in 9 games. He’ll need to carry that play in the Olympics.
The Slovaks will have plenty of depth still in their lineup despite some losses. Josef Stumpel, Michal Handzus, Richard Zednik, and Peter Bondra are all talented hockey players. Stumpel has not been very good this year with the Panthers but gives them a good sized, experienced playmaking centre who should anchor a 2nd unit. Handzus is a monster at 6’5 and adds a needed physical dimension to a relatively soft Slovak team. His faceoff prowess is also a huge strength. Zednik has the ability to be a dynamic scorer with his top flight speed. And he can play a gritty game as well, willingly going into the trenches. But consistency is a knock on him and often goes hot and cold. If he gets hot for 2 weeks in Torino, it may be the difference but he’s been cold all year with the Habs. Bondra is the elder statesman of the team at age 37. He may no longer be the fastest skater in the NHL, but even losing a step, he is still faster than most. He has been hurt for half the year this year, but I don’t think even that would have kept him from likely his final Olympic appearance.
Rounding out the forward group are youngsters Marcel Hossa and Tomas Surovy and veterans Lubos Bartecko and Richard Kapus. They will provide sufficient depth to the team but the team’s hopes rest on their big name guys.
The Slovaks finally will have their full lineup for the first time in Olympic competition. After being saddled with the preliminary round games, they were forced to play shorthanded and without much of their firepower. But this year is a different story as most of the big names are on hand. That doesn’t bode well for any of the other nations as they simply did not need yet another tough team to go through. Goaltending will decide where the Slovaks finish. They have a fine defence and tons of firepower up front. But if their goalies fade, it’s going to be yet another disappointing finish for the Slovaks.
Kazhakstan
Goaltending
Like many of the other low end teams in the tourney, good goaltending will be the only way for these teams to be competitive. This team is no different. Battling for time in nets will be Avs prospect Vitali Kolesnik and former Ranger prospect Vitali Yeremeyev. Kolesnik has played a handful of games in the NHL this year and faired pretty well. Though a bit raw in the North American game, he did use his size in nets to take up alot of space. He is very athletic as well. Yeremeyev briefly played with NY in 2001. He was one of numerous fill-ins for the oft-injured Mike Richter. He has been a regular in the Russian Elite League the last several seasons.
Defence
Being a former Soviet State, the Kazhaks are at least schooled in Russian type hockey. Their blueline is filled with decent puck moving dmen who are good skaters and pretty smart players. But they neither have the size, top end speed or high skill level like their Russian counterparts. That is what separates the talented Russians from their ex-Soviet brothers. The best of the bunch is Alexei Troshchinskiy. He helped Moscow Dynamo win the Russian league championship last year leading the league in plus/minus. He and Vitaly Tregubov
are the only blueliners from the 1998 team.
Forwards
The team’s best forward is the Leaf’s Nik Antropov. The big 6’5 forward has size and skill, but is also undisciplined, lazy and injury prone. He will be counted on to pretty much carry the offensive workload for the team. In Toronto he gets to play with the likes of Sundin, Allison and Tucker, but here he has little to work with. But if he takes the experience of logging tons of ice, playing in all key situations, and being the go-to guy, hopefully that will help his career as a Leaf.
Joining Nik will be Alex and Evgeny Koreshkov who are long time veterans of the European leagues and the National team. this will probably be their last time at the Olympics. Konstantin Shafranov and Andrey Troshchinskiy were former Blues draft picks. Shafranov played 5 games with St Louis in the late 90s. Dmitri Upper is an Islander draft pick who is playing in the Russian League.
This team has zero hope of not only winning a medal but winning any games in Torino. They did surprise us in 1998 when they played a close game with Canada. But there simply is no depth on the team and little talent. They should be proud that they were a part of this and at least take solice they were not relagated to the B pool.
Latvia
Goaltending
The Latvians will rely on veteran Arturs Irbe to maybe steal a victory or two in the tourney. The 38 year old vet played on 4 teams over 12 years in the NHL and reached the finals once. He was one of the more recognizable goalies around with his ancient pads and odd shaped helmet. At his age, we wonder if he can bring his A game again but it’s doubtful. This will be Irbe’s swan song most likely. backing him up is veteran European goalie Sergejs Naumovs who has been a part of Latvian National teams on 13 different occasions. He will certainly see some minutes as it’s unlikely that Irbe can play so much in so little time at his age.
Defence
The blueline suffered a major blow when Sandis Ozolinsh went down to injury and to substance abuse rehab. They could not afford to lose anyone of significance nevermind their top player. The team will need to rely on Karlis Skrastins of the Avs to shoulder most of the load. He isnt not that offensive minded but takes care of his own end very well. He is going to see some major minutes. Current Avs prospect Agris Saviels will also be around. He put up decent numbers in junior and has some decent offensive skill but hasnt shown much production at higher levels. Former Shark draft pick Viktor Ignatejev will bring some good offence to the defence. He has been a big point producer over in Europe. He did play 11 games for the Pens in his brief NHL career. The defence is not as bad as some of the other countries playing in the tourney but losing Ozolinsh may be too large a blow to overcome.
Forwards
Not only the forward group, and the national team but the hockey world lost a good player when Sergei Zholtok tragically lost his life with a heart ailment. He was arguably the best ever Latvian forward to play the game. He will and is dearly missed. But perhaps the team can use this as inspiration. He was the only NHL calibre forward they had. Instead the offence will be shouldered by a committee of Russian and European league veterans such as Grigorijs Pantelejevs who played briefly for the Bruins and Herberts Vasiljevs who played 3 brief years on 3 teams in the NHL. Also in the mix is Armands Berzins who is a large Minnesota Wild prospect who brings some needed size to the team. And Janis Sprukts another big forward who was drafted by the Panthers. Being a former Soviet State, the players have had good tutelege and do have some decent skills. But the team simply lacks any overall talent and depth to make a dent in the standings.
All the Latvians need to do is think about Belarus in the last Olympics to see that anything can happen. Though it is likely they will get pounded, they do have experience in goal to keep them in games and some good hard working players to keep opponents honest. They may not pull any upsets like Belarus, but winning a game or two isnt out of the question.
Well that finishes Part 2 of the preview. Stay tuned for Part 3: Team Canada.