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*kenvald* · 01-23-2020, 03:10 PM

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Prompt 1: From the perspective of a journalist, talk about the predictions for the IIHF. Who will rise to the occasion, what line match ups or pairings might be a problem on the ice and off it. How will the results form the IIFH world championships alter peoples thoughts on the WJC?

It is that time of the year again. Most of us have gotten off the high(or low) from the IIHF tournament and are eagerly awaiting a repeat or revenge by the younger squads battling it out for their country’s pride in the WJC. A seasonal tradition that rookies all around the league are looking forward to, to show what they can do before they hit the ice with their club teams for the first time. We saw the exhibition games today and even though the tournament has not started for real yet, the players are out there to win.

With five different teams taking home the gold in the last seven tournaments, it is clear that one of the reasons we all love the WJC is the unpredictability of who will go all the way. For example, who would have bet on team DACH to win the gold in S49 WJC after finishing 3rd in their group? Or that in the S46 WJC, team Czechia would absolutely demolish team World with 8-1 in the gold medal game after team World had destroyed team Canada 7-1 in their semi-final game?

With this in mind it only seems right for us to become a little bold and throw in some predictions for the S51 WJC that starts tomorrow!

[Image: GettyImages_1075230108.0.jpg]

Russia/UCORCAL Will Not Make It to the Medal Rounds
After being merged in with the creation of UCORCAL, it looks like the title defenders from Russia do not have the same all-around prowess on the team needed to go all the way this time around. They are in a really tough group and it would not surprise me if UCORCAL sees their tournament end before or at the quarter finals of the WJC playoffs.

I do however want to give them the fact that they had the best goal difference among all teams in the exhibition round but that is not always enough. And with the extremely competitive group, a single overtime loss could turn into team UCORCAL not getting that bye week for the first playoff round that every team desperately wants to obtain.

[Image: filip-forsberg-granlund.jpeg?fit=1024%2C723&ssl=1]

[Image: filip-forsberg-granlund.jpeg?fit=1024%2C723&ssl=1]

A Nordic Team Makes It to the Gold Medal Game
Being in what some consider to be the easier group of this WJC tournament, it looks quite likely that we will see both Sweden and Finland get a bye week for the first round of the playoffs. Both teams have had flashes of brilliance throughout the years but haven’t seen the gold since the S43 WJC when we had a few nations merged into a single team Scandinavia that beat the USA in the gold medal game. But this year will be different, both teams have shown that they can compete against the best, and I believe this is the year of the Nords!

Led by players such as Karl Krashwagen and Jake Primeau for team Sweden and Miro Slapskinnenen and goalie Olli Saarinen Jr. for team Finland they can definitely do some damage in the playoffs.

[Image: hko_europe_north_america_world_cup_20160908.png]

[Image: hko_europe_north_america_world_cup_20160908.png]

A Prospects Team Beats a “Big Boy”-Team
With the influx of new prospects this season we see the creation/return of two prospect teams in Prospects NA and Prospects World. Even though these players have not found their place on a more specific country/area team they are sure coming together and putting up a fight as seen in today’s exhibition games. They did not take home many Ws but they also did not make it easy for the other teams. I can definitely see an upset happening where a prospect team takes us all by surprise.

To back up this prediction with something more than just hope, let us look at the exhibition games. Team Prospects NA beat both team World and shutout team DACH. While Team Prospects World beat team UCORCAL, Prospects NA and only just lost to team World in overtime. To top it off, team Prospects World also tied the 2nd best goal differential among all teams in Group B.

[Image: canada-game1recap.png]

Team Canada Does Not Medal
This might just be my boldest prediction out here. Team Canada is predicted by many to take home the gold this tournament without too much resistance. They have a really deep roster and just barely missed out on the gold in S50’s WJC. So why would I even think that Canada would not even medal? Well, there is one thing that I have noticed Canada having trouble with, and that is scoring. They have an amazing defensive and goalie squad, which has kept their goals against per game during the exhibition rounds below 1.5. But on the offense they ended up having “only” the 6th best goals for, having the least goals scored in their group.

We will see if their defense can hold up throughout the entire tournament but with each playoff round being a single elimination game, they really cannot give up any kind of mistakes as it could quickly spell their doom. It is not gonna be easy for any team to bring Canada down, but all it takes is one goal.

It Starts Tomorrow!
I for one cannot wait for the round robin games to start tomorrow to see what each team brings to the ice when the competition is on for real. I’m really excited to see what all the new prospects can do. The huge recruitment for S52 has revived some teams and I know they are all hungry. And it is not just me. Fans and coaches all around the globe get to see their team and draft prospects playing on international ice. I myself will be sitting at home glued to my TV screen and boasting my Sweden

Tre Kronor jersey and hat while trying, and likely failing, to not wake up the neighbors during the later games.

My predictions above are bold, and maybe a little over the top here and there, so I do not expect us to see them all come true but I would not be surprised at all to see at least one of them actually become a real thing.