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Last season's IIHF results were a huge surprise. The final game of the round robin stage saw team Czechia face off against team Norway with the winner locking the final spot in the playoffs. Czechia were the favourites to earn the spot earlier in the tournament, but three consecutive losses to close out the round robin stage meant that Norway was able to take the final spot in group B. Norway would then go on to win the gold medal and leave Czechia thinking about how close they were to a similar run. This season the expectations are high for team Czechia after that heartbreaking finish from last season. They have a growing roster that's getting stronger every season and most definitely have the skill required to earn a spot back in the playoffs and compete for a medal. After last season's playoff miss, the expectation and hope for the team is to not repeat that surprising and unfortunate ending from last season.

150+ words, 3 TPE



The volatility of the IIHF format is a really nice change of pace compared to the best of 7 SHL format that often sees divisional rivals face each other in the same early matchups season after season and sees the top teams face each other in the finals more often than not. The quick offseason tournament of IIHF is refreshing because you truly know that any team could win. Only 12 games to qualify for the playoffs and then three wins in a row after that to claim gold. Since the initial format is so quick to begin with, seeds don't mean as much as they do in the SHL format anyways. Upsets don't feel as heartbreaking for the higher seeded team because they know that everything is on the line to begin with. Being able to have a realistic chance of an upset in any playoff series is what makes real world NHL playoffs so exciting, and I appreciate that the IIHF here is able to capture some of that magic that sometimes gets lost in the balance of FHM.

150+ words, 3 TPE