06-08-2020, 04:45 PM(This post was last modified: 06-08-2020, 04:59 PM by Rancidbudgie.)
Word Count: 3550
Hello everyone!
Continuing on the theme of the SHL’s 10th anniversary and looking back, I’ve compiled some observations on each current IIHF nation, and their record of accolades at the seasonal IIHF tournament! Looking back through the records, it was interesting to me to see the rise and fall of certain nations, when they peaked, and whether a great team result that year led to individual player awards for members of that team.
The overall records for most nations haven’t been updated into the S50’s, so I’ve left them out of the discussion, and focused the analysis solely on medals and individual awards for each position (best forward, defenseman, goalie). Without overall records, I decided not to make a rubric to grade the nations off of, and presented my findings on each IIHF nation in alphabetical order.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 2 awards split between two players (Alex Light in S43 and Mike Izzy in S46) Best Defenseman: 3 awards split between 2 players(Lord Vader in S31, S40, and Tigole Bitties in S51 Best Goalie: 1 award (Lukas Berger in S29)
Austria has had limited success in their time at the IIHF tournaments, and celebrated a brief run of consistently medaling in the S40s, with three bronze medals in a five season span. They are the only non-recent expansion nation to have not won a silver medal as of S53, and only having five medals overall with most of the being bronze is not something to write home about yet. Austria has one of the smallest pools of players out of all IIHF nations, so unless a quantity of new talent enter the league in the next few seasons, or if they utilize their extra transfer space, Austria will likely continue to linger near the bottom of most IIHF tournaments.
Austria has had some remarkable players suit up for them over the years, and many Austrians have had excellent SHL careers. Unfortunately the lack of depth really hurts here, as the team rarely performs well enough as a whole to bump up any individual stats to an award-worthy caliber. The mid-S40s were where a strong Austrian generation defied regular expectations, and as such they have most of their individual awards around that time, when the individual efforts of their top-flight players were able to shine.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 7 awards split among 7 different players (John Falkirk is S5, Jordan Hall in S22, Stephen Jalopski in S27, Theo Kane in S30, Luke Atmey in S37, Sophia Bennett in S48, and Jeff Brogen in S53) Best Defenseman: 2 awards split between 2 players (Scott Stevens in S5, Shawn Velevra in S22) Best Goalie: 3 awards split between 2 players (Jonathan Kane in S6 and Colin Schmidt in S21, S24)
Unsurprisingly Canada is one of the top nations in the IIHF, as they carry the second-most gold medals, and the second-most medals overall. Perennial contenders, there have been very few "weak” teams for the Canucks, only years where they disappointed in their expectations. A staple in the early years and the S10s, Canada peaked in the S20s, taking 6 medals and being a constant threat in the tournament. They have cooled off in the 30 seasons since, but cooling off for Canada means always finding themselves competitive with periods of good results and glory. While managing to medal in every decade so far, Canada was left off of the S40s almost entirely with only a silver in S42, and so far the bronze stands alone for the S50s. Compared to what it once was, and how many players Canada can draw from, they definitely have been underperforming in the last 15-ish seasons.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 1 award (Zallerras Szlercheck in S28) Best Defenseman: 2 awards split between 2 players (Ondrej Ravchitikov in S23, Brady McIntyre in S45) Best Goalie: 1 award (Cristoffer Bjornsson in S34)
The Czech republic has had a hard go of it over the seasons they’ve been in the league, having few high spots outside of the occasional run to the finals, securing 3 silver medals for the nation overall. They are the only non-recent expansion nation (Japan and Switzerland) to not win a gold. The fact that they snagged their 4th medal just this last tournament in S53 is a sign for some hope that the federation is turning around, and look for the Czechs to capitalize on the good generation of players they have while it lasts.
Overall, Czechoslovakia has has a small pool of players to draw from, and fewer superstars. A total of only 4 awards reflect this, and with only 1 award from the past 10 seasons, and none since S45, it looks like that won’t change much for now. If Czechoslovakia wants to succeed on the international stage, they’ll likely need to compliment some great players with a generation of solid depth to carry them through.
Finland
Gold Medals: 2 (S30, S37) Silver Medals: 8 (S6, S11, S12, S14, S15, S24, S39, S41) Bronze Medals: 5 (S18, S21, S28, S35, S44) Award Winners: Best Forward: 3 awards split among 3 players (Esa Anrikkanen in S34, Mikko Linna in S39, and Noro Wozy in S40) Best Defenseman: 3 awards split among 3 players (Toivo Kosonen in S42, Tatu Makela in S46, and Poopity Scoop in S53) Best Goalie: 3 awards split between 2 players (Jakob Aittokallio in S22, S30, and Jason Aittokallio in S38)
Always the bridesmaid… While Finland have walked away with an IIHF gold twice now, the Scandinavian country seems destined for second place more often than not, earning 8 silver medals over the nation’s history, making them the most second-placiest team in IIHF history so far. The early years of the S10s saw them as the best non-North American squad almost hands-down, but their overall medaling and record have gone down overall, with some small peaks every now and then. Finland used to be a consistently good IIHF team with a good pool of good players, but they usually fall short of other nations, largely due to the apparent lack of superstars. Their recent years have been absolutely dismal so far, and the Finns hope to pick themselves back up into contention for the S50s.
Finland, for as long as they’ve been around, should probably have more individual awards than appear here. However, they suffer from having a consistently good-but-not-great team that performs amiably, but doesn’t let players jump off the stat sheet at you often. Finland boats some of the best individual players the SHL has ever seen in Esa Anrikkanen and the Aittokallio father-son duo (all who have won awards here), but unless you are insanely exceptional for your generation, Finland’s great players have largely been glossed over for awards.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 1 award (Tony Pepperoni in S52) Best Defenseman: 3 awards split among 3 players (Friederich Muller in S32, Ludwig Koch Schroder in S35, and Cassius Darrow in S52) Best Goalie: 5 awards split among 3 players (Josef Heiss in S9, Jackson Weekes in S25, S26, and Timo Haas in S36, S37)
When Germany reaches the medal round, you know they are going to do some damage. Only one bronze medal is outweighed by an incredible 5 gold and a whopping 7 silver, the 2nd-most 2nd-place finishes by any nation. The Germans are usually consistently good, except for in most of the 20s (the Wiemar Republic would agree), and a dry spell in the middle of the S40s (Hmm… maybe Germany will split into two teams until the S90s next?).
Germany has become known for its prime defenseman and excellent goalies, with two different instances of a German Goalie winning the award for top IIHF keeper in back-to-back years. Their forwards have not been as well known, as Tony Pepperoni became the first to earn the honours only two seasonsago, breaking the longtime drought for German wingers and centers.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 1 award (Pedro Sarantez, S23) Best Defenseman: 3 awards split among 3 players (Roman Augustus in S41, Jack Tanner in S47, and Jon Toner in S48) Best Goalie: 5 awards split among 3 players (Jakob Tanner in S23, Olli O’Koivu in S39, S41, and Beaujeaux Biscuit in S45, S50)
An interesting quirk in IIHF history, team Ireland was a bit of a meme team in the early years of their history. However, a defining Golden Age of players developed together around the S40s, inspiring a new wave of young Irish players. After only one medal back in S23, Ireland erupted for five consecutive golds between S42 and S46, a clear record that holds to this day. The most dominant team in IIHF history would eventually dwindle, and the nation’s last medal came at the end of their heroic stretch, a bronze in S48. They seem to still be competitive, but entering a colder period in the S50s so far.
Individual awards, unsurprisingly, come mostly from their Golden Generation of players. Having such a dominant team overall counted against the individuals when being voted on, I suspect, and so Irish players didn’t snag as many awards as might be expected from a five-peat team. Ireland is also IIHF famous for its goalkeepers, sporting 5 awards and three different winners for it, having at least one winner for best goaltender in every decade Ireland has competed in since the S20s. they haven't had a best forward of the tournament since S23, so its largely on the top-tier defence and goaltending that drives the moderate depth of the Irish stars at forward to victory.
Japan:
Gold Medals: 0 Silver Medals: 0 Bronze Medals: 0
Award Winners: Best Forward: 1 award (Daniel Smeb in S50) Best Defenseman: 0 awards Best Goalie: 0 awards
Unsurprisingly and like Switzerland, Japan simply hasn’t been around long enough to start getting awards. While Switzerland has the upper hand in team medals, Japan can boast over them an individual award, going to Parker Smeb who did the most he could for an upstart Japan in S50. They are still an overall small IIHF nation, but with a few key transfers and a constant stream of some new Japanese talent, the island nation is starting to rise overall in each year's rankings.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 2 awards split between 2 players (Shane Gagner in S35 and Viktor Marius in S44) Best Defenseman: 3 awards split between 2 players (Isaac Cormier-Hale in S38, S44, and Kristaps Ball in S50) Best Goalie: 2 awards by 1 player (Artom Zhumbayev in S44, S46)
A nation that has been around for quite some time in the IIHF, Latvia has a great run in their early years, racking up 3 gold medals in 8 seasons between S18-S25. They quickly became known as a team that, if it made the medal round, would win it all, going 3-for-3 in gold medal games. After that, however, the initial luster of Latvia wore off, and they became a team that consistently never left the group stage, falling far behind some of the other teams. It was a dry spell of 29 seasons that saw Latvia on the outside looking in, before the Baltic nation finally won close-together medals with their silver and bronze in S44 and S46, respectively. Otherwise, Latvia is a perennial scrappy underdog that can take on a big team once in a while, but ultimately falls behind overall due to it’s talent pool size.
The size of the pool may be small, but Latvia boasts some good depth in this regard, with a few exceptional players throughout the years. None of the award winners to date have been from the Golden Age Latvian teams, only the very good ones (like S44, where they shocked for 2nd place as well as cleaning house with the awards. To this day, Latvia is the only nation to sweep all 3 positional awards in an IIHF season), and have demonstrated although their team is outgunned, they can be a dominant force.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 4 awards split among 3 players (Chester Cunningham in S24, S29, Riko Muerto in S25, and Kyle Kylrad in S38) Best Defenseman: 5 awards split among 5 players (Jackson Rogers-Tanaka in S25, Big Manious in S27, Wyatt Wollker in S34, Mia Landvik in S36, and Isak Odegard in S43) Best Goalie: 2 awards for 1 player (Tommy Tuck, S40, S47)
Norway has been one of the consistently smaller nations in IIHF history, but can boast that the ones that stick with the SHL are top-tier players. Overall, they have a respectable medal count given their shaky circumstances, but their clear Golden Age was throughout the S30s, which make up 80% of their medals total. Before then, and since after, Norway has fallen behind many of the other nations in terms of overall record.
The slightly lackluster medal count is balanced by the fact that Norway has had some excellent players to celebrate over the seasons. 5 different defenseman over a range of 20 seasons have walked away with the award, putting Norway first in both defenseman awards won, and the number of players who have one at least 1 of these awards.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 2 awards split between 2 players (Andrey Barbashev, S26, and Pietra Volkova, S42) Best Defenseman: 1 award (Roy Razin, S30) Best Goalie: 3 awards split between 2 players (Mark Harter in S27, S33, and Evgueni Marmeladov in S42)
Honestly, given how long the Russians have been competing in IIHF tournaments, I’m surprised to see the total count as low as it is. 8 overall medals is nothing to scoff at, but feels underwhelming. Russia, like Canada and the U.S. , is an IIHF squad that can boast good depth as a strength, but Russia simply lack as much top-end talent as other federations.
When their superstars come along,they are great, but the individual awards reflect both a lack of razzle-dazzle, as well as perhaps a reluctance to award a team that lives or dies as a team, and not on the backs of a few individuals. The lack of individual awards puts Russia near the bottom of overall hauls, and Russia can only hope that the Bronze in S51 is a sign of better things to come.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 3 awards split among 3 players (Jonathen Lundberg in S36, Ola Wagstrom in S49, and Hippo Passamus in S51) Best Defenseman: 3 awards split between 2 defenseman (Vladimir Bodnar in S21, S24, and Alonzo Garbanzo in S39) Best Goalie: 8 awards split among 4 players (Eric Lundqvist in S28, Robert Andersson in S31, S32, S35, Sebastien Primeau in S48, and Kata Vilde in S49, S52, and S53)
Sweden has always seemed to stay in the middle of the pack, sometimes bowing out a little early, and other times making it to pick up some medals. Really, the heydays for Tre Kronor were the S20s, as they won 6 of their 9 total medals in the decade, picking up 2 each of gold, silver, and bronze.
Also, holy moly goalies, Sweden. 8 awards for best goalie is most for one nation by a mile, and split among 4 keepers! Sweden has developed a stellar goalie program over the years, and are always finding top talent, including two keepers who have taken home the award 3 times each! Sweden is also the first nation to have two different goalies win the best goalie award in back-to-back years, when Sebastien Primeau passed on the torch to Kata Vilde after season S48.
Switzerland:
Gold Medals: 0 Silver Medals: 1 (S51) Bronze Medals: 0 Award Winners: Best Forward: 0 awards Best Defenseman: 0 awards Best Goalie: 0 awards
With so little time as an official IIHF team under their belt, it’s no surprise to see so blank an entry like Japan. However, they are the first of the Japan/Switzerland expansion to medal, surprising many to a miracle run to silver in S51. Switzerland has progressed very well and is building depth to combat most middle-ground teams, and that can sometimes take points from the big players in tournaments. Switzerland is just beginning to shine, and if they can keep it up, you’ll see those empty slots in the rows above be filled soon.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 6 awards split among 6 players (Claudio Krejci in S6, Carter O’ Callaghan in S21, Blake Sherrill in S23, Ace Redding in S33, Xander Green in S41, and Rex Kirkby in S47) Best Defenseman: 4 awards split among 4 players (Quilha Agante in S6, Simon Palat in S28, Jasper Clayton in S33, and Rex Kirkby in S49) Best Goalie: 0 awards
While boasting an excellent haul of overall medals, Britain was unfortunate to peak at the same time as their island brethren the Irish, and might have been even more successful in the S40’s had they not encountered them so often. However, unlike the Irish, the UK has been competitive since the S30s, and are continuing to see success into the S50s, including their bronze medal at the most recent IIHF championships in S53. The sun never sets, as the saying goes.
Individual awards definitely point to their skaters being the most prolific position for the British, with a whopping 6 forward awards from 6 different players and an above-average 4 defenseman awards, also split to 1 apiece. Curiously, the British have never had a top-call goalie to walk away with the award, and are the only non-recent expansion nation (Japan and Switzerland) to not have at least one winner in all three award categories because of this. The voters are quite liberal in handing out awards to various nations for each position, but the luck and the votes haven’t come around to a British goaltender just yet. Another fun fact: The UK has the only skater to ever win BOTH the best forward and best defenseman category in the IIHF: Rex Kirkby switched positions between his S47 win at forward to his S49 win on defense, and was a dominant two-way force during their time in the IIHF.
Award Winners: Best Forward: 3 awards split among 3 players (Riley Rycroft in S9, Geoffrey Allen in S31, and Jason Visser in S45) Best Defenseman: 4 awards split among 4 players (Jason Due in S10, Ryan Sullivan in S26, Chuck Goody in S29, and Alexis Metzler in S37) Best Goalie: 2 awards split between 2 players (Mike Honcho in S5, and Aleister Cain in S51)
With the best record overall in IIHF history when it comes to medals, the U.S. has struck gold a record 9 times, 2 clear of Canada. While dipping slightly in the number of silver medals, America has an ample amount of each medal from their years competing. Most of these were either earned in the early IIHF years, where there was far less competition for the North American squads, or the recent surge in the S50’s, as the early years of this decade of tournaments have been almost a clean sweep, medaling in all 4 of season 50’s tournaments so far with a commanding 3 gold and 1 bronze.
Maybe unsurprisingly, the depth America has in all positions lead to voters shying away from declaring the U.S. players the best of the tournament quite often. There is a noticeable drop in individual awards in relation to medals compared to most other nations. This could be part of the underdog effect - voters like to pick the player that did great despite their overall team struggling - with America always fielding a deep squad, it’s harder for one player to stand out. However, the same could be said for Canada, and they have noticeably more player awards overall (although most of those are for forwards, comparatively). Either way, the consistent threat of a good U.S. team proves this: If you want to be at the top for medals, you need depth in your IIHF team, not a single line of superstars.
Overall, I was impressed with the few number of times that players seemingly won awards for being on dominant teams. I might even say that the awards voters are cognizant and gun-shy about voting for players who were on dominant teams in their respective years. A common scenario was a player being awarded for their great stats after their team went on an unexpected run to a silver or bronze medal (but not as often with gold!), and that the players winning genuinely seemed to be ones that have great tournaments, whether their team does good or bad. So a special kudos to the awards committee each season for endeavoring to pick deserving winners for each position each season.
Thank you for tuning in, and hope you enjoyed the read!
06-09-2020, 12:50 AMStadiumGambler Wrote: Why isn't Venezuela's history covered in this post?
Actually, I was interested in doing an article on the S3 Worlds and its unique format, as well as doing a game-by-game look at the teams. Unfortunately, I can only find info saying that Venezuela was the victor, as well as which other countries were participating. All I can find is that players could select their own team to play for, so many players weren't born/actually represented the countries that played. I believe the only actual Venezuelan on the team was goalie Fernando Garcia... but he was apparently banned ages ago, so I can't strike up a convo asking about that year haha
06-08-2020, 07:49 PMbluesfan55 Wrote: swiss medals are incoming
No they’re not...
Shout out to ml002, schultzy, slashacm, tedward!
I I I I
09-05-2018, 10:04 PMBeaver Wrote: Wow look what the PT affiliation has done to our pristine league.
12-19-2018, 12:31 AMBeaver Wrote: I personally blame the PT affiliation for handing out massive amounts of free TPE to all these players, inflating the TPE they're at when they get called up.
06-09-2020, 12:50 AMStadiumGambler Wrote: Why isn't Venezuela's history covered in this post?
Actually, I was interested in doing an article on the S3 Worlds and its unique format, as well as doing a game-by-game look at the teams. Unfortunately, I can only find info saying that Venezuela was the victor, as well as which other countries were participating. All I can find is that players could select their own team to play for, so many players weren't born/actually represented the countries that played. I believe the only actual Venezuelan on the team was goalie Fernando Garcia... but he was apparently banned ages ago, so I can't strike up a convo asking about that year haha
Oh man I’ve tried to figure out some of the early IHF, yes only one ‘I’, and the Olympic stuff. Our former better half, #RIPSlovakia, has a silver medal from the early years.
Shout out to ml002, schultzy, slashacm, tedward!
I I I I
09-05-2018, 10:04 PMBeaver Wrote: Wow look what the PT affiliation has done to our pristine league.
12-19-2018, 12:31 AMBeaver Wrote: I personally blame the PT affiliation for handing out massive amounts of free TPE to all these players, inflating the TPE they're at when they get called up.
It might be interesting to note that, as long as nothing's changed, that the to player awards are voted on by the Fed Heads themselves
MWHazard Wrote:i'll playwith anyone
playing with my teammates is part of the intangibles I bring to the table
i play with them a lot.
they didn't like it at first
but after a while, it just felt normal
Justice,Sep 18 2016, 02:09 PM Wrote:4-0 and 0-4 aren't that different tbh
McJesus - Today at 10:38 PM Wrote:FIRE EGGY
HIRE ARTY
Rancidbudgie
![[Image: antonescu.png]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/805449267791396866/813098363007402014/antonescu.png)
![[Image: BKGrppM.png]](https://i.imgur.com/BKGrppM.png)
![[Image: glutes2.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/glutes2.gif)
![[Image: 9vAsr7c.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9vAsr7c.png)
![[Image: tkMQzhf.png]](https://i.imgur.com/tkMQzhf.png)
![[Image: tdKmZA0.png]](https://i.imgur.com/tdKmZA0.png)
![[Image: 0K3YdqN.png]](https://i.imgur.com/0K3YdqN.png)
![[Image: zS2lCMp.png]](https://i.imgur.com/zS2lCMp.png)
![[Image: carpy48.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/carpy48.gif)
![[Image: p1gG0LD.png]](https://i.imgur.com/p1gG0LD.png)
![[Image: DKMMlC3.png]](http://i.imgur.com/DKMMlC3.png)
![[Image: sXDU6JX.png]](https://i.imgur.com/sXDU6JX.png)
![[Image: ctsxTFg.png]](http://i.imgur.com/ctsxTFg.png)
![[Image: 3GX9nYb.png]](https://i.imgur.com/3GX9nYb.png)
![[Image: AfpXX8l.png]](https://i.imgur.com/AfpXX8l.png)
![[Image: blastmeaway.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/blastmeaway.gif)
![[Image: f4IDm9I.jpg]](http://imgur.com/f4IDm9I.jpg)
I ![[Image: specterspp.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537644128066994197/593600679130431523/specterspp.png)
I ![[Image: czechup.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/454001889063862273/593632736833568769/czechup.png)
I ![[Image: gs89eGV.png]](http://i.imgur.com/gs89eGV.png)
I ![[Image: 0XJkcN5.png]](http://i.imgur.com/0XJkcN5.png)
![[Image: Capture21.PNG?width=400&height=90]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/472659919678603265/639207463412957185/Capture21.PNG?width=400&height=90)
![[Image: xuHy0EF.png]](https://i.imgur.com/xuHy0EF.png)
![[Image: Artermis.gif]](http://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Artermis.gif)
![[Image: Gabe-lights.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/853563288988942356/1023840211416928318/Gabe-lights.png)
![[Image: nMz40Vc.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/nMz40Vc.gif)
![[Image: unknown.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/477951418158809089/912414697985277972/unknown.png)
![[Image: spectersupdate.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537644128066994197/593594692164255784/spectersupdate.png)
![[Image: cainbanner_35.jpg]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/763788165953355846/879485847517429760/cainbanner_35.jpg)
