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***eddiesnothere*** · 11-11-2023, 02:43 AM

As we see the end of the S73 season coming, the international season heats up yet again. With the IIHF comes the WJC tournament, where the young SMJHL stars and draft prospect stars-to-be will fight to earn their right for a gold medal. and praise and admiration from the hockey world (and a heap of draft stock as well (: ).

As we did in Season 73, top-down order from placement at last year's tournament will dictate who's discussed first.

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Usa

United States:

Finished: 1st, Gold

Season 72 was the universal stamp of approval for the dominance of the crop of young American talent entering the game. The stars that reclaimed the gold for the United States in '71 returned largely intact, with Mercedes Bayle, Max Carnage, Theo Svatos, and shnopple lopple leading the charge. Newcomers like Colt Fox, Cameron Dallas, and Joseph Reed made strong cases for themselves as the foundation for future contributions. The star of the show, however, was goaltending. Scary Jerry, eminent Vancouver netminder, posted a perfect 6-0-0 record in competition, and backup Kay Lee wasn't far behind in dominant performances. The US smashed their opponents in the Round Robin, posting a 9-3 record, and smashed the British Isles, crushed Team World's hopes for an upset, and humbled the Rhine to take the repeat gold.

This season, the Team USA management have built a formidable squad, from front office to the ice. Eddie, former ICE GM and winner of the USA's S71 Gold, and Cloud_Robot, S72 champion GM, join forces alongside coach Devik to lead the way. On the ice, stalwarts Thomas Liebold, Mercedes Bayle, and Theodore Svatos return for the offence, leading a strong young core of Joseph Reed, Heem Teem, Mac Turner, Ryland Murphy, and Jordan Thompson. On defense, the United States looks to be the far-and-away best squad, with Johnny Shuffleboard, Ryan Quintana-Green, and Jeff Goldblum leading the right, and Shnopple Lopple, Leon Rizzton, and Rocky Orwell will hold the fort. As if that wasn't formidable enough, Scary Jerry and Net Man return for one last ride. The United States remains the most formidable force in the tournament.

Eddie’s Best Case: Match the record, three-peat.
Eddie’s Worst Case: If the offense can't keep up with the prowess of the other side of the ice, it could spell doom in the medal rounds.

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Germany

Rhine:

Finished: 2nd, Silver

The forces of the Rhine seemed as poised as any team to stop the US from repeating, as they had arguably the stronger offensive force. On offense, Timo Lambert, König Wolf, Daniel Grumathan, Lasse Zeigler, and Levin Schattenaxt came up to play, running away with the points-race for the tournament. Their defense was just as strong offensively, with Elena Maximova, Sydney Shaw, and Dunkler Sowerwine all putting up impressive two-way contributions. In goal was the imposing and impressive Tibuk Soonika as starter, with Yerik Akmetzhanov serving backup. this team jumped to an 8-4-0 record, 3rd best in Round Robin play, survived a goaltending, defensive dogfight with the Swedes in the first round, before dismantling the Canadians to reach the Gold Medal Game, where they came up painfully short to the American onslaught.

Now, Jaypc and Crazytomato must try and run it back with a new, young team, with many of their critical Silver Medal players moving on to brighter pastures. Levin Schattenaxt, Konig Wolf, Jeff Hunziker, and newcomers Scott Seitz, Lean On (Coconut Mall) Dry Saddle-Heghog, and Finn Weiss will try to hold down the offense, with youngsters Prince Marius, Xavier Beausoleil, and Deep Thought coming into large roles on the team. The defense is arguably as strong as the Americans, with Lazer Gato, Westley Kirkpatrick, RIP THUNDERDOME 2013-2023, Furious Chicken, and newbie Dunkler Sowerwine making a critically strong core, which will be important. With Soonika and Akmetzhanov gone, the Rhine will rely on Henri Losanov and Mr Plow for goaltending support, which will be critical in a season which will live and die on whether they can outscore their opponents again.

Eddie’s Best Case: They can definitely get back to the GMG if all goes to plan.
Eddie’s Worst Case: If Losanov can't do it, don't expect much.

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Canada

Canada:

Finished: 3rd, Bronze.

Slowly, surely, working their way up the totem pole. Canada reached rock bottom in S70, with an embarrassing 1-9-2 showing in Round Robin play, then just missing out on a medal in S71. In '72, they reached for it again. Jeff Lewis, Thomas Sawschuk, Logan Webb, and Arthur Kaliyev led the pack with defensive support from David Anderson and Liam Rodgers, but this parade was led by two men. Nelly Celly and Yves D'Odeur split starts and ended up with matching 5-1-0 records, and some of the best statistical records of the tournament's Round Robin. They outlasted UCORCAL, but slipped into the Bronze Medal Game with a crushing loss to the Rhine, before handling the World to capture Bronze, their first since S69.

General Managers Tdan and Kaliyev now finally have a formidable roster, with Webb, Sawschuk, Kaliyev. and new stars Alexandros Mograine, Kevin Kim, Maxwell King II, Jae-ik Barron, Daniel Durkburg, and Trey Daniels will make up a nice offensive beginning. On defense, Dan Johnston, Buster Knutt, Guy Incognito, Graham Schwartz, Liam Rodgers, and young gun Abdi Smokes will shore up the defense for veteran star goalie Yves D'Odeur and new backup Just Perfection. This team will live and die on its depth, and if the schedule is too difficult, it could bring the efforts to turn Canada's junior hopes to a screeching halt.

Eddie’s Best Case: Maybe a result better than last year.
Eddie’s Worst Case: Out before you can sniff a medal round.

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World

World:

Finished: 4th, No Medal.

There has been no rest for the World ever since the rise of ICE and Eddie's success. A 6-4-2 record in S70 was dashed on the rocks of an upset ICE OT victory that got them all the way to their historic bronze. Since then, the program has had to put the pieces back together. S72 was that moment where the pieces fit. A balanced roster of forwards Jussi Mutou, Ubba Lodbrok, defender Isak Sogard, and strong goaltending from Five-Hole Sieve and Ally Mathieson. In a story that mirrors that of their rival, the World beat their opponent North America in overtime to advance, before losing badly to the United States and falling to fourth against Canada.

GM Jexter now has to fill out a complex roster with one of the weaker classes of unassigned talent this year. Brock Samson, Sunrise van de Schubbekutteveen, Sad Ketchup, and Shawn Pawn will have to bring their best, and Valerija Serapin, Unspeakable Horror, and Jean-Francois Bokassa will shore up the defense, and luckilly, Team World has two well-rounded goalies to work with, Five-Hole Sieve and Stun Gun in net respectively. This team is certainly one weaker than its counterpart, but certainly able to hold their own on their margins rather than relying on talent to take them places.

Eddie’s Best Case: A medal, any medal would be a victory for these guys.
Eddie’s Worst Case: Out in the prelims, without a seat when the music stops..

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Usa

North America:

Placed: 5th, No Medal.

Team North America has been silently showcasing some talented players left aside with the power of the United States and the dysfunction of Canada. Last season, Brooklyn Physt and Dylan Jacob-Smith broke out as talented defensemen and forwards respectively. In goal, Wayne Holloway carried the majority of the important starts as they managed a 6-5-1 record, but couldn't outlast their rivals in Team World, falling 3-2 in Overtime.

Now, general manager Gritty is placed at the helm of the youngest squad of players in the competition, filled with S73 and S74 draftees when many teams still have S71 players. Players like the Wen brothers, Sim and Jim, Brooklyn Physt, Nik Smith, and Roger Murdock have to take big steps to keep them as competitive as they have been. Goaltending is surprisingly stronger than what would usually be the case for teams like this, as Jim Wen and Ben Harrison are solid options to rely on. The biggest question mark with this roster will likely be offensive skill and production. If the kids take a step, this will be an explosive group to watch, but that's a big what-if on top of other what-ifs.

Eddie’s Best Case: Second round of play.
Eddie’s Worst Case: The same result, a lower standing, facing a tougher team. So it goes, so it goes.

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Sweden

Sweden:

Placed: 6th, No Medal

Sweden has long been a national program struggling to find homegrown talent on the level of other nations, and their WJC struggles have been the most dramatic example of this. Last season, a team anchored by Crazy Tomato, Tony Soprano, Johnny FourStar, Florian Söderberg-Motyla, and their star goaltender Jaxon Markstrom and solid backup Ben Harrison dragged the team kicking and screaming to a 6-6-0 record, where they fought an iconic battle with the Rhine, and took them as far as they could, until Daniel Grumathan broke through with just 43 seconds remaining in the 3rd period.

For GM RobjG, this season provides an interesting wrinkle to the Swedish game. For the first time, the management has been aggressive in getting the best, grittiest talent to make a difference in the competition. The most active team in the loan system this season, they added irritable defenseman Billy Hill from the Grizzlies, Jonas Salat, Dee Fence, Teal'c, Gewmba Stolemamoney, and Roman Roy. This provides an interesting attack alongside Johnny FourStar, Andren Akerson, Crazy Tomato, and defenseman I-Stir MyPudding. The critical need for the Swedes has been goaltending, as they lost all their star talent, and now rely on the aforementioned Stolemamoney and Meo Vanbiesbrouck for support. This will be a telling test for the future of the team, and for Sweden in particular. Clearly, the locker room does not matter. Hardware does.

Eddie’s Best Case: A medal, any medal is the goal for this team, without any doubt.
Eddie’s Worst Case: Right where they ended up last year.

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Czechia

UCORCAL:

Placed: 7th, No Medal

From their meteoric rise, the UCORCAL program has slowly dried out of impressive talent, instead relying on team death to get them ahead, and in '72 they did not get that. Although Marshall Madden, Ace Lightning, Shootin Blanks, and goaltender Jim Wen tried their very best, the team simply could not put together a critical effort that set them up for success in the Round Robin, with a 4-6-2 record. The team did an admirable job giving Team Canada a fight in the first round, but it was simply too much too quick, and they fell, 2-1.

As general manager Diacope looks to repair the team, he faces an early challenge, with critical players like Billy Hill and Marshall Madden abandoning the country to try their hand somewhere else. Regardless, the team is set up to fight for the top of the competition, with forwards like Alexej Kastrba, Shootin Blanks, The Murray, Dan Craig, Dominik Winters, defenders Bellamy Blake and Arnost Hlemyzd, and goaltender Wayne Holloway look to create a solid core to ensure rookies like Squidwardo Tentacles, Marek Carda, Oranj Konhe, and goalie Launchpad McQuack will fill important future roles. This team now looks like they have returned to contention after a year of setbacks. It's an incredible story for the countries involved, and they are likely to be an impressive challenge for many of the teams in contention this season.

Eddie’s Best Case: Gold Medal Game.
Eddie’s Worst Case: No medal game.

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British Isles:

Placed: 8th, No Medal

Huh? What?! After their total dominance in '69 and '70, and their silver medal in '71, the British Isles collapsed dramatically due to a lack of goaltending aptitude and losing key leaders. Stalwart James Ward-Prowse and his men fought incredibly valiantly, but without consistent goaltending at any point in the Round Robin, the Isles' 3-6-3 record had them running right into the jaws of the United States in the first round, and though they actually lead in the game 3-2 at one point, they could not keep the momentum up, and the Americans' 46 shots felled the Brits, 5-3.

For Mysterious_Fish, this season provides home hope that a bounceback in possible. New talent and veteran leaders from the disastrous campaign last year have improved greatly, and they can rely on forwards Filip Svatos, Rowan O'Beirne, Marshall Madden, Barg Hazbite, defensemen Zedward Zilliams and Bob Wehadababyitsaboy, and goalie Beau Kavanagh will be the necessary backbone for a young team of rookies like Jaxson Reaper, Cob O'Corn, and Literally Wizard step into new roles. This team is young, in a great position to become a juggernaut again, but 11/12 wins is a long ways away, and for this new collection of Brits and Eires, it will be a season of big and small baby steps.

Eddie’s Best Case: If they can get into a medal game, I would be semi-shocked. Slightly.
Eddie’s Worst Case: Out in the first.

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Finland

Finland

Placed: 9th, Did Not Compete

Four wins is such a cruel way to end what was a valiant and impressive showing for a team that was mismatched and miscast from the beginning. Aumy Junior II, William Tree, Just-to-Buy My-Love, and Cheeks Klapanen made a good showing, but the stars were overworked goaltenders Rhett Carpet and Tanner Pits, who despite their records were some of the best goalies in the tournament. It ultimately was hopeless as the team sunk to 4-7-1, and lost out on a chance to play in the tournament proper.

In an interesting case, the Fins will return nearly the same roster, with the team getting some young reinforcements, but the core cast remaining Aumy Junior II, Jaromir Jagrbomb, Just-to-Buy My-Love, Artturi Lappalainen, and Cheeks Klapanen. This is a blessing and a curse for general manager Jbay, who must figure out how to get more production and defensive effort out of a team that is not strong in those departments. Goaltending is also a question, as Rhett Carpet ages out, leaving Pitts to hold the fort down while Olafur Gunnleifsson backs him up. It's another year of growth, which is frustrating for a team that has for so long represented just how strong the country has been at talent gathering.

Eddie’s Best Case: A taste of the dance.
Eddie’s Worst Case: The same result, the same way.

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shl-old

ICE:

Placed: 10th, Did Not Compete

The ICE program, after finally tasting success under Eddie and Devik in S70, had to watch as that regime moved on to America, and immediately won Gold in their first attempt. Without them, the program stumbled again, losing in heart-wrenching fashion to Finland in '71 after Aumy Junior II scored with 48 seconds left to win the game, 4-3 (Deja vu.). In '72, this hangover reached its peak of pain, as Inactive Forever, Gordon-William Gibbles, - bongo, Jean-Francois Bokass, and goalie Sith Happens just couldn't get over the hump at all, posting a sorry 3-8-1 record before relinquishing their 2-year playoff appearance streak, which began with that unprecedented bronze.

The precedent is set, Eddie and Devik left a clear way to succeed with the scraps ICE receives, and now GM Banackock will get first crack at an attempt to win with a new crop of players who seem to be ready to get back into the fray. The top 6 is there, with forwards Activity Check, Inactive Forever, and Aksel VINSen, defenders, Kazuchika Okada and Boho Biscuit, and goalie Ally Mathieson taking the top spots in the roster, while rookies Froya Solberg, Leo Roze, and Benny Hanna will look to put the hurt back in the ICE game. competent goaltending will be the difference, as it was in S70, will mean Mathieson takes on a whole new level of importance. If they get the best from him, and the defense hardens around him, the team has a chance to do what was impossible - again.

Eddie’s Best Case: The spirit of '70 might rise again.
Eddie’s Worst Case: Out in one.

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The rosters set, the skates are sharp. It may not be the IIHF World Championship, but this year’s WJC competition may be the most exciting and fascinating one yet. A hearty good luck to all participating teams, GMs, coaches, and players. Wear your jersey with pride and play hard, and win!

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