IIHF 2012 World Juniors

Canada and the U.S. during the round robin will be a great game. Watch it if you can find it on tv.

As per your question, the anthems and game MVP awards (which I believe they give out to both team) is IIHF standard operating. I was actually surprised to see a Canadian national anthem BEFORE the game, it was especially strange because they only did the Canadian anthem, which I thought was disrespectful.

 

They have their ups and downs, although the Czechs have been stuck in a bit of a prolonged drought -- the Czechs like to blame it on their players that leave the country to play major junior in Canada, saying it has a negative impact on their development, that they don't get as much ice time as they would back home and that the adjustment to another culture at the same time also stunts their development. There are certainly valid points to their argument, but at the same time the players are also going to where they feel they can best develop and there's a reason they choose Canada for that. Actually the Swedes were in danger of slipping into this group for a few years, and if I remember correctly it was because there was more of a national focus on soccer, they then amped it back up in hockey and have had success with it. It's hard to compare the success of countries' senior teams to their world junior teams because it takes a few years before these players will really make an impact on the senior international teams. If a nation can pump out a few solid years of junior players, that can sustain them for probably a decade at the senior level, the odd standout junior will jump onto those teams and help sustain them but the pool eventually runs dry and the senior teams will hit the skids as well.

Finland winning the last World Championship was a big deal because it might help to kick start another youth movement over there, as it did after they won in 1995 -- unlike in NA, the world championship is extremely important in Europe and Russia, it's what their players grow up dreaming about winning, not the stanley cup, although that sentiment may be shifting. But of course that all remains to be seen, it will be a few years before the full impact of that title is known.

 

Huge loss for Canada. His physical style would have been a huge asset beginning Saturday against the Yanks.

And Beef, we noticed they only played the Canadian anthem before the game. Very strange. Saw some tweets from media types I know who are there and they mentioned there were plenty of empty seats which is also something you wouldn't expect for a Canadian game.

 

My understanding is that Hockey Canada just plum forgot to play Maamme ('Our land, our land, our Fatherland!'). #FinnishIrishWhelp

Which is really bush, by the way.

 

In semi-related news, TSN is also showing the Spengler Cup. I am watching - for some unknown reason - Davos play Vitkovice. Always good to hear Paul Romanuk, TSN's original - and best - junior hockey voice.

Here are the rosters, always good for a look, as you will invariably find a name or two that makes you ask, "THAT guy is STILL playing?"

http://www.spenglercup.ch/spenglercup/en/teams.html

 

Anybody know where I can find these games online? I'm in the U.S. but don't get NHL Network.

 

www.tsn.ca is carrying the games.

 

The Winter Classic is an insult to the sport. Professional hockey hasn't been played outdoors since the early 1900's. All this bullshit about the "roots of the game" is just that: bullshit. And what's worse, it's a regular season game played under awful conditions and the circus act counts in the standings.

The WJC is not a youth tournament as much as you'd like it to be. And dragging in comparisons to under 20 tourneys from other sports doesn't make it so.

It's not a youth hockey tournament because there are professionals playing in it. In Canada's case, there would be four additional professional players to the two on the roster except their NHL team wouldn't release them.

This is not an evaluation tournament. That begins when kids play in tourneys at 15, 16 & 17 years old.

In 2005 Canada's junior team's roster included Sid Crosby, Dion Phaneuf, Jeff Carter, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Richards, Brent Seabrook and Shea Weber. Doesn't look like a youth tournament roster. These were all future NHL stars whose talent was already proven.

There are a lot of blowouts in the Olympics in the round robin. Check the 2010 scores in the opening round. And the Salo meltdown was in the Quarters, not the round robin.

 

Was looking for Luch Aquino on one of the rosters but didn't seem to be there. Maybe he's in jail.

The Spengler is one tourney I'd love to attend. A week in Davos that seems to have an atmosphere (players included) of a weekend youth hockey tourney where the hockey is important but more important is the partying.

 

I was looking for Luch too, he is one of pro hockey's great mercenaries but I guess he didn't get an offer to play for the Latvian team or whoever this year.

Spengler would be a lot of fun, a classic case of going to a party - as you say, in a great place in Switzerland - and finding out they had a hockey tournament there!

 

Luch is now going by Luciano and playing in Germany. Yes, I checked.

 

For now....