Team North America.
In Pittsburgh last night I think we saw the “other side of youth.… Endless energy is often countered by lapses of concentration and inconsistencies. Make no mistake about it, these kids are dynamic and could indeed win it all, but they will have to play MUCH better than they did in Pittsburgh against the Czechs. Perhaps last night was an aberration...perhaps they were team just going through the motions and wanting to get on with the real tournament, but last night put enough doubts into some heads that we shouldn’t crown them World Cup champs quite yet...
All this talent is fun to watch, but the inevitable success this team has is all on the goaltending of Matt Murray. Murray is the perfect goalie for this group because he plays a calming style that builds confidence in young defenders afraid of giving the puck away. He did the same for Pittsburgh. There will be great moments for this team, but if Murray isn’t spectacular they won't see the semi-finals.
Team Sweden.
The Swedes have the been widely publicized as having the best overall defense in this tournament. Its hard to complain when you have Ekman-Larsson, Hedman, Karlsson and Hjakmarsson as your top 4. I am not one of those people who put Team Sweden’s defense above all else. I think Canada’s is right there with them.
Up front the Swedes will have to continue to get the kind of game they are getting out of Loui Eriksson who has obviously been inspired by playing with the Sedins. That aside, I believe the real key here is more on Filip Forsberg. Nashville fans will tell you that when Forsberg is hot he can carry a team, but he isn’t always hot when the pressure is on.
In goal the Swedes are set. Lundqvist brings an enormous amount of confidence internationally, assuming he is healthy...Even if he isn’t, I am confident in Markstrom.. Team Russia.
These Russians are a much more complete team than we saw in Sochi because of their youth movement...especially on the front end. Anteri Panarin is a hell of a player, as is Shipachyov. This Russian team actually has stars in three different age groups. Malkin, Ovechkin and Datsyuk aren’t the only story anymore. The middle aged players like Tarasenko and Kutznetsov and Kucherov give them another layer. This is a crazy talented offensive team.
The issues on defense could be a problem for sure. They don’t have nearly the depth that other teams have here, but if Bobrovsky looks like he looked last night they Russian efense will be easily strong enough to get them into the semis.
Team Finland.
Team Finland should just be nicknamed Team Underrated Spoiler, because all they do is win despite the fact that many of us North American based prognosticators can’t get a hold on what this team is through all the vowels....(117 vowels on their 23 man roster by the way)
Up front they have some young legit stars to say the least in Barkov, Laine, Aho, and Donskoi. On the defensive end they have Ristolainen for sure...but all these stars who will have to come up huge are extremely young.
When evaluating these teams I always like to ask the question “Who from this team would make Team Canada?… Would anyone?
And yet that doesn’t matter when it comes to wins and losses because the Fins play their system so very well and they make everyone they play nervous.
Prediction:
I believe we are going to see the return of Russia to international prominence and I think they will get to the Semis going 3-0. If one team goes 3-0 that will open up the other spot to a crazy three team race...In the end I believe Team North America will battle it out with Team Sweden for the final spot. I will give the edge ever so slightly to Sweden...But I could be wrong!
We will discuss all this and more on today’s Buzzcast at 1pm ET
Listen to the HockeyBuzzCast on #iTunes w/ @eklund @mikeinbuffalo @sportsology @DanDanNoodles78 @fisherjillian https://t.co/4Vc8NnpljX #NHL
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) April 26, 2016