IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
Another poster already asked if there was a live stream for this games. Unfortunately I have yet to find one.
In group B South Korea beat Australia 8-4. I actually saw these two teams play back in 2003. They were both in Division III back then. Nice to see they have improved greatly since then.
you can watch streams at vipbox.tv and also if you go to forums.internationalhockey.net people post tons of links there. I watched austria ukraine, GB Slovenia and poland lithuania today
you can watch streams at vipbox.tv and also if you go to forums.internationalhockey.net people post tons of links there. I watched austria ukraine, GB Slovenia and poland lithuania today
Poland is obviously proving that they belong in Division IA. Defeated (a depleted) Lithuanian team 9-0 yesterday, then goes out and beats Romania (who admittingly are fighting for relegation) 10-0. Considering the other teams in the group are Australia (fighting with Romania to stay in Div I), Netherlands and South Korea (the only teams that can seriously fight for promotion, but unlikely), it's looking good for Poland to go back to the second tier.
Poland is obviously proving that they belong in Division IA. Defeated (a depleted) Lithuanian team 9-0 yesterday, then goes out and beats Romania (who admittingly are fighting for relegation) 10-0. Considering the other teams in the group are Australia (fighting with Romania to stay in Div I), Netherlands and South Korea (the only teams that can seriously fight for promotion, but unlikely), it's looking good for Poland to go back to the second tier.
im secretly hoping south korea wins the tournament
Slovenia and Austria already returned back into top division today. Last match between them will be just to decide who will win the tournament. Slovenia just need to bring match into extra time to stay in the first place.
Both groups are finished now. Austria and Slovenia are going to the Elite division next year. Ukraine is going to Division IB, and will be replaced by South Korea. Australia is relegated to Division IIA, while Estonia comes back to Division IB. The World Championship will determine who replaces Austria and Slovenia. If I had to guess, I'd say Kazakhstan and Italy.
Both groups are finished now. Austria and Slovenia are going to the Elite division next year. Ukraine is going to Division IB, and will be replaced by South Korea. Australia is relegated to Division IIA, while Estonia comes back to Division IB. The World Championship will determine who replaces Austria and Slovenia. If I had to guess, I'd say Kazakhstan and Italy.
South Korean hockey has come a long way since I first watched it almost a decade ago. They are hosting the winter Olympics in 2018 so hopefully they will be able to be somewhat competitve by then.
In 1976, Poland played the USSR at home & won by 2 goals. Today, Poland played Australia at home & won by 2 goals
It's sad that Poland and Ukraine's hockey systems never progressed out of Soviet times.
Too bad that Australia couldn't avoid relegation either. I thought Nathan Walker would have a much better showing than he did. Probably hurts his NHL draft potential.
So South Korea is now a tier 2 team? A bit supriseing. What kind of hockey programme do they have? Are they aiming for 2018?
They´re programme has been improving over the past two years. They have two teams in the Asia league competing against Japanese teams (well and a Chinese one, but that one finished the season with just one point, so...) and its the players from these teams that create most of the Korean NT.
Here´s an interesint article from IIHF´s website about Korea, but it´s from 2008.
As for 2018, I doubt it, despite the improvement they are still behind even the likes of Japan and will likely return to Div IB really fast...
Both groups are finished now. Austria and Slovenia are going to the Elite division next year. Ukraine is going to Division IB, and will be replaced by South Korea. Australia is relegated to Division IIA, while Estonia comes back to Division IB. The World Championship will determine who replaces Austria and Slovenia. If I had to guess, I'd say Kazakhstan and Italy.
So South Korea is now a tier 2 team? A bit supriseing. What kind of hockey programme do they have? Are they aiming for 2018?
What do you mean aiming for 2018? Aiming to be competitive? I think the only way they will be competitive is if they get some naturalized foreigners like Italy did in 2006 to beef up their roster a little. Richard Park would probably be their best "prospect", but he would have to sign with a Korean team pretty soon to get his 4 years in.
If you mean qualify for the Olympics, they automatically qualify as hosts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slovakiasnextone
As for 2018, I doubt it, despite the improvement they are still behind even the likes of Japan and will likely return to Div IB really fast...
Likely, but it is also likely that they can win a couple games and stay up. The great thing about the new format is that pretty much all the teams within a group are fairly equal and can beat each other any given day. It's impossible to predict how South Korea will play next year. I think they could definitely beat Great Britain, maybe even Japan and Hungary.
What do you mean aiming for 2018? Aiming to be competitive? I think the only way they will be competitive is if they get some naturalized foreigners like Italy did in 2006 to beef up their roster a little. Richard Park would probably be their best "prospect", but he would have to sign with a Korean team pretty soon to get his 4 years in.
If you mean qualify for the Olympics, they automatically qualify as hosts.
Likely, but it is also likely that they can win a couple games and stay up. The great thing about the new format is that pretty much all the teams within a group are fairly equal and can beat each other any given day. It's impossible to predict how South Korea will play next year. I think they could definitely beat Great Britain, maybe even Japan and Hungary.
Actually it hasn´t been decided yet whether Korea will get an automatic spot at the hockey tournament AFAIK.
As for their performance next year, well obviously anythign can happen, but it would be a huge upset if they somehow managed to stay up.
It's sad that Poland and Ukraine's hockey systems never progressed out of Soviet times.
Too bad that Australia couldn't avoid relegation either. I thought Nathan Walker would have a much better showing than he did. Probably hurts his NHL draft potential.
I don't know if Walker's performance does hurt his draft potential. Remember, he was playing against guys who in some cases are twice his age, and some of them are in decent leagues. He also was one of only a few players to score against Poland, if that matters, so I wouldn't really use this tournament as a hindrence against him.
What do you mean aiming for 2018? Aiming to be competitive? I think the only way they will be competitive is if they get some naturalized foreigners like Italy did in 2006 to beef up their roster a little. Richard Park would probably be their best "prospect", but he would have to sign with a Korean team pretty soon to get his 4 years in.
If you mean qualify for the Olympics, they automatically qualify as hosts.
Likely, but it is also likely that they can win a couple games and stay up. The great thing about the new format is that pretty much all the teams within a group are fairly equal and can beat each other any given day. It's impossible to predict how South Korea will play next year. I think they could definitely beat Great Britain, maybe even Japan and Hungary.
Are you sure of this. I meant "aiming" to qualify yes. But if they would be automatically qualified I would say they should aim to get good enough to avoid beeing the laughing-stock of the olympics...
My guess is that they have show some sort of quality before they get an automatic qualification. If the can stay in the Div 1A, it would be pretty well done by them. Perhaps that should be enough...though that's just a guess by me obviously. To stay in at least Div 1A it will take some effort by the South Koreans. They will have to spend some money on development, if they havent already.
