IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
To me this team has been a major surprise in this years WC, after their last game Patrick Thoreson is tied with Evgeni Malkin for the tournament points lead and on top of that they have made it to the quarter finals. Are they underrated, have they overachieved? Does anyone see them pulling off a major upset? I think it's completely possible.
they made it to the QF last year too, which is even more impressive to make it twice in a row for team like Norway, which has 5-6 direct rivals for that spot.
To me this team has been a major surprise in this years WC, after their last game Patrick Thoreson is tied with Evgeni Malkin for the tournament points lead and on top of that they have made it to the quarter finals. Are they underrated, have they overachieved? Does anyone see them pulling off a major upset? I think it's completely possible.
ye, lets talk when Thoresen gets 3+2 against Sweden
Norway is to be taken very seriously, like Cze, Finland, US and so on. It's not going to be easy for Russia at all
ye, lets talk when Thoresen gets 3+2 against Sweden
Norway is to be taken very seriously, like Cze, Finland, US and so on. It's not going to be easy for Russia at all
which is cool, isnt it ? I remember the WCH in 80s when even Finland/USA were considered a Micky Mouse teams, with 4 contenders only, USSR/Sweden/Czechoslovakia and Canada sometimes.
More contenders, more interesting WCH. The future is bright.
With Holøs playing a short stint in the NHL a season ago, and a few decent Norwegian prospects coming up through the next few drafts, it's kind of rude to discount the Nords as over achieving when their hockey production and program has certainly increased its quality since the 90's.
which is cool, isnt it ? I remember the WCH in 80s when even Finland/USA were considered a Micky Mouse teams, with 4 contenders only, USSR/Sweden/Czechoslovakia and Canada sometimes.
More contenders, more interesting WCH. The future is bright.
And teams like Slovenia, Latvia, etc. are really starting to produce too. Not NHL level talent but at least World-Class talent.
I like to poke my head over to the "upcoming prospects from non-traditional countries" thread to see who is making a noise outside of the top 7 or 8 producers of NHL talent. http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/sh...d.php?t=898690
And teams like Slovenia, Latvia, etc. are really starting to produce too. Not NHL level talent but at least World-Class talent.
I like to poke my head over to the "upcoming prospects from non-traditional countries" thread to see who is making a noise outside of the top 7 or 8 producers of NHL talent. http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/sh...d.php?t=898690
nice link mate, thank you. Would be happy to see more future NHLers from countries like Italy, Hungary etc.
It depends on what you mean by for real. Norway is definitely well coached, all the players buy into the system and the system works very well and they play with extreme confidence at the moment, in that way they are for real, it isn't just luck that brought them their results. They are definitely playing better than what you would expect by looking at the roster, in that sense you could say they are overachieving.
I expect their journey to end against Russia, there is simply too big of a difference between the two teams. One thing I think has to be mentioned about the team is though, that their shooting% are extremely high, through out the team. Which means that over more games they wouldn't be able to keep up these kind of results. I'm not saying it to put them down, but it's just something that should be considered when talking about Norways play this WC. Where it's safe to say that, the stars have really aligned for Norway.
Norway are definitely looking good this year. However, I do not see an upset happening.
They are playing some fine hockey and their PP has been deadly.
The norwegian team has an advantage over the likes of Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Belarus due to the fact that all of their players are European based (except Zuccarello). The depth of the team is pretty good and when a player like Thoresen is on fire you are bound to do well.
To be fair to Malkin, he doesn't have 10 points against Denmark and Germany.
And? Thoresen got a lot of pressure on him. He knows that if he dosent produce, then the team will suffer. Norway wont get reinforcements from the NHL and there is no norwegian Pavel Datsyuk. So Thoresen got alot of pressure on him and he still delivers. Malkin on the other hand dosent feel the same kind of pressure. Okey if he plays bad in one game, then Datsyuk or someelse will score the goals needed. Russia got depth, we dont.
Thoresen scored the first 2 goals vs Germany in under a min and gave us great start to the game. He didnt score goal number 11 and 12 or something like that. No he scored the two most important goals. Thoresen is also very strong in his own zone. A team player.
But I believe that our coach deserves alot of/most credit. Without his defensive system, we wouldnt be in this position. If a player looses the puck, then all forwards go "home" and help out the D. It is also expected that the forwards blocks shots and work along the boards etc. We play disciplined hockey.
Norway are definitely looking good this year. However, I do not see an upset happening.
They are playing some fine hockey and their PP has been deadly.
The norwegian team has an advantage over the likes of Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Belarus due to the fact that all of their players are European based (except Zuccarello). The depth of the team is pretty good and when a player like Thoresen is on fire you are bound to do well.
Haha, since OV and Semin just joined Russia the chances are slimmer
Still there is a chance!
Per various sources on the interwebs...
-Elite WC division since 2006
-QF three of the past 5 years (Although in 2008 they grabbed the last spot by being the best of a pretty bad bunch of teams)
-Have now qualified for their second straight Olympics
-Majority of their roster is now playing in top European leagues
What Norway has built over the past few years has been pretty impressive especially when you consider the limited resources they have to work with both on and off the ice.
Another thing that has been kind of cool to see is the way they have done it. When a mid-tier team starts stringing together some nice results it is often due to a very conservative/tight defensive system and a goalie standing on their head. I am sure Norway been playing solid defense and getting quality goaltending but over the past two WC they have also been able to generate their fair share of offence.
Russia should be able to beat them but Norway could be dangerous. You got to figure they have a ton of confidence right now but at the same time realise that they are still 'just Norway' and can't take anything or anyone for granted.
When it comes to future prospect for Norway I think we look strongest on the goalies. I know there have been projects do develope goalies from the Norwegian HF. Steffen Søberg 18 (draftet by Washington), Lars Volden 19 (plaing in Finland , draftet by Boston) and Lars Haugen 24 (Dynamo Minsk). We have to give alot of credits to Sweden who are getting alot of our players and let them play in SEL.
Remember that they will play against Russia in QF on our national day. They are extremely motivated and have alot of selfconfidence. I will say we have between 20-25 % chance to beat them. We need luck and our goalie must have a really good day.
