IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
I thought I'd take a look that which countries have been the most consistent in Olympics since the NHL-players have participated and it has been best-on-best. In my mind, achieving the semifinals is something that could be considered as a "top" result, hence I'm listing the top 4 of each Olympics below:
1998:
1. Czech
2. Russia
3. Finland
4. Canada
2002:
1. Canada
2. USA
3. Russia
4. Belarus
2006:
1. Sweden
2. Finland
3. Czech
4. Russia
2010:
1. Canada
2. USA
3. Finland
4. Slovakia
Then, let's see which countries have the most top 4 positions:
3: Canada, Finland and Russia
2: USA and Czech Republic
1: Sweden, Slovakia and Belarus
Make what you want out of it, but I think it's actually quite strange that for instance Sweden has only once managed to make it top 4(granted, it was gold), and Finland, a country that really is never considered to be any favourite, is up there with Canada and Russia.
You can bash me all you like, "gold is only what matters" etc. etc. but to me it's quite clear which countries have been most consistent in these best-on-best tournaments.
Slovakia got screwed by the IOC and IIHF in 98 and 02, but in 06 they went undefeated in the first round, then lost the QF to the Czechs 3-1 (I believe the last was EN, but can't prove it). So a dominate preliminary, with a close QF (loss by 1+EN), followed by a close SF (loss by 1) and Bronze medal game (loss by 1+EN) in their only 2 (recent) fair shots isn't bad
Average placed finishes of the countries who have played in every olympics
3.25 Canada
3.5 Finland
3.75 Russians
4 Sweden
4.5 Czechs
4.5 US
8 Slovakia
9.5 Germany
6.67 Belarus*
8.33 Switzerland*
* Indicates a team has missed an Olympic tournament and their average is simply based on the 3 tournaments they appeared in.
I believe this is a better way to measure the Olympics performance, taking in final positioning and not just medals. Using this measurement the US falls below all but Slovakia of the major powers, because despite their two 2nd place finishes, their dismal showings of 6th and 8th are taken into account. At the top of the table Finland is given better recognition for their consistent success (only one stain in a 6th place finish) despite never actually winning. The small sample size means that the 2010 standings alone moved Canada from 4th place to 1st and Russia from 1st to 3rd.
Like USA in 2010. Not a lot of people were expecting them to place for a medal.
That wasn't luck so much as it was Miller. He played amazingly that year, particularly in the Olympics. And goaltending looks like it will continue to be a strong point for the USA going forward (Quick, Gibson).
Average placed finishes of the countries who have played in every olympics
3.25 Canada
3.5 Finland
3.75 Russians
4 Sweden
4.5 Czechs
4.5 US
8 Slovakia
9.5 Germany
6.67 Belarus*
8.33 Switzerland*
* Indicates a team has missed an Olympic tournament and their average is simply based on the 3 tournaments they appeared in.
I believe this is a better way to measure the Olympics performance, taking in final positioning and not just medals. Using this measurement the US falls below all but Slovakia of the major powers, because despite their two 2nd place finishes, their dismal showings of 6th and 8th are taken into account. At the top of the table Finland is given better recognition for their consistent success (only one stain in a 6th place finish) despite never actually winning. The small sample size means that the 2010 standings alone moved Canada from 4th place to 1st and Russia from 1st to 3rd.
I disagree, I'd take 2 silvers and 2 8th place finishes over 4 4th place finishes any day.
So... much.... silver....
