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Success of Latvia & Belarus due to KHL experience?
Success of Latvia & Belarus due to KHL experience?
Latvia - 16 KHL players out of 25
Belarus - 17 KHL players out of 25
See subject, what are your thoughts on this? Did the participation in te KHL allow the teams to have more confidence against the more recognized opponents? I haven't seen their games a lot, I am just asking an trying to get some opinions.
Most of the belarussians are playing for Minsk and almost all the latvians are playing for Riga. It means that they have been teamates for a whole year so it's clearly an advantage.
But I don't think that the fact, that they are playing in the KHL is changing something it's more the fact that they where in the same team.
Aside from some really bad moments in the KHL like Cherepanov death and some organizational issues from the competition standpoint it was a big upgrade over the previous seasons. The playoffs were really good, intense with a lot of grit as well as skill. Even some of the Russian KHLers seem better. Radulov is a good example, I am really impressed with his passing game, he did not have that last year.
I do think there is a huge impact on the teams with the KHL players. If you have the KHL experience it does give you more confidence in your own game.
You are right, it definately isn't. Both Latvia and Belarus always were candidates for the qualification round or sneaking into the quarterfinals, things haven't changed one bit. It's the usual ups and downs which happen every year.
there is a little different between Latvia, Belorush and Slovaks. most of guys from Latvian and Belorush team are playing in same team but slovaks arent.
Most of the players from both teams are 3-4 line players and 2-3 pairing defensemen (usually defensive d) in KHL. They have been playing defensive role whole year against good teams so its not a surprise they can play this good defense against good teams.
Truth is, if any of these 2 wins game against good opponent in wc, its because of solid defense, solid goaltending and using their few scoring chances.
Latvia - 16 KHL players out of 25
Belarus - 17 KHL players out of 25
See subject, what are your thoughts on this? Did the participation in te KHL allow the teams to have more confidence against the more recognized opponents? I haven't seen their games a lot, I am just asking an trying to get some opinions.
They haven't qualified for the quarterfinals yet, and you are already calling up to hockey gods. Not yet. Latvia has been in quarterfinals before, and that was long before KHL. Besides some key players play also in other leagues, like North America, Germany. If the teams are not that strong, it's their spirit, that is. Nothing serious has been accomplished yet. We'll see how they do it against stronger teams. Of course KHL has contributed a lot, but we also have to remember that for Riga Dinamo the most effective line was the one consisting of legionnaires like Hossa, Hartigan, Ellison.
Most of the players from both teams are 3-4 line players and 2-3 pairing defensemen (usually defensive d) in KHL. They have been playing defensive role whole year against good teams so its not a surprise they can play this good defense against good teams.
Truth is, if any of these 2 wins game against good opponent in wc, its because of solid defense, solid goaltending and using their few scoring chances.
gotta agree here, itīs all about the system they play, especially Belarus from what Iīve seen
They haven't qualified for the quarterfinals yet, and you are already calling up to hockey gods. Not yet. Latvia has been in quarterfinals before, and that was long before KHL. Besides some key players play also in other leagues, like North America, Germany. If the teams are not that strong, it's their spirit, that is. Nothing serious has been accomplished yet. We'll see how they do it against stronger teams. Of course KHL has contributed a lot, but we also have to remember that for Riga Dinamo the most effective line was the one consisting of legionnaires like Hossa, Hartigan, Ellison.
I havenīt really been following Latvia much in this tournament, but in the two exhibition games they played against us, Dzerins looked wuiet good despite being an underachiever in the Slovak Extraliga, so a part of Latviaīs succes (Iīm pointing to their pretty good results so far here) can be also due to players just playing better when theyīre in their NT jersey....
so a part of Latviaīs succes (Iīm pointing to their pretty good results so far here) can be also due to players just playing better when theyīre in their NT jersey....
Yeah, the patriotic factor, which is a direct result of a good microclimate in Latvian NT. We've had the same problems the Slovakia is facing now many times before. It is varying from time to time. I think Slovakia will overpass these problems sooner or later. It'sjust a matter of time. I've seen it before
Yeah, the patriotic factor, which is a direct result of a good microclimate in Latvian NT. We've had the same problems the Slovakia is facing now many times before. It is varying from time to time. I think Slovakia will overpass these problems sooner or later. It'sjust a matter of time. I've seen it before
I have big doubts that it will happen again. A few years ago all our players were hungry for succes with the NT (like our football or handball players are now) and that is why everyone always came and gave everything they had, like Demitra playing with a broken finger in 2003. But the succes has come and gone and it has just been one disappoitment after another, the wasted great teams in the WCīs of 2004 and 2005, the quarterfinals in Torino and thatīs the point were the players started to decline the invitations heavily (look at the roster from the WC 2006). And this wonīt change in the near future and to all that the number of our high-skilled player has declined dramatically.
Actually if it was only Latvian sucess you would have had a platform to build such statements, but Belarus actually proves contrary. The guys who do the result are Mezin, Grabovski, Antonenko, Kalyuzhny, Salei, Ugarov and Hanlon who aren't part of Dinamo Minsk organisation.
Actually if it was only Latvian sucess you would have had a platform to build such statements, but Belarus actually proves contrary. The guys who do the result are Mezin, Grabovski, Antonenko, Kalyuzhny, Salei, Ugarov and Hanlon who aren't part of Dinamo Minsk organisation.
And Dinamo Minsk players are non factors.
non factors? not allowing to make a goals is important as well. you can have a one strong line but if other lines arent good enough then you just lose.
non factors? not allowing to make a goals is important as well. you can have a one strong line but if other lines arent good enough then you just lose.
Actually this is a hard topic to discuss. We hav ehad a similar discussion about our U20 team after the U20 Worlds and many people were saying that the team playing in the league was a non-factor considering that guys from other teams were the best players (Janus-Erie, Tatar, Valach-Zvolen). But the thing is that the players that come from the other teams could do anything what they want, it wouldnī t be enough if the other players were just skating around. The point of projects liek this is not to have the top players playing on the team, but to build a team which can seriously compete if there are the top players added for international events.
non factors? not allowing to make a goals is important as well. you can have a one strong line but if other lines arent good enough then you just lose.
People who make result are non-Minsk players. That's all. Dinamo Minsk isn't the reason Belarus got far.
People who make result are non-Minsk players. That's all. Dinamo Minsk isn't the reason Belarus got far.
They're not making results, but in terms of providing the 'backbone' for Belarus, yes, Minsk players are important.....especially defensively (see Finland).
Individually they're garbage but collectively they've been able to hold their own allowing Kaliuzhny, Grabovsky, etc. to do their thing.
People who make result are non-Minsk players. That's all. Dinamo Minsk isn't the reason Belarus got far.
And you can easily make an argument that Belarus has as many points as they do because Slovakia has sucked, Finland canīt play against teams playing shutdown hockey (not only in the Belarus game, but also against Slovakia). Because when I saw Belarus play against Hungary they were not looking like a team that should be playing the quarterfinals and argueably I would personally say that all of Sweden, Switzerland and Latvia have looked better in this tournament, but only two of them will make the quarterfinals, because that is the system of this tournament.
