IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
Lets talk about the Swedes who IMO were one of the "under the radar" giants. I really expected them to at the very least playing for bronze. They had the 3rd best goalie in the NHL in King Henrik, arguably the hottest tandem coming into the tournament in the twins, the guy centering the leagues leading point getter and two of the best 2 way players in Zetterberg, Alfredsson. Zetterberg, a guy whos made back to back Cup final appearances, I thought he was going to be putting on a defensive clinic. Heck even Forsberg played who IMO could have been the sleeping giant. They however, were a complete disaster, they never gelled, didnt seem to have it together.
Biggest mistakes from the roster IMO - adding Modin, Magnus Johanson and no Hedman.
Last edited by Puckgenius*: 03-01-2010 at 09:49 AM.
they just lost - that's it. one bad game and you're done.
I thought sweden was the best team after canada, going into the tournament and after watching them play. A great goaltending performance sometimes makes all the difference. No need to nitpick on the roster/personnel - sweden's got tremendous hockey talent and you play a best of seven or even a best of five in the olympics and i suspect they make the finals more often than not.
and backstrom may be the best kept secret in the NHL. he's incredible.
Sweeden was the shocker for me. I had them as a shoe in for a medal. Then again Russia didn't win a medal either. The Slovaks had some of the best goal tending and played some great hockey.
Playing Weinhandl with the Twins was a big mistake. I know they have chemistry from their days together in Sweden, but this is a case where somebody put too much emphasis on chemistry. Weinhandl was a fringe player in the NHL, and you're expecting him to be able to keep up on an elite line in a best-on-best? It was asking too much.
I don't know if the Swedes really came together. Maybe we should have known something was up when they had two-goal wins over Germany and Belarus. They beat Finland, but watching those four games, I never got the sense that we were watching a top-notch medal contender.
One thing worth noting is that this is the fourth time in the last five best-on-best tournaments that the Swedes were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Maybe the question should be "what went wrong in 2010" but "what went right in 2006?". And maybe we shouldn't be surprised that this happened.
Expect to see a very different Swedish team in the next best-on-best. For a lot of players, this was their last hurrah. You'll be seeing a lot of players from the excellent drafts the Swedes have had since 2006.
I wasn't a big fan of how they went about everything. Getting together to golf in the summer instead of having an on ice camp is really foolish if you ask me.
I don't know if the Swedes really came together. Maybe we should have known something was up when they had two-goal wins over Germany and Belarus. They beat Finland, but watching those four games, I never got the sense that we were watching a top-notch medal contender.
i agree about that. i had them in my top 3, only ones who failed me, but there was just something missing. while a few of their players seemed to work their backsides off, i was left scratching my head on some of the others. i mean its not as if they played bad, but they just weren't their usual expected selves, like sleep walking. add to that a few defensive lapses and a bad game in an elimination round, and there you have it.
I blame Lundquist for letting in 4 goals in what 7 shots other then that the only players on the swedish team that played well every game was the Ericksson Bäckström Alfie Line.
They weren't under the radar. Sometimes bad things happen in a 1-game series. It happened to them. Sucks, but it's not like in 2002 when they lost to Belarus. They lost to someone legitimate to converted chances and managed to keep the puck out
BÅG cant coach. I still think we had good enough team to challenge for medals and perhaps even upset a team like Canada. But when a tournament is this short you have to do everything to maximize your pp, pk and play your best players alot. BÅG rolled all lines on PP and PK, for instance our first line had 13 minutes of gametime against Slovakia. What the hell?
I blame BAG for most of this. For not having Samuelsson on the team, for playing Wenhandl with the Sedins on the top line and for the worse move of all having Pahlsson on for the final minute of the game. Seriously Samuel Pahlsson. I think BAG wanted to get fired.
1. NHL-sized rink.
2, a. Too many old and tired players who won the olympics last time and without enough desperation and desire for the gold medal (think Canada 2006). Same goes for the coach.
2, b. Hence not enough young, hungry players.
3. Should have lost the game against Finland for tactical reasons.
BÅG made stupid picks
BÅG made them play a useless tactic
BÅG made stupid choices when putting lines together
BÅG didn't change the stupid lines after everyone saw how stupid they were
BÅG picked and played eight defenders through the whole tourny
BÅG didn't have the team practise PP, he didn't see a reason
BÅG played the Sedin's 13 minutes in the final, and didn't do squat about Weinhandl who clearly didn't fit in on that line.
