The last of the lower tiers of the World Championship starts later today in Turkey, were the Turks will try to stay up in Division II Group B after earning a promotion last year. New Zealand will be looking to get back to Group A after being relegated last year. Mexico and Israel will look to make some noise after failing to do so during Olympic qualifications.
Note: Most information from the IIHF website.
World Ranking
33. Bulgaria
34. Mexico
37. New Zealand
38. China
39. Turkey
40. Israel
Rosters
Bulgaria
Goalies: Konstantin Mihaylov (CSKA Sofia), Nikola Nikolov (Slavia Sofia)
Defense: Nikolay Bozhanov (CSKA Sofia), Viktor Chebishev (Slavia Sofia), Cvetan Cvetanov (Slavia Sofia), Martin Giurov (Slavia Sofia), Stanislav Kanchev (Slavia Sofia), Kristian Radovanov (Slavia Sofia), Bogdan Stefanov (Slavia Sofia)
Forwards: Martin Boyadjiev (Slavia Sofia), Maksim Eftimov (BK Mlada Boleslav), Samuel Gyurkov (NSA Sofia), Martin Milanov (Dinamo Sofia), Martin Nikolov (HC Benatky), Vasil Piperevski (NSA Sofia), Yavor Slavchev (Slavia Sofia), Svetlin Stoev (NSA Sofia), Martin Talev (Slavia Sofia)
China
Goalies: Zhiwei Liu (Harbin), Shengrong Xia (Harbin)
Defense: Tengyi Fu (Harbin), Tianyi Guan (Harbin), Tianyu Hu (Qiqihar), Jiabing Liu (Jiamusi), Longtan Liu (Qiqihar), Qing Liu (Qiqihar), Chao Wen (Harbin), Mingxi Yang (Qiqihar)
Forwards: Jiachang Bao (Harbin), Jin Chen (Changchun), Ling Chen (Qiqihar), Yin He (Harbin), Nan Fu (Qiqihar), Peng Ji (Harbin), Xinlei Li (Harbin), Zhengyu Li (Harbin), Chongwei Wang (Qiqihar), Tianxiang Xia (Harbin), Cheng Zhang (Qiqihar), Hao Zhang (Harbin)
Israel
Goalies: Alex Aharonov (Bat Yam Icebergs), Avihu Sorotzky (MAC Metulla)
Defense: Mikhael Horowitz (MAC Metulla), Navot Kantor (Maalot), Shai Maaravi (MAC Metulla), Evgeni Margoulis (Kfar Saba), Raanan Moscovich (MAC Metulla), Ran Oz (MAC Metulla)
Forwards: Tal Avneri (Rishon), Maxim Birbraer (Cardiff Devils), Oren Eizenmann (Nippon Paper Cranes), Daniel Erlich (University of Western Ontario), Avishai Geller (Bat Yam Icebergs), Daniel Golodnizky (Maalot), Joshua Greenberg (Bat Yam Icebergs), Evgeni Kniter (MAC Metulla), Daniel Mazour (Maalot), Ron Vainshtein (MAC Metulla)
Mexico
Goalies: Alfonso de Alba (Aztec Eagle Warriors), Andres de la Garma (Zapotec Totems)
Defense: Miguel Colas (Aztec Eagle Warriors), Luis David Gonzales (Teotihuacan Priests), Luis Alberto de la Vega (Mayan Astronomers), Franciso Padilla (Zapotec Totems), Alejandro Rosette (Aztec Eagle Warriors), Fernando Ugarte (Teotihuacan Preists)
Forward: Brian Arroyo (Puebla Talaveros), Adrian Cervantes (Mayan Astronomers), Alexis Cervantes (Mayan Astronomers), Roberto Chabat (Aztec Eagle Warriors), Ruben Cuevas (Mayan Astronomers), Carlos Gomez (Aztec Eagle Warriors), Alexander Gutierrez (Mayan Astronomers), Cristofer Kelo (Mayan Astronomers), Diego Linares (Aztec Eagle Warriors), Julian Ramirez (Zapotec Totems), Manuel Sierra (Mayan Astronomers), Santiago Sierra (Aztec Eagle Warriors), Christian Smithers (Mayan Astronomers)
New Zealand
Goalies: Vincent Mitalas (Canterbury Red Devils), Richard Parry (Dunedin Thunder)
Defense: Cameron Frear (Dunedin Thunder), Berton Haines (Southern Stampede), Andrew Hay (Botany Swarm), Richard Idoine (Botany Swarm), Jamie Lawrence (Canterbury Red Devils), Daniel Nicholls (West Auckland Admirals), Stefan Spijkerman (Canterbury Red Devils), Regan Wilson (Dunedin Thunder)
Forwards: Jeremy Chai (West Auckland Admirals), Jordan Challis (Botany Swarm), Andrew Cox (Perth Thunder), Keegan Harnett (Botany Swarm), Joshua Hay (Botany Swarm), Nicholas Henderson (West Auckland Admirals), Paris Heyd (Dunedin Thunder), Charlie Huber (Adelaide Adrenaline), Gareth McLeish (West Auckland Admirals), Brett Speirs (Southern Stampede), Ian Wannamaker (Botany Swarm)
Turkey
Goalies: Fikri Atali (Kocaeli Izmit), Erol Kahraman (Baskent Yildizlari Ankara)
Defense: Savas Akturk (Izmir BB), Gurkan Cetinkaya (Izmir BB), Baris Coskun (Zeytinburnu Istanbul), Emre Faner (Erzurum GSK), Galip Hamarat (Baskent Yildizlari Ankara), Kerem Islam (Koc University Istanbul), Gokhun Ozturk (Kocaeli Izmit), Gokturk Tasdemir (Baskent Yildizlari Ankara)
Forwards: Tugcan Ayyildiz (Kocaeli Izmit), Erdogan Coskun (Izmir BB), Emre Elevli (Baskent Yildizlari Ankara), Eren Ergin (Vienna Flowers), Serkan Gumus (Izmir BB), Yusuf Halil (Izmir BB), Yavuz Karakovc (Kocaeli Izmit), Batin Kosemen (Kocaeli Izmit), Emrah Ozen (Izmir BB), Serdar Semiz (Izmir BB), Alper Solak (Baskent Yildizlari Ankara), Gokalp Solak (Baskent Yildizlari Ankara)
Schedule
April 21
Bulgaria vs. New Zealand
China vs. Israel
Turkey vs. Mexico
April 22
New Zealand vs. Mexico
China vs. Bulgaria
Israel vs. Turkey
April 24
New Zealand vs. Israel
Bulgaria vs. Mexico
China vs. Turkey
April 25
Israel vs. Bulgaria
Mexico vs. China
Turkey vs. New Zealand
April 27
Mexico vs. Israel
Bulgaria vs. Turkey
New Zealand vs. China
Prediction
1 (Promoted) - Mexico
2 - New Zealand
3 - Israel
4 - Bulgaria
5 - China
6 (Relegated) - Turkey
Between last year`s results and the ranking for these countries, predicting this group is probably the trickiest. I`m going to say that Mexico shocks the group and clinches first place, earning the promotion. New Zealand seems to be a definite top two team in this tournament. Israel is coming in with a close-to-full-force roster (Birbraer AND Eizenmann!), so they are more likely in contention. I picked Bulgaria to end up fourth mostly because I have no idea what to make of them. China is a relatively young team and that might hinder them for a bit. Turkey is...well...Turkey. I don't think they can hang in Division II.
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