Monday, February 10, 2014

Sochi 2014 Olympic Men's Hockey Preview: Group B

Our second preview of Olympic Men's Hockey. Group B consist of reigning gold medalist Canada, reigning bronze medalist Finland, the always-happy-to-show-up Norway, and Austria, who qualified for the Olympics for the first time since 2002.

World Ranking

2. Finland
5. Canada
9. Norway
15. Austria

Team Roster

Austria
Goalies:
Name
Club (League)
Mathias Lange
Iserlohn Roosters (DEL)
Bernhard Starkbaum
Brynas Gavle (SHL)
Rene Swette
KAC Klagenfurt (EBEL)

Defensemen:
Name
Club (League)
Mario Altmann
EC VSV (EBEL)
Florian Iberer
KAC Klagenfurt (EBEL)
Andre Lakos
Vienna Capitals (EBEL)
Robert Lukas
EHC Linz (EBEL)
Thomas Pock
KAC Klagenfurt (EBEL)
Matthias Trattnig
EC Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL)
Stefan Ulmer
HG Lugano (NLA)
Gerhard Unterluggauer
EC VSV (EBEL)

Forwards:
Name
Club (League)
Michael Grabner
New York Islanders (NHL)
Raphael Herburger
EHC Biel (NLA)
Thomas Hundertpfund
Timra IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
Matthias Iberer
EHC Linz (EBEL)
Thomas Koch
KAC Klagenfurt (EBEL)
Manuel Latusa
EC Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL)
Brian Lebler
EHC Linz (EBEL)
Andreas Nodl
EC Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL)
Daniel Oberkofler
EHC Linz (EBEL)
Michael Raffl
Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
Thomas Raffl
EC Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL)
Oliver Setzinger
Lausanne HC (NLA)
Thomas Vanek
New York Islanders (NHL)
Daniel Welser
EC Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL)


Canada
Goalies:
Name
Club (League)
Roberto Luongo
Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
Carey Price
Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Mike Smith
Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)

Defensemen:
Name
Club (League)
Jay Bouwmeester
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
Drew Doughty
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
Dan Hamhuis
Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
Duncan Keith
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
Alex Pietrangelo
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
P.K. Subban
Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
San Jose Sharks (NHL)
Shea Weber
Nashville Predators (NHL)

Forwards:
Name
Club (League)
Jamie Benn
Dallas Stars (NHL)
Patrice Bergeron
Boston Bruins (NHL)
Jeff Carter
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
Sidney Crosby
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Matt Duchene
Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
Ryan Getzlaf
Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Chris Kunitz
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Patrick Marleau
San Jose Sharks (NHL)
Rick Nash
New York Rangers (NHL)
Corey Perry
Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Patrick Sharp
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
Martin St. Louis
Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
John Tavares
New York Islanders (NHL)
Jonathan Toews
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)


Finland
Goalies:
Name
Club (League)
Kari Lehtonen
Dallas Stars (NHL)
Antti Niemi
San Jose Sharks (NHL)
Tuukka Rask
Boston Bruins (NHL)

Defensemen:
Name
Club (League)
Juuso Hietanen
Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod (KHL)
Lasse Kukkonen
Karpat Oulu (SM-liiga)
Sami Lepisto
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (KHL)
Olli Maatta
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Sami Salo
Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
Kimmo Timonen
Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
Ossi Vaananen
Jokerit Helsinki (SM-liiga)
Sami Vatanen
Anaheim Ducks (NHL)

Forwards:
Name
Club (League)
Juhamatti Aaltonen
Karpat Oulu (SM-liiga)
Aleksander Barkov
Florida Panthers (NHL)
Mikael Granlund
Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Jarkko Immonen
Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod (KHL)
Jussi Jokinen
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Olli Jokinen
Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
Leo Komarov
Dynamo Moscow (KHL)
Petri Kontiola
Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)
Lauri Korpikoski
Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
Jori Lehtera
Sibir Novosibirsk (KHL)
Antti Pihlstrom
Salavat Yulayev Ufa (KHL)
Tuomo Ruutu
Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
Sakari Salminen
Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod (KHL)
Teemu Selanne
Anaheim Ducks (NHL)


Norway
Goalies:
Name
Club (League)
Lars Haugen
Dinamo Minsk (KHL)
Steffen Soberg
Valerenga Oslo (GET Ligaen)
Lars Volden
Espoo Blues (SM-liiga)

Defensemen:
Name
Club (League)
Alexander Bonsaksen
Valerenga Oslo (GET Ligaen)
Jonas Holos
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)
Henrik Odegaard
Missouri Mavericks (CHL)
Henrik Solberg
Stavanger Oilers (GET Ligaen)
Daniel Sorvik
Valerenga Oslo (GET Ligaen)
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen
Farjestads BK (SHL)
Mats Trygg
Lorenskog IK (GET Ligaen)

Forwards:
Name
Club (League)
Morten Ask
Valrenga Olso (GET Ligaen)
Anders Bastiansen
Farjestads BK (SHL)
Robin Dahlstrom
Orebro HK (SHL)
Kristian Forsberg
MODO (SHL)
Mads Hansen
Storhamar Dragons (GET Ligaen)
Fredrik Lystad Jacobsen
Storhamar Dragons (GET Ligaen)
Sondre Olden
Valerenga Oslo (GET Ligaen)
Ken Andre Olimb
DEG Dusseldorf (DEL)
Mathis Olimb
Frolunda Gothenburg (SHL)
Niklas Roest
BIK Karlskoga (HockeyAllsvenskan)
Mats Rosseli Olsen
Frolunda Gothenburg (SHL)
Martin Roymark
Farjestads BK (SHL)
Per-Age Skroder
MODO (SHL)
Patrick Thoresen
SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)
Mats Zuccarello
New York Rangers (NHL)


Team Breakdown

Austria: The red-headed step child of the World Championships look to make some noise in the Olympics. Grabner and Vanek lead their offense, which has a bit of depth to it (very small, but it's there). Not much change to the defense from the last World Championship (Ulmer and Trattnig are additions). They have proven they can contribute offensively, now if only they can help keep the puck out of their net. Starkbaum will lead Austria in goal, with Lange and Swette backing him up.

Canada: The only problem for Canada's offense might be choosing which centre to play wing. They have a ton of depth down the middle. The wing is where some question marks are, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. The defence is pretty good, as they go for more guys who can skate this time around. The worry is always the goaltending, but between Luongo and Price there should be no worries. Mike Smith is the third stringer.

Finland: Injuries has hampered the Finns, as they had a few notable guys (Mikko Koivu being one) dropping out (and Saku has declined the invite, which sucks). Outside of the injures, their offense is still pretty good, as Selanne headlines their attack one last time. Their defense is a bit on the old side (Maatta and Vatanen excluded), but should be capable enough to withstand most offensive attacks. If the Finns have one thing, it's definitely goaltending. Rask will lead the way, as Niemi and Lehtonen will be more than capable of filling in and carrying the load for Finland.

Norway: The Norwegians aren't expected to wow anyone. Zuccarello and Thoresen are expected to carry the offense. Bastiansen and the Olimbs may proved some scoring (they led Norway in points in the last World Championship). Their defense is the same as last World Championship, which wasn't good in the first place (-14 goal difference and only three guys got a point)  Haugen has been in a tandem in the KHL so it's likely that he will start for Norway, with Volden and Soberg probably second and third respectively.

Schedule

February 13
Finland vs. Austria
Canada vs. Norway

February 14
Canada vs. Austria
Norway vs. Finland

February 16
Austria vs. Norway
Finland vs. Canada

Predictions

Brad
1 - Canada
2 - Finland
3 - Norway
4 - Austria

MDK
1 - Canada
2 - Finland
3 - Austria
4 - Norway

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