2017 IIHF World Championship Report (Day 7)
The World Championship has had a very different feel this year as a sweep of young stars are taking over the tournament.
It is the same as most of the sports around the world as every major league is getting younger as a younger group of players are beginning to have a bigger impact.
This year seems particularly young for a lot of teams in the tournament as the new generation is beginning to take over the international stage.
In the main professional leagues, the youth movement is taking over because younger better players are coming and replacing the veteran talent.
Every year the draft brings a new group of players into the league where they hope to make their mark.
When these new players start to make their mark on the league teams are more willing to see the veterans walk away, especially if they’ve dropped off.
In international sports, it is a little different as there are a lot of great players who decide that they are no longer meant for the international game.
For international teams in the IIHF, there is no draft but there is a selection process and a lot of that process comes through the performance of the players in their leagues.
Much of that process is also about the history of the players as international hockey is very different from the NHL.
For players in other leagues, the competition jumps up in a major way as top players from every league around the world are on the ice at the same time.
So for a lot of the organising bodies for every country they look at the players that have already played in tournaments like this before.
They look for that experience because getting up for another major competition after a season is completed is far from an easy thing to do.
The experienced players know what it is like to travel around the world to continue their hockey season for another few weeks.
There is a different sense of loyalty in international hockey because money is not the motivating factor for any team, at least directly.
In professional leagues finding the best value for money is an essential part of the process for every team.
In the international game, it is all about putting the best team together that you can with the players that are willing to go to the tournament.
Convincing players to come it a big part of organising a team and without money being the factor it is all about the ability to play for your country.
Deciding to go is as much as they need and for national teams, anyone that decides to attend usually gets the chance.
That is especially true if that player has had a history of playing for his country and making an impact.
Even players that might be a little too old get the benefit of the doubt from these national teams that want as little turnover as they can get.
A lot of times the transition is a slow one but the young players do eventually make their way to the national team to help them continue competing.
This year though it seems like more than ever teams are seeing a youth movement on their rosters.
The last few years have seen more veterans step aside from the international game as they let the younger generation take over.
For players like Jaromir Jagr or Pavel Datsyuk, the time has passed for them to play on the international stage.
Both would have been accepted on their respective teams but neither is a part of international hockey any longer.
There have been many players saying the same thing as they claim that it is time for the new generation to take over for their countries.
It seems like that has been the case this year as there are more veterans who have decided to stay away leaving younger players to take over.
There is a surprising amount of teams that decided to go younger this year and more than just the teams without their few good players.
Teams like Canada and the USA are looking to their new generation of talent to help them get a medal this year.
The younger generation is here and they very well might find themselves sitting on top as these young players continue to make their mark in every aspect of the sport.
Day 7:
Russia 3-0 Denmark
– The Russians continued their run through the tournament as they took their fourth win of the tournament and rose back to the top of Group A while Denmark stayed in danger of being relegated
Czech Republic 1-0 Norway (OT)
– The Czechs have not been the best in this tournament over the last few years but they continue to fight for the playoffs including this game as they took two points in overtime pushing them further up the standings
Sweden 2-0 Latvia
– Latvia faced their first test of the tournament after a great start and they couldn’t quite keep up as the Swedes handed them their first loss while closing the gap on the top teams in their group
Canada 3-2 France
– The French almost did it as they almost found their way to the biggest upset of the tournament when they went ahead in the second period but the Canadians fought back to take the win
Day 8:
Sweden vs. Italy (Friday, May 12th; 10:15 am ET)
– Sweden continues their comeback trail as they take their match-ups against the bottom part of the group and they will look for another win against the Italians who are trying to stay out of relegation
Czech Republic vs. Slovenia (Friday, May 12th; 10:15 am ET)
– Slovenia is struggling this year but they have found their way to sitting just above the relegation line and now they try to make their lead a little more comfortable while the Czechs hope to keep climbing the standings
Denmark vs. Germany (Friday, May 12th; 2:15 pm ET)
– The Germans have had great games all tournaments in front of their home crowd and they are trying to keep the party going as they look for a playoff spot hoping to get closer against the Danes
France vs. Belarus (Friday, May 12th; 2:15 pm ET)
– This a game that the French are going to want to win and win in regulation if they want to stay in the hunt for the playoffs as they need both of those three points to help them in their run towards the playoffs
The Sport Addiction 