World Cup Of Hockey: Roundtable Tournament Predictions
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
With the World Cup of Hockey set to begin on September 17th, it’s prediction time at Editor In Leaf.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are represented on every single team for the World Cup of Hockey, adding to the intrigue of the NHL’s Olympic replacement tournament.
This week’s roundtable question veers from the Leafs and heads to the World Cup of Hockey to make our predictions for who the top three teams will be when all is said and done.
The only thing that is certain is that there will be a Toronto Maple Leafs player winning a Cup this year.
Browse through the slideshow to get the predictions from four of our staff.
Mar 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Team North America general manager Peter Chiarelli (right) speaks to media while associate general manager Stan Bowman listens during a press conference for the upcoming 2016 World Cup of Hockey at Intercontinental Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Torrin Batchelor’s World Cup Of Hockey Predictions
1. Team Canada
When you have the best defence core in the world and can afford to leave off top 5 Norris Trophy contenders like PK Subban, your team is doing alright. Add that Carey Price is supposedly fully healthy and even if he isn’t you have Brayden Holtby as your back up, Team Canada should be letting in very few goals against. Oh, and some guy named Sidney Crosby.
2. Team North America
When it was first announced that there’d be a team of the best Under-23 year old NHLers from Canada and the US competing as a team there was a mixed reaction from media and fans alike.
On one hand, awesome that we’d get to see top young stars, but on the other surely they’d be bullied around by the more senior NHL stars on opposing teams. The biggest black hole was the goaltending position, leading to GM Peter Chiarelli asking for an exception to the rule in order to have more proven goaltending available.
More from Editor In Leaf
Then Matt Murray went and won the Stanley Cup backstopping the Penguins, Connor Hellebuyck almost stole the No.1 role in Winnipeg years earlier than he was expected too and Anaheim felt so confident in John Gibson that they traded starter Fredrik Andersen to Toronto.
Goaltending won’t be a problem for Team Future Stars. Add in a crazy mobile defence led by SuperHuman Aaron Ekblad, everyone’s favourite pick for a breakout year Morgan Rielly, Columbus’s super young studs Seth Jones and Ryan Murray and Shayne “GHOSTBEAR” Ghostibehere.
The puck will be flying up the ice to the hands of their forwards. With players like Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monohan, Mark Scheifele, and some kid named CONNOR MCDAVID. Team North America will be the most electrifying team and my dark horse to win it all.
Also, with Morgan Rielly and our first chance to see Auston Matthews at the ACC, Leafs fans will all be secretly cheering Team North America on.
3. Team Europe
I can tell you it won’t be Team USA who had half of their best players stolen by Team North America in Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, etc and topped it off by leaving their best pure offensive player off the roster in Phil Kessel.
To be completely honest I could care less about any other team in the tournament because I’ll be so glued to whatever game Team Canada and Team North America are playing in.
However, since I have to pick a third place: I’ll bet that Russia chokes, Czech Republic doesn’t have the horses, Sweden is too old and the youth isn’t ready to take over.
Slovakia is almost irrelevant as a hockey power and that it comes down to Team Finland the new emerging Hockey Super Power or Team Europe so that Anze Kopitar can finally play in some meaningful games (technically) for his country.
So 3rd will be Team Europe.
Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Sandy Taver’s World Cup Of Hockey Predictions
This tournament is about getting to your ” A” game quickly and having your team playing error limited hockey every game. The winning team will need to find the offensive chemistry, play an efficient transition game, get strong defensive zone coverage and stellar goaltending to win it all.
As in most short tournaments like this it’s possible that even the best team will have a ” stinker” game where everything that can go wrong does. The key is to have that game – if there is one, early on when it doesn’t matter.
Having it happen late can open the door for a lesser team to knock a favorite out. Taking all these factors into account the rankings come out as follows:
1. Canada
Reigning Olympic and world champions, this team has all the ingredients to win this tournament and have to unquestionably be the favorite.
More from Editor In Leaf
Largely composed of the same key players and coaches that anchored the 2014 Olympic team, a team that got better and better every game they played in that tournament.
It was arguably the best Canadian squad ever assembled because it gave up little to opponents in offence while improving their own offence each game out.
That team shut down most offence and had steady, reliable goaltending to take away the few opportunities that are created. This version is very similar with such depth that the experienced coaching staff can alter their lineup and game plan in advance or during games to win against any style their opponent presents.
More often though, it will be the opponent trying to find a way to get an edge to beat this team and that isn’t going to be easy.
This team is a ” beast” and could win with a spotless record, making them the heavy favorite to take the cup. There is NO area of weakness on this squad, comprised of stars at every position, who check their egos at the door and do what it takes to win.
2. USA
It was a bit tough ranking the next teams as all have strengths and concerns rather than weaknesses. I gave the nod to the USA because they have stellar goalies in Quick, Bishop and even Schnieder.
Their defence is solid in creating offence and defending. All the pairings are strong and talented whether it’s Ryan Suter and Byfuglien, Jack and Eric Johnson. John Carlson and Mcdonagh with Niskanen as the spare this is a dependable collection of two way players.
The forwards may not have the depth of offence that might be needed to beat the Canadians but they do have solid two way players throughout.
To win the cup they would need to either find production from their secondary scoring forwards, or play such flawless defence as to win a tight 1 goal game. While you know Kane, Pavelski, Pacioretty, JVR and Wheeler are threats, they will need guys like Stepan, Dubinsky, Backes, Oshie etc to find ways to score if they are going to beat Canada and possibly some of the other top teams.
This looks like a defensively focused team that will create offence on the power play and in transition. Solid team but the lack of scoring depth is the concern which puts them behind Canada.
3. Sweden
Sweden is slightly behind the USA, because of a concern in the net. Sweden needs Lundquist to prove last year wasn’t the signalling of his drop from star status. Either he or Markstrom have to be stellar for the Swedes to contend.
Blessed with a very solid defence that can orchestrate offence and defend, giving this team the ability to win a games. Erik Karlsson, Hedman and under appreciated Oliver Ekman Larsson are as dynamic and capable as any defencemen in this tourney.
Add in the steady play of Stralman, Hjalmarsson, with the young but capable Ekholm and Hampus Linholm and you have a very talented Corp with great speed and pinpoint passing to bolster their transition game. No surprise if the tournament’s leading scoring defensemen come from this team.
The concern besides goal tending is similar to the US where the firepower up front is somewhat limited. This is a solid group of forwards for sure, but the Sedins and Zetterberg aren’t in their prime and besides Backstrom, Steen and Ericsson their other forwards are relatively young or solid two players but not snipers.
maple leafs
Editor In Leaf 1 wToronto Maple Leafs: Grabner Trade Still Providing Flexibility
More headlines around FanSided:
1 w - Toronto Maple Leafs Player Preview: Zach Hyman1 w - Maple Leafs Roundtable: Favorite Moment From 2015-20161 w - Toronto Maple Leafs Player Preview: Jake Gardiner1 w - Toronto Maple Leafs Unable to Land Jimmy Vesey1 w - Toronto Maple Leafs: Shifting Toward A Non-Fighting SportMore News at Editor In Leaf
They will need Forsberg, Landeskog, Hagelin and Silfverberg to play at the top of their game and compliment Hornquist, Kruger and Soderbergs’ two way play with some scoring.
If they get the goaltending they could beat out the USA and play Canada for gold where anything could happen.
4. Russia
The Russian squad has a better chance of getting a strong goaltending performance from one of the trio of Bobrovski, Varlamov and Vasilievsky than Sweden does.
Their defence has some strength in Voynov, Kulikov, Emelin and Markov but none are at the level of the Swedish or U S teams. Support from Zaitsev, Orlov and Marchenko hardly means depth, which puts the need for stelar goaltending at the forefront to be successful.
Any team with Datsyk, Ovechkin, Malkin, Kucherov, Kuznetsov, Namesnikov and Tarasenko abviously has the ability to score, and the support forwards are capable two way players but the concern of play in their own end, and likely reliance on goaltending could put this team out before the playoffs if all doesn’t fall into place quickly.
5. North America
I think this squad is going to be a fan favorite behind team Canada. There is no lack of talent on this team, which has the ability to use its high speed tempo to create scoring from any of the forward groupings.
The young stars on this squad comprise a good representation of the NHL”s future super stars in the make, and no matter what this team accomplishes every player will benefit greatly from having been in this tournament and on this team.
Can they upset though ? There is a chance, actually, but it will take the stars to align. This squad had early concerns about goaltending, but with Gibson and Murray having proven capable under playoff pressure that issue is now less of a concern.
By virtue of their under 23 requirement this is a young and relatively inexperienced team. Where this impacts most is on defence, but these guys have a ton of talent can skate and make plays.
Ekblad, Seth Jones, Morgan Reilly, Ryan Murphy, Trouba, and Parayko have been growing into solid defenceman and will certainly be able to hold their own against any team. Gostisbehere is a strong offensive player that will also be a factor.
There is no lack of speed or skill, but there is that lack of experience in pressure packed situations which will arise against the top teams, and that will ultimately decide where this team finishes.
Up front the forwards are superb, led by McDavid, Eichel, Gaudreau, Monahan, Drouin, Larkin, Mckinnon and Scheiffele not to forget Auston Mathews. These guys have the speed to burn defences and the offensive firepower to blow teams away. Couturier, Saad, Miller and Hopkins can key the defensive assignments but can also contribute on offence.
The Only thing missing is that big game experience, and the chemistry formed by having played together over time. If any of the higher rated teams falter, this team could progress to the final and give anyone a run for the championship. It could happen that these “kids” find their chemistry quickly and play such an up tempo game as to drive opponents into mistakes that create wins.
If there is a dark horse this is the team because of the immense talent they can put out for every shift. Like I said, they will likely be a fan favorite as well, and that may be the boost they need to pull off an upset of two and get them to the final.
The other teams and why they won’t likely contend.
Finland: should be rated up there with Sweden and the U S, But I don’t see them being in the running without “stand on your head” goaltending, which is possible just not likely.
They have decent forwards and an ok defence but don’t compare to the other teams overall. As usual they will be tough to play against, but if games come down to one big goal needed I don’t think they have the depth of talent to get it.
Laine, an 18 yr old, may be their best scorer and while they have good two way players like Barkov, Koivu and Granlund the rest don’t compare to the teams above.
Defensively there isn’t a real proven stud to lead the way. Ristolainen, Vatanen, Matta are the somewhat proven nhlers, and Lindell will surprise, but depending on Pokka, Lepisto, and Jokipakka to fill the holes is a guarantee that goaltending will need to be MVP caliber and despite Rinne being capable, it’s not likely.
Team EUROPE: a collection of some good but mostly mediocre talent from various backgrounds and systems. The chance that this team can find chemistry in a short tournament would be nearly impossible. As such they aren’t very likely to even threaten
Team Czech: There is a some definite talent here but there isn’t much depth and only fair goaltending. Like Europe they are Not a real threat at all, no matter how well things work out.
CONCLUSION
The obvious favorite is Canada because they can ice a forth line that is as good as any other teams’ first line. Their defence is solid in every aspect of the game, have familiarity with one another and are proven winners.
While some asked how Bowmeester got picked in front of Subban or Giordano the answer is his experience with this team,ability to play left side and partner with Pietrangelo. Winning is about quickly getting everyone on the same page and this team has a leg up on the others with their strong Olympic team nucleus leading the way.
To beat them will mean that the other team catches them flat ..unlikely because there are 4 lines that can all take the lead and it’s not likely to catch all 4 unprepared. Or opponents might be able to use a very high end transition game with great speed to catch the defense and score a goal or two then hang on for a win.
It’s possible but again not likely since this is a very fine tuned team with a common mindset of playing flawless hockey and capable of doing so.
Bottom line is that this team looks every bit the winner and get the nod until someone proves they have the “gems’ to beat them. Go Canada GO !!
Dec 30, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; The Team Canada decal at center ice before the start of their game against USA during the first period in an exhibition hockey game at Air Canada Centre. USA beat Canada 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Lauren Kelly’s World Cup Of Hockey Predictions
In such a short tournament (like all IIHF tournaments, in fact), anything can happen. The favourites might not impress or live up to fans’ expectations, and the underdogs may surge to the top.
It’s either that, or everything will play out exactly as most fans believe it will.
So who exactly will finish 1-2-3 at the World Cup? It’s definitely not predictable, given the uncertainty of many of the games and the fact that hockey is an unpredictable sport to begin with.
But these are the three teams I believe will finish atop at the World Cup.
1. Canada
First, Canada is the host country. They’ve got the fans on their side, and that’s a definite boost. But more than that, they’ve got the best goaltender on planet Earth in Carey Price, even if he hasn’t played in a while.
Price will still be one of the tournament’s best goalies by the end of it. Canada has game-breakers like Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews, and their defense, while not flashy, is dependable, solid, and quietly efficient. Much like the roster iced in Sochi, this version of Team Canada will rely on their defense and goaltending to go deep into the tournament, and the goals will come eventually.
maple leafs
Editor In Leaf 1 wToronto Maple Leafs: Grabner Trade Still Providing Flexibility
More headlines around FanSided:
1 w - Toronto Maple Leafs Player Preview: Zach Hyman1 w - Maple Leafs Roundtable: Favorite Moment From 2015-20161 w - Toronto Maple Leafs Player Preview: Jake Gardiner1 w - Toronto Maple Leafs Unable to Land Jimmy Vesey1 w - Toronto Maple Leafs: Shifting Toward A Non-Fighting SportMore News at Editor In Leaf
The team’s biggest challenge is living up to its expectations. Being the host nation, and also the reigning Olympic and World champions, puts a lot of pressure on the team to perform. Plus, Price is their X-Factor.
Will he be able to return to form? And can the players find chemistry amongst each other? If they can, even if Price isn’t 100% and Holtby needs to step in for a bit, Canada should still finish on top.
2. Sweden
One word: blueline. Sweden’s defense is the best of any team, including Canada. This blueline is fast, smooth, and can generate offense like a machine.
They do have a strong forward group, but aside from Carl Hagelin, it’s not a very fast group, so the blueline must be a catalyst for Sweden’s offense. That’s not likely to be a problem, though, given how many offensive-defensemen there are on this team. Their X-Factor is Henrik Lundqvist.
Is he healthy enough, is there any rust, or can he excel for Sweden as he’s done in the past? In any case, Sweden’s forwards might not have enough of what it takes to break down the Canadians’ stiff defense, and that will be what lands the Swedes in second.
3. Finland
Finland doesn’t have a specific strength at any position, like Canada’s forwards (and goaltending) or Sweden’s defense. But they do have a balanced attack, from youngsters like Patrik Laine, to veterans like Mikko Koivu.
Their defense is young and fast, but does lack experience, which could prove to be the team’s undoing in the elimination games.
Finland does have two strong options in goal with Tuukka Rask and Pekka Rinne, so there shouldn’t be a problem in the crease. If the team can find chemistry, and play team defense, there should be no reason why Finland can’t finish in the top three.
Honourary Mention: North America
A simple piece of advice: let the kids play their game, give instructions but not too many, and see what happens. More likely, not overthinking will play a large role in the success of this team. There is no faster team than this one in the World Cup.
There is chemistry between defensemen, and forwards. What seemed like a weakness a few months ago is now a strength, with Matt Murray leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup.
It’s his net to lose, but Jennings Trophy winner John Gibson provides the North Americans with a formidable goaltending tandem.
While inexperience is the team’s X-Factor (and maybe their Achilles heel), they will surprise many if they can find quick chemistry and outscore opponents. And if everything clicks into place, don’t be surprised to see them contend for the championship.
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Tim Chiasson’s World Cup Of Hockey Predictions
1.Canada
Team Canada is easily the team to beat in this tournament, like every other tournament. They’ve got the best all-around roster and they enter the tournament bringing a vicious offense in tow.
The home crowd will be rowdy and supporting as Sidney Crosby leads this team onto the ice for yet another shot at the international hockey crown.
Where Canada may run into trouble is on defence since they neglected to take their best players at that position. Leaving P.K. Subban off of this roster is disgusting.
Canada’s biggest problem is a self-inflicted one: they still have the old boys’ club running things at the top. Canada still makes its roster choices based on perceptions of players and not who is actually the best in the country.
Nevertheless, they’re still the best roster at the tournament and it’s win-or-bust for hockey’s greatest nation yet again.
2. Sweden
The Swedes have the best defensive group in the world, and it’s not even close. Factor that with Henrik Lundqvist and you’ve got a team that’s going to be top three no matter what the forward group does.
Every defender on that team could be a top pairing blueliner around the NHL, if they aren’t already.
There’s no reason that Sweden should finish lower than first in their group after the preliminary’s are done, and they should handle whoever they get in the semi’s from the other group – unless it’s Canada, of course, but that shouldn’t happen.
3. North America
Team North America is the underdog in this tournament, but they shouldn’t be.
This is a team loaded with the games best young players, and dominant ones at that. Connor McDavid is getting set up to take the world of hockey over, and this tournament is the start of something incredible for the Oilers star player.
The forwards, defensemen and goaltenders are all excellent hockey players and this roster is more impressive than half of the tournaments legitimate countries.
In their group they’ll need to finish second to advance to the semi-finals. They’ve got more speed and talent than Team Finland so, without a complete breakdown, they should be able to beat them.
The Russian’s beat teams off of speed and skill. Well, they’ve met their match with North America. These kids are faster and more talented than the Russian’s and they’re going to destroy the Russian goaltenders if Andrei Vasilevsky doesn’t start.
Even if Vasilevsky plays, he’s going to be in for a rough ride with a pitiful defensive group lacing up in front of him.
This article originally appeared on 
