Who has impressed you the most on each team.

Who has impressed you the most on each team.

Canada: Lecavalier, Bowmeester, Draper
USA: Martin, Modano
Slovakia: : Cibak, :dunno:
Russia: Ovechkin, Bryskalov, Yashin
Finland: Kipprusoff, Koivu
Czech: Vokoun, Elias
Germany: Sturm, :dunno:
Sweden: Modin, Holmstrom

Canada: Draper, Doan, a few more..
USA: didn't really watch the U.S
Slovakia: ? Demitra
Russia: Bryskalov, Kovalev
Finland: Timmonen, Hentunen, Kipper
Czech: Elias, Cajanek, Havlat
Germany: Sturm, some defencman, name starts with an 'S' ( I'm remembering cause he was either good or really bad)
Sweden: Modin, Holmstrom

edit- like The Albino said... not the best, but the ones who have surprised me most.

Canada: Lecavalier, Draper
USA: Tkachuk, Esche
Slovakia: : Gaborik
Russia: Ovechkin, Kovalev
Finland: Kipprusoff, Koivus (Mikko and Saku)
Czech: Vokoun, Elias
Germany: Sturm
Sweden: Modin

Not necessarily the best, but guys who have surprised me with their play:

Canada: Jay Bouwmeester. The way he's played, it's almost a blessing that there were so many injuries to the d-corps so we could see this kid. ALMOST.
USA: Robert Esche. Was very solid throughout. I thought goaltending would be a weak point for the US, or at least a slight disadvantage compared to some other teams. Esche played as well as anybody.
Slovakia: Nobody really...
Russia: Kovalev in a good way, Kovalchuk in a bad way. Kovalev in that he played superb hockey, Kovalchuk in that he seemed to play quite selfishly. It wasn't only him, but every time he had 3 guys on him he seemed to take it as a challenge to get through them. I still think he's a great player though :)
Finland: Kiprussoff. I knew he was coming off a hot playoffs, but man this guy has been solid. Always in position. It must be comforting having him in nets.
Czechs: Tomas Kaberle. Played very well tonight and throughout the tourney.
Germany: See Slovakia :)
Sweden: Definitely Holmstrom. Gave it all every shift.

Canada: Lecavalier, Checking unit
Sweden: Modin, Sundin
Czechs: Havlat, Vokoun
Slovakia: Gaborik
Germany: Goc
Finland: Kapanen, Kiprusoff, Koivu
USA: Esche, Tkachuk
Russia: Ovechkin(amazing game against the Slovaks), Kovalev.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of:

Finland: Vanaanen
Czechs: Elias
Canada: Bouwmeester
Russia: Vishnevski

I'm begrudgedly surprised at the effectiveness of:

Sweden: Modin
U.S.: Tkachuk

I could care less, but am surprised at the effectiveness of:

Slovaks: Cibak
Germany: Kreutzer

From the teams I've seen play...

Canada has Scott Niedermayer, Martin Brodeur, Jay Bouwmeester, Eric Brewer, and Vinnie Lecavalier who all stand out to me. Niedermayer has played very physical and Bouwmeester/Brewer have both been much better than anticipated. Lecavalier has continued his playoff tear and that tells me Tampa is going to continue to be dangerous. Broduer has been, well, Brodeur.

U.S.A. had a few players such as Paul Martin, Robert Esche, Steve Konowalchuk, and Scott Gomez. Martin has been much better than I dreamed he could be and Esche proved to me that he is no fluke goaltender like Philly is used to getting. Konowalchuk and his linemates all played solid adding physicalilty and some offense, though no scoring. Scott Gomez is the real standout - he's the future of USA hockey.

Russian defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky, despite Thorne's butchering of his last name, was quite good. Frolov had some good chances but failed to finish when necessary. Alexei Yashin was the real standout, he played some of the best hockey I've seen from him in recent memory.

Finland's goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, nothing else needs to be said about him. Koivu and Selanne were both pretty good but Eloranta is, in my mind, the most impressive player on the Finnish team, perhaps because I wasn't expecting anything from him.

Czech Republic had Patrik Elias and Martin Havlat. Both were fantastic through the tournament. Hell, the only players on the Czech team who really stood out were Malik and Sykora, and that's because they were awful. Once past the first two games every player on that team played to potential, but Jagr isn't nearly as strong as he used to be.

Slovakia was downright awful all over the board. Really had no good standout players. Chara was surprisingly bad defensively while Hossa and Satan were totally invisible. Gaborik was the only spot on the team which even had a dim light and he couldn't finish.

Sweden and Germany I didn't see enough of to judge.

Jagr. Kovalev. Koivu. Elias. Bryzgalov. Havlat. Hamrlik. Kaberle.

ETC

btw yeah, Flame_Star_Devil is right about Yashin, he played a "power" game at times and surprised me, nice to see.

Also, i liked Kovalenko's play.

Canada: Boumeester and Richards
Sweden: Modin
Czechs: Vokoun. He proved he's a solid NHL goalie
Slovakia: Stana
Germany: The amount of German raised players. Good for those guys.
Finland: I didn't realize that team as a whole was so physical
USA: Esche, Tkachuk, Modano
Russia: Ovechkin, Kovalev.

Sweden and Germany I didn't see enough of to judge.
You didn't see the Finn-Swede game? Then you missed a great one. Modin and Vanaanen surprised me the most; Alfie and Koivu played well; the Finns dominated 5-on-5 but the Swedish powerplay was deadly. Overtime was a nailbiter. 4-4 final. A classic.

You didn't see the Finn-Swede game? Then you missed a great one. Modin and Vanaanen surprised me the most; Alfie and Koivu played well; the Finns dominated 5-on-5 but the Swedish powerplay was deadly. Overtime was a nailbiter. 4-4 final. A classic.

Yeah, I missed that one. :madfire:
I knew Modin had played well, and Vaananen had impressed me when I saw him play earlier. Modin is the only name I've heard associated with Sweden that received any praise at all.

Canada: Brodeur, Brewer, Lecavalier
USA: Leetch, Chelios
Czech: Vokoun
Slovakia: Obsut
Finland: Salo (if Finland wins, he should be tournament MVP)
Sweden: Modin
Germany: Nobody, really
Russia: Afinogenov, Ovechkin

Canada: Doan and Brewer
USA: Martin and Guerin (to an extent)
Slovakia: Gaborik and Stana
Russia: Afinogenov
Finland: Hagman and Jokinen
Czech: Vyborny
Germany:Lewandowsky (sp?), Kreutzer and Sturm (looked good returning from injury)
Sweden: Alfredsson and Holmstrom

I'd say Afinogenov had impressed me, and he has, with his stickhandling abilities. Problem is he has no shooting or passing abilities so it all goes to waste.

I'd say Afinogenov had impressed me, and he has, with his stickhandling abilities. Problem is he has no shooting or passing abilities so it all goes to waste.
Afinogenov was a stickhandling sensation back in the world juniors before he was drafted. The concern back then was with his finishing ability; that has been borne out.

Afinogenov was a stickhandling sensation back in the world juniors before he was drafted. The concern back then was with his finishing ability; that has been borne out.

I heard this in chat a couple days ago...

"I love how Afinogenov can deke the hell out of the defender and end up in a position where he can neither shoot nor pass."

Doan's profile has skyrocketed during this tourney. He's been exceptional and shown that he's a much more well-rounded player than a lot of fans (outside Phoenix) would have given him credit for.

Doan's profile has skyrocketed during this tourney. He's been exceptional and shown that he's a much more well-rounded player than a lot of fans (outside Phoenix) would have given him credit for.
Agreed Doan is a valuable man.

Doan's profile has skyrocketed during this tourney. He's been exceptional and shown that he's a much more well-rounded player than a lot of fans (outside Phoenix) would have given him credit for.
I remember when he was drafted, TSN profiled his cowboy upbringing and how he can jump off of a horse at full gallop, back up on it, then off the other side, a rodeo skill that requires remarkable strength, balance and agility... which he has brought into the NHL. I'm no Coyotes fan, but he has impressed me from time to time: It's good to see he's getting some kuddos finally.

For Finland: Tuomo Ruutu


Didn't really watch the other teams that much.

United States: Esche, Tkachuk, Martin
Canada: Brodeur, Lecavalier, Draper
Slovakia: Chara?
Germany: Kolzig
Finland: Koivu, Selanne, Salo
Russia: Ovechkin, Zubrus, Kovalev
Czech: Elias
Sweden: Modin, Holmstrom

Im suprised people picked Vokoun. He didn't play very well at all.

I must say t.ruutu has impressed me in these games.
:handclap:

Kipper, Koivu are talented for sure but Ruutu´s play has improved constantly and I´m guessing he is going to be a huge "star" in the near future :lol:

USA Robert Esche was spectactular the whole tournament. I didn't see the last game, but he proved he could sustain his play during the 03-04 playoffs. He should be USA's starter for quite a while. Scott Gomez I also thought proved he belonged on the team.

CANADA Lemieux, I honestly didn't think he'd be as effective as he was during the tournament. He was more physical than I expected him to be and every now and then he'd make a pass that would make me scratch my head. I thought he would be tenative after last season but that apparently isn't the case.

SLOVAKIA No one. They were terrible

Germany Marco Sturm played very well. He was never even 100% the whole tournament, he deserves applause.

FINLAND Its hard to pick a player within a team that works so well, but Kiprusoff is definately one that hard to overlook. I didn't think he'd be a fluke and he proved the rest of the world he isn't with his play in the World Cup.

RUSSIA Kovalev, I think we all saw his deke against USA. Jeez, a player shouldn't be able to move his hands that quick. It almost makes up for his sub-par regular season.

CZECHS Patrik Elias and Martin Havlat I think carried the team for most of the tournament. Havlat is one incredibly shifty player, and Elias showed he can come through in the clutch like he has for the Devils plenty of times before.

SWEDEN Holmstrom, he was a force on the power play, scored their only goal in that 6-1 drubbing.

Canada:Lecavalier and Brodeur(damn he is a wall!! )
USA:Esche and Hull(got the award of the most stupid comment ever! ;) )
Slovakia: Probably Satan! :joker: naa i think Chara was the best
Russia: Kovalev
Finland: Koivu
Czech: Id say Elias
Germany: The beer distributor
Sweden: Alfredsson

USA: Esche
Canada: Lecavlier, Bouwmeester, Draper
Slovakia: No one really :(
Germany: didn't see enough of them
Finland: Kipper
Russia: Kovalev, Ovechkin
Czechs: Havlat, Elias, Vyborny
Sweden: Modin

CANADA: Ryan Smyth - everytime that guy is on the ice he gives it all - one of the most, if not THE most under-rated and under-appreciated players in the league. Lecalvalier Rocks!
USA:I thought they had a lot of individually impressive players - but their teamwork sucked! Modano, Gomez, Esche were the standouts, in my opinion...but I also liked Doug Weight's work as well, I don't think he had many points, but I felt like he was a big contributer to the team, it's not always about making points...sometimes creating plays back at your own end is overlooked, but it's just as important.
SLOV: Uhmm....wow, they were just kinda sad....I'd like to say Gaborik,,,but he didn't look good, either - although I don't think The Great One himself would have looked very well on that team...sorry to say.
CZECK: Elias, Vokoun
RUSSIA: Their goalie, whats his name that starts with a B impressed me. Also Alexei Kovalev - wow, what a shot that guy has.
FINLAND: T-Ruu, IMO he has the potential to be the Finnish version of Ryan Smyth. Kippersoff, of course - one of the damn few goalies who are actually exciting to watch.
SWEDEN: I didn't see them play, no comment
GERMANY: ...didn't see them either

Canada: Ryan Smyth & Brewer
USA: Tkachuk, Eche
Slovakia: : Chara
Russia: Kovalev
Finland: Koivu, Kipper
Czech: Elias
Germany: Sturm
Sweden: Sundin

I watched mostly Team Canada play so I don't know about the other teams so much.For Canada Boumeester ,Lecavalier,Richards,Brodeur,and Sakic.

I watched mostly Team Canada play so I don't know about the other teams so much.For Canada Boumeester ,Lecavalier,Richards,Brodeur,and Sakic.

Are you sure there hasnt been another team on the ice at the same time? :lol

:yo: :D :banana: :lol:

USA: Leetch


Huh?? :help:

I thought he was god awfull for us.

FINLAND: T-Ruu, IMO he has the potential to be the Finnish version of Ryan Smyth.

I would say that Ryan Smyth is the lower limit for Ruutu. He is much more physical and has more skill than Smyth. If he reaches his full potential he will be much better than Ryan Smyth IMO.

Canada - Draper
Russia - Bryzgalov, Frolov
Czech - Straka
Finland - Team Finland :lol:
USA - Hull !!!
Sweden - Naslund, but in a bad way

Canada - Lecavalier. I wouldn't have picked him to have the impact in this tourney that he has. Though it's nowhere near the level of Lemieux in '87, he seems to be the young Canadian star taking the most out of this experience.
USA - Blake. I had not seen enough of him to know his skating was that good and that he was that effective as a pest. Takes a lot of shots.
Finland - Numminen. Hard to believe that his play dropped off as much as some say watching him in this tourney.
Germany - Kreutzer. I expected Sturm to be the offensive leader of this squad and he impressed me by getting any chances and showing strong leadership. That said, the guy that impressed me the most was Kreutzer. He showed a lot of strength for a small guy and excelled in all situations.
Slovakia - Cibak. Not much to pick from.
Czech Republic - Zidlicky and Kaberle. Both surprised me a lot from a defensive standpoint. I expected the forwards to put up points.
Sweden - Modin. Just dominant.
Russia - Yashin. As some other posters have mentioned, he played a power game which shocked me and he played well in short handed situations. Performed well in a leading role.

Finland: Salo (if Finland wins, he should be tournament MVP)


Come on, I mean I am as hardcore a canucks fan as you but we all know Kipper has been the MVP. Salo and Koivu and Selanne have been pretty damn good too.

Canada - of course Bowmeester stepping in admirably is an obvious choice, Neidermeyer is quietly their best backliner, Brewer
USA - DiPietro, Gomez, Tkachuk (finally scored in a game that mattered)
Slovakia - no one did squat to stand out
Russia - Bryzgalov, Vishnevski, and the Frolov-Yashin-Zubrus line was their most consistent
Finland - Lehtinen (is the best 2-way forward in the world but gets zero press)
Czech Rep. - Havlat (has been my favorite player to watch in the tournament)
Germany - Boos
Sweden - it was painful to watch them


Who has impressed you the most on each team.

Canada: Lecavalier, Bowmeester, Draper
USA: Martin, Modano
Slovakia: : Cibak, :dunno:
Russia: Ovechkin, Bryskalov, Yashin
Finland: Kipprusoff, Koivu
Czech: Vokoun, Elias
Germany: Sturm, :dunno:
Sweden: Modin, Holmstrom

Huh?? :help:

I thought he was god awfull for us.
He actually looked worse than he did in the playoffs against the Flyers.

A lot of the players on Team Canada have been impressive, but the guy that has really impressed me is Jay Boumeester. Wow - this guy has future Norris Trophy Winner written all over him. I don't get a chance to see Florida play very often - he must be a real treat for the Panther fans to watch.