WJC: Dec 28 GDT - Slovakia 3 Sweden 6

Game start: 19:30 local time | 1.30 PM ET
Liveticker: http://www.iihf.com/Hydra/Tournaments_07/output/w20/hydra.iihf.com/IIHF_Core/jsp/content/web_output/index.jsp@compId=96

Starting in goal for the Swedes?

I will be very surprised if it isn't Gistedt again.

Anyway, i hope we could get our offence going today.

Prediction: Swe - Slo: 4-1

6-2 for Sweden.

my prediction: Swe - Svk: 4:1

6-2 Swe

6-2 for Sweden.

5-0 for Sweden. They need a bug win to not only stay in the race for the second seed in pool A for the playoff round but to gain some confidence and momentum for their big game against the US.

BTW, i know this is offtopic, but how come we never play in the blue jersey nowadays?

Maybe the death of Sandlin can spark the guys emotionally today. Especially Backstrom who is a brynasare afterall, and sandlin recently praised him.

Maybe the death of Sandlin can spark the guys emotionally today. Especially Backstrom who is a brynasare afterall, and sandlin recently praised him.

Yeah, to honor his memory, they should put up a hell of a game.

Yeah, to honor his memory, they should put up a hell of a game.

agreed.

Sweden has to win this game in order to advance and the Slovaks knows it. Which is perfect for them because that means that they can do what CzechoSlovakian teams do best, sit back and defend and wait for turnovers.

Go Sweden! Lets get the 3 points tonight.

vBookie: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=326251

Go Slovakia! Do they even have a decent team this year? I don't really follow their junior team very closely, but I'm chearing for them because I have family from Slovakia.

is this game going to be TSN, or anywhere with internet link?

will this game be streamed anywhere on the internet? if it will be, a link would be great.

Ok, 10 minutes to go. I'm getting excited!

Jhonas Enroth in net apparently. Why?!

Edit: Bendelin says it's because he doesn't want one goalie to play too many games, and Enroth has looked good in practice. I still think it's a bad choice, this is an important game and Gistedt was very solid against Canada.

Starting in goal for the Swedes?
Enroth is starting today.

According to:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,963957,00.html
(swedish)

Nice tempo, fast game.

Berglund 1-0!!! Great, deceptive shot on a 2 (or 3) on 1.

Berglund! 1-0

excellent shot by Berglund.

Damn that was a sweet shot. Sneaky wrister.

YES! Go team! :yo:

Hellström 2min.

Enroth looking good early on.

i wanna watch this.. is there a stream somewhere? :cry:

What the hell?? SVT not showing the game? :dunno:

Ribbenstrand 2min Highstick

What the hell?? SVT not showing the game? :dunno:
SVT24

What the hell?? SVT not showing the game? :dunno:

SVT24

What the hell?? SVT not showing the game? :dunno:

They are, but not on SVT1 or SVT2. It's on a channel called SVT24.

Edit: Heeehslow..

SVT24

:(

Rammstein - Du Hast in the break, i like it. :)

I'm really liking this Berglund kid. Can't believe he went so late in the 1st round. The Blues got a steal here. What a draft day for them.

I like Enroths start.

I'm really liking this Berglund kid. Can't believe he went so late in the 1st round. The Blues got a steal here. What a draft day for them.

I agree 100%

i wanna watch this.. is there a stream somewhere?

agreed, if anyone knows of a site streaming this, please share, it'll be extremely appreciated. :)

But lol. Bäckström got a 2 min penalty because the Slovakian player had a loose strap on his helmet. He barely nudged his helmet with his armpit when he drew his arm over his head to regain possession at the boards, the loose helmet fell off and Bäckström got a penalty. Redicilous.

Really solid effort by Enroth so far.

Sorry guys, I don't know any streaming.

Wheeew. Slovakia has really had the best chances so far.

Great save by Enroth there.

Dammit, 1-1..

**** 1-1

Let's hope the ref farse has ended. 2/3 penalties for Sweden has been very suspicious to say the least, especially Bäckströms.

WOW! What a pass by Junland, 2-1!

Very nice :D 2-1

Yeeeaaah! 2-1 Omark! Great pass.

WOW! Very nice goal from pass to finish!

But lol, wth? What is the ref taking? I want some, looks like fun. 3/4 very suspicious penalties.

Wow again! What a save by Enroth!

Goddammit, 2-2 on another PP. The Slovakian team can thank the ref for still being in the game. Looked a little soft by Enroth.

Unleash the Juraj Mikus's!

Meh, another penatly...

Can someone please remove the crackpike from the ref's mouth? This guy must be high... Hopefully he won't ruin this period for us.

Great save by Enroth!

Edit: And again..

Woah nice save.

2-2 ****!

Enroth should have saved that one...

*** was that? :(

Great save by Enroth!

Edit: And again..

2-2, He probably could've had that one, but he was kinda screened.

The ref has seen what no one else has seen. Just great. I mean, wth? How can you give 3 absolute borderline penalties to the same team in the same period?

The high stick on Ribbenstrand was nothing to talk about, but the rest?

those penalties!! grr ####

Jonas Junland best Swede so far, imo.

uh, the team looks really shaky, get the boys going Bendelin!

ref :help:

I am getting nervous, this doesn't feel right.

They will win this as long as the ref lets them play this game. I'm not worried.

Sweden's been playing real solid, they'd be up by two or three goals if the ref could decide what's a penalty and what's not.
Some really fishy calls.

Things are not looking good at all. The swedes are nervous and do not work hard enough. The Slovaks on the other hand get stronger every minute. Lets hope Sweden can get some play going and stay out of the penalty box..




..OT but I just have to complain. The top two lines are composed wrong. Especially Bergfors-Bäckström. Split them up ASAP. The two bottom lines are working much better together.

Argh, this game should be 2-0, not 2-2 at this moment. :madfire:

Who scored the 2 goals for Slovakia?

Where is the checkiing and all the hits from the Canada game?

Where is the checkiing and all the hits from the Canada game?

Yeah, I thought the same thing when the period ended.
Lack of intensity. I want to see Hjalmarsson steam roll a Slovak on the blue line, Stevens style. :yo:

Who scored the 2 goals for Slovakia?

Link (http://www.iihf.com/Hydra/Tournaments_07/output/w20/hydra.iihf.com/IIHF_Core/jsp/content/web_output/index.jsp@compId=96)

Who scored the 2 goals for Slovakia?

The ref :sarcasm:

Seriously though, ZABORSKY, Tomas and MIHALIK, Vladim both 5-4 (practically)

Time for Bäckström to wake the heck up.

Things are not looking good at all. The swedes are nervous and do not work hard enough. The Slovaks on the other hand get stronger every minute. Lets hope Sweden can get some play going and stay out of the penalty box..




..OT but I just have to complain. The top two lines are composed wrong. Especially Bergfors-Bäckström. Split them up ASAP. The two bottom lines are working much better together.

I agree, but how would you fix them? Do you want to split up the lines that have worked?

Junland is amazing in this game, so far

Sandlin is spinning in the morgue.

Edit: ok not yet

3-2, Hjalmarsson!

3-2! Hjalmarsson

excellent shot by Hjalmarsson, 3-2

Go Sweden!

I don't have anything against Slovakia, it's just that if the Slovaks lose today, all it'll take is a loss versus one of Canada and the US to ensure that Germany doesn't get relegated.

Best shift by the first line so far right there.

The Omark line has been wonderful.

Sounds like Enroth is playing an awesome game with the exception of goal number 2.

Sweden Score?
nm just saw it.

The Omark line doing well once again...

The Omark line has been wonderful.

No doubt about that.

Sounds like Enroth is playing an awesome game with the exception of goal number 2.

Pretty much.

They better score soon with that pressure.

PP for Sweden coming up.

Sweden are playing much better right now.

Penalty on Slovakia, but I was absolutely convinced he had found some lame excuse of a penalty on some Swedish player. Like the one the Slovakian player checked and interfered. ;)

LOOL! The Slovakian goalie lost the puck in his equipment and they can't find it! :biglaugh: It looked amusing when he digged around in his hugre pants. They eventually switched puck.

How can Sweden establish more pressure in the Slovakian zone at ES than on the PP?

Omg... :shakehead

3-3 ****

Dammit, 3-3. That seriously blows..

The ref tripped Ahnelöv. :(

****!!!

¤%"/"#¤!"#%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watch the linesman on the replay. Great way to trip the Swedish D-man... just great.

Watch the linesman on the replay. Great way to trip the Swedish D-man... just great.

Yeah good job by the ref. ****

Now the referee is even playing for Slovaks, tripping Swedish players, like it wasn't enough finding penalties that's not there.

And stop playing ABBA for **** sake.

Mikus!:yo:

Now the referee is even playing for Slovaks, tripping Swedish players, like it wasn't enough finding penalties that's not there.

Pretty damn impressive from Sweden to have scored 3 shorthanded goals :madfire:

Swedens pp blows...

Obvious holding by the Slovakian player on Berglund. No call. Quite impossible to go backwards when you are skating forward, still the ref missed it.

What is it with that right corner in the Slovakian zone? I've seen tons of players fall on the ice towards the board there.

Sweden has been a letdown thus far.

Nice hit by Ribbenstrand.

Can someone tell me how Daniel Rahimi has looked?.

Sweden has been a letdown thus far.

Yeah, when the players that is supposed to lead the team is worse that the players on the forth line, it's hard to shine.

Damn, knee injury on a Slovakian player.

Loooool! The ref makes a fool out of himself again. The Slovakian player dives and the ref buys it, in a situation that hadn't happened if he had blown the whistle when the Slovakian player seriously injured himself, like he should have.

I'm not that angry on the Swedish team. This could have been 3-0, or 5-0 instead of 3-3.

It's a clichée to blame the refs, but they can't handle themselves at this level.

2+2? Oh god.

Why is Bäckström so totally invisible? I realize his line isn't clicking but you still expect more from a generational talent. He looks tired and unmotivated, maybe all the ice time in Elitserien has taken it's toll on him.

Hah, the ref is quite hilarious.

And I agree, Bäckström should be the catalyst of this team, now he's just one in the bunch. Except for a few, bright moments.

Somebody, pleeeaaase shoot the puch hard at the referee :cry:

...even strength this game should be a five goal lead atleast by now :dunno:

Have a bad feeling about this, somehow the ref will manage to give this one away.

Mikus 2 goals in 2 games :)

How has he looked for those watching the game?

I would do something about the lines. I can see no other reason than bad chemistry for the 1st line to be so invisible.

Why is Bäckström so totally invisible? I realize his line isn't clicking but you still expect more from a generational talent. He looks tired and unmotivated, maybe all the ice time in Elitserien has taken it's toll on him.

well his linemates does him no favors. Bergfors cant finish for his life and Lindqvist, worst player I ever seen on a 1st line.

is there an english audio feed for this game anywhere?

Go go Zaborsky! Pretty good tourney for rangers prospects so far.

The Slovaks let the Swedes play on the outside and wait for their chances. They are looking dangerous on the counterattack, as was expected.

It seems like Bendelins have concentrated a little bit too much on what his team should do without the puck, because whenever they gain possession, they look completely lost.

Even though it's stupid to change the one line that actually works, I would consider swapping bäckström and omark.

Why is she translating :P ask stevie some more questions instead

What is the deal with Backstrom? Does he have any points yet this tourney? Is it a problem of Chemistry with linemates? Is he setting them up perfectly but they can't finish or is he more the problem?

Sorry, I'm not trying to stir the pot lol I'm a caps fan and I can't get the game on TV here.

Damn I bet 16K in Vbookie! Lets go Sweden, closer than I was hoping for, they need this win!

Why is she translating :P ask stevie some more questions instead
Exactly my thought. Redicilous to translate what he says into Swedish. There's not one person watching this transmission who doesn't understand English and if they don't, they're screwed anyway.

Why is she translating :P ask stevie some more questions instead

Public Service? I thought it was a pretty good interview though, usually when swedes are interviewing foreign players it turns out pretty lame.

What is the deal with Backstrom? Does he have any points yet this tourney? Is it a problem of Chemistry with linemates? Is he setting them up perfectly but they can't finish or is he more the problem?

Sorry, I'm not trying to stir the pot lol I'm a caps fan and I can't get the game on TV here.

uh he is not as worthless as other swedes make him to be. He rarley lose puck and he often finds someone to play. However Bergfors and Lindqvist have no chemistry with him.

What a great chance for Bäckström there.

Great interview with Yzerman!

Oh god Bäckström, gotta score on those chances

Can anyone watching this game tell me how Julius Sinkovic of Slovakia looks. 2 Assists so far.

4-3!!

4-3 Martin Johansson!

Goal!

Let's see it the Russian ref can come back from this...

Nice dekes by Bäckström. He is picking it up, imo.

What is the deal with Backstrom? Does he have any points yet this tourney? Is it a problem of Chemistry with linemates? Is he setting them up perfectly but they can't finish or is he more the problem?

Sorry, I'm not trying to stir the pot lol I'm a caps fan and I can't get the game on TV here.

He hasn't been bad and shows occasionally what he can do. Personally I think some people have little unrealistic expectations on him. As someone said, he look a little tired and he haven't really gotten any real chemistry with his linemates. But you can definatly see that he is the most talanted player on the team.

Hehe, I really like Wikegård's humour. "Travet kanske."

... and that clown of a German lines ref is out interfering the players. Again. Wth is he doing out there?

Yes! 5-3! Omark makes the work again.

5-3 Hörnqvist!

5-3!

5-3 Hörnqvist!

Visst satt den som en smäck!

Hörna! :D

First line makes it 6-3!!

6-3 Lindqvist :eek:

6-3!

Jaaaa!!! 6-3

Nice backhand.

Omark = grit n heart (tm)

Like I said, not worried. :D

Äh va fan :(

Lindeborg hasn't forgotten his crack pipe today either:
"Kommer från Dalarna, från Vännäs"

Bergfors benched or injured?

Where has Backstrom been?

Lindeborg hasn't forgotten his crack pipe today either:
"Kommer från Dalarna, från Vännäs"

Vansbro? :sarcasm:

Ornäs? :dunno:

Lindeborgian brainfarts are tradition!

Who drafted this Omark guy?

I think Bergfors is benched. I didn't see any injury on him.

I don't think Omark has been drafted by anyone? :dunno:

Sundström, Bergfors and Pettersson have been benched. Good, active coaching, sending a message to the team.

Where has Backstrom been?

A lot better these last 2 periods but really anything less than multiple appearances on the scoresheet is not good enough for him.

Who drafted this Omark guy?

he is a midget (by NHL standards), not drafted.

Who drafted this Omark guy?

I don't think he's drafted (could be wrong)

Lindeborg hasn't forgotten his crack pipe today either:
"Kommer från Dalarna, från Vännäs"

Yeah i caught that. :)

Juraj Mikus has good puck control, but he is also a first-class diver. Interesting player nonetheless.

Bäckström improved his play and was overall OK. Should be credited for the second assist on Sweden's last goal.

I still give credit to Bäckström. It's not easy being a 1st class playmaker when your linemates can't finish. He fed Rahimi on the PP as well, but Rahimi missed the puck.

Well. I am worried.

Juraj Mikus has good puck control, but he is also a first-class diver. Interesting player nonetheless.

So besides diving....;) , could you tell us a little bit more about how you see his game? Interested Hab fan here, thanks!

Afraid he's playing a perimeter game, is he afraid of the physical stuff going on? I know we'll see that more against the US or Canada on the weekend, but wondering what makes you think he could be an interesting player.

Bäckström improved his play and was overall OK. Should be credited for the second assist on Sweden's last goal.

3 - 6 EQ Sweden
27. LINDQVIST, Robin
(22. RAHIMI, Daniel)
(25. ZACKRISSON, Patrik)

:dunno:

Bad first period, decent second, good third. Just need a little more consistensy and this tournament could be fun.

Heh, it was Bäckström to Zackrisson to Lindqvist. Rahimi was nowhere near that play. If he was, I have to blame that infamous crack pipe :D

3 - 6 EQ Sweden
27. LINDQVIST, Robin
(22. RAHIMI, Daniel)
(25. ZACKRISSON, Patrik)

:dunno:

Yeah, Rahimi is out of place there. Bäckström made two Slovakian players, got the puck to Zackrisson who then assisted Robin Lindqvist.

iihf.com reports the final shots as 19-12 (!) For those of us who didn't actually see the game, could someone answer a couple of questions:

First: How is it possible to give up nine goals on 31 shots?
Second: Were the teams missing the nets, not shooting or did they play the entire game in the neutral zone?

Well, somewhat impressive that the :shakehead: not managed to **** this game up more than he did...

Bergfors benched - about time...

Heh, it was Bäckström to Zackrisson to Lindqvist. Rahimi was nowhere near that play. If he was, I have to blame that infamous crack pipe :D

they changed to:

27. LINDQVIST, Robin
(19. BACKSTROM, Nicklas)
(25. ZACKRISSON, Patrik)

Heh, it was Bäckström to Zackrisson to Lindqvist. Rahimi was nowhere near that play. If he was, I have to blame that infamous crack pipe :D

Well on the IIHF site it says:

49.05 3 - 6 EQ Sweden 27. LINDQVIST, Robin
(19. BACKSTROM, Nicklas)
(25. ZACKRISSON, Patrik)

:dunno:

Bendelin thinks the refs were horrible. :)

Edit: Bleh, late.

I'm really liking this Berglund kid. Can't believe he went so late in the 1st round. The Blues got a steal here. What a draft day for them.

Not only did the Blues grab EJ and Berglund in that draft.......but they also grabbed Junland. Not bad at all...

iihf.com reports the final shots as 19-12 (!) For those of us who didn't actually see the game, could someone answer a couple of questions:

First: How is it possible to give up nine goals on 31 shots?
Second: Were the teams missing the nets, not shooting or did they play the entire game in the neutral zone?

Swedish TV reported something like 26-24

I agree with Bendelin, the refs were indeed horrible. Good refs are invisible to the game, these were constantly visible.

At least the ref and the german linesman who twice interfered with the play because of clumpsiness.

3 - 6 EQ Sweden
27. LINDQVIST, Robin
(22. RAHIMI, Daniel)
(25. ZACKRISSON, Patrik)

:dunno:

yeah swedish text tv pulled the same BS. Backstrom made the play and should have the assist.

Good thing that Bendelin benched Bergfors and put Zackrisson with Bäckström. Hopefully this will not be a one-time thing. Bergfors was crap against Canada and he was crap today as well.

how did Berglund, Junland, and Hellstrom look today?

Who drafted this Omark guy?

Undrafted, possibly because of size. Omark and Zackrisson should be drafted imho. They have nice potential.

Good thing that Bendelin benched Bergfors and put Zackrisson with Bäckström. Hopefully this will not be a one-time thing. Bergfors was crap against Canada and he was crap today as well.

I wonder what happend to him. Going from dominating one year ago to crap now. I didn't even notice him out there.

yeah swedish text tv pulled the same BS. Backstrom made the play and should have the assist.

Eh, maybe, just maybe do you think that they look at IIHF and use their stats on the text tv? :sarcasm:

how did Berglund, Junland, and Hellstrom look today?
Berglund made the first goal of the game with a very nice wristshot on a 2on1 breakaway and was very good I think. Junland was one of the best players on the ice, played mature and took great responsibility both defensively and offensively. He made a superb cross-ice pass from his own zone to Omark at the offensive blueline on his breakaway goal. You can see why Junland plays in the SEL already at his young age.

I have no complaints on Hellström, he was ok.

Eh, maybe, just maybe do you think that they look at IIHF and use their stats on the text tv? :sarcasm:

probably.

Undrafted, possibly because of size. Omark and Zackrisson should be drafted imho. They have nice potential.

Add Gistedt to the list.

There is a positive thing with todays game. We played crap, was outshot but still scored 6 goals.

Add Gistedt to the list.

Agreed. And I think Gistedt will be drafted next summer. Not to take away anything from Enroth though, I thought he was good today. It's not his fault that the referee and linesmen look like they are auditioning for clown school. Because without the (very suspect) penalty-orgie in the first period and the linesmen tripping our D, this game would have been over long before the third period.

It was truely the worst ref I seen in my life. Without him this game would been over in the first period.

Some thoughts on the game:

Bäckström: Played better today, had some nice moments, one or two scoring chances, where setting some guys up, and should be credited with a second assist on the last swedish goal. Can still do ALOT better.

Slovaks where pretty lucky, throughout the game. They scored on to wrongfully taken penalties, and got a beatiful setup by the german linesman on the third goal.
I think Sweden deserved the win today.

I believe this team will medal. Sure Backstrom have to reach another gear, but the one that needs to improve the most is Bergfors.

Good win but very frustrating to watch.

Was anyone else annoyed by the long interview with the 16 year old slovakian player who REALLY struggled with his english? :shakehead

You could clearly see he wanted to go but was nice enough to stay and try his best.

The thing that i appreciated most with the broadcast, was with no doubt, the Yzerman-interview. What a class act! I simply love him, one of the biggest leaders ever in hockey. My blood was shivering, i simply love him.
I hope Yzerman can give something back to the Wings in the future, maybe some top prospects! :P

Good win but very frustrating to watch.

Was anyone else annoyed by the long interview with the 16 year old slovakian player who REALLY struggled with his english? :shakehead

You could clearly see he wanted to go but was nice enough to stay and try his best.
Yeah, that was kind of awkward to watch. They should have picked someone who they knew were better at communicating or brought an interpreter. Now you could really feel he couldn't express himself properly and could only give short, simple and dumbfolded answers. Poor guy.

And yeah, the interview with Yzerman was very nicely done. The Swedish journalist and Wikegård actually asked intelligent questions, instead of the normal braindead journalism that asks shallow, stupid questions that sound like they haven't been prepared (I did expect Wikegård to ask smart questions though). The only annoying thing was when she had to stop and summarize in Swedish what Yzerman had answered.

The thing that i appreciated most with the broadcast, was with no doubt, the Yzerman-interview. What a class act! I simply love him, one of the biggest leaders ever in hockey. My blood was shivering, i simply love him.
I hope Yzerman can give something back to the Wings in the future, maybe some top prospects! :P

Really good interview, glad they managed to get to talk with him.

Why not put Bergfors with Berglund versus the Germans? We really need to get Bergfors going.

And why not drop Ribbenstrand for Nevalainen? Ribbenstrand didn't have much of a game tonight...

Couple questions:

How did Enroth look today? Seems the 2nd goal was pretty week but did he play well other than that?

Can anybody tell me more about Junland, Omark, and Gistedt? Looks like none of these guys have been drafted? Are they too young to have been drafted or were they just slip though in their draft years? How old are they? What is their potential?

And what's the deal with Berfors?

What a horrible game by the swedes. Slovakia is not good at all... we should beat them mucher easier. A nice third period though.

However, that was the worst ref i have seen since I saw U18 WC in Halmstad last year. Omg.

What about the linesmen too, who were in-the-way more than two-three times, and didn´t know when you are suppose to blow the whizzle for icing or not. Jeezus, send these three guys on a plane back home...

Couple questions:

How did Enroth look today? Seems the 2nd goal was pretty week but did he play well other than that?

Can anybody tell me more about Junland, Omark, and Gistedt? Looks like none of these guys have been drafted? Are they too young to have been drafted or were they just slip though in their draft years? How old are they? What is their potential?

And what's the deal with Berfors?Junland was actually drafted by the Blues in 06... in the 3rd round (64th overall) I would tell you something about him, but I really havn't seen him much..

Couple questions:

How did Enroth look today? Seems the 2nd goal was pretty week but did he play well other than that?

Apart from that 2nd goal, a slapper from outside of the slot, he was good. I still think Gistedt was better though.

Can anybody tell me more about Junland, Omark, and Gistedt? Looks like none of these guys have been drafted? Are they too young to have been drafted or were they just slip though in their draft years? How old are they? What is their potential?

As mentioned Junland was drafted by the Blues.

I haven't seen much of Omark, I think he hasn't been draft eligible yet (not sure though), but he has been great for Sweden so far. He plays with a lot of heart, and he's pretty gritty. He's also been one of Sweden's best forwards offensively so far.

Gistedt took over the number one spot from Salo on a (for the most part) horrible Frölunda. He managed to go undrafted in the 06 draft but I would be very surprised if no one takes him this time.

And what's the deal with Berfors?

He's been bad.

Can anybody tell me more about Junland, Omark, and Gistedt? Looks like none of these guys have been drafted? Are they too young to have been drafted or were they just slip though in their draft years? How old are they? What is their potential?

Omark will be one of the best players for Sweden in this tournament. Though truth to be told, as a NHL prospect he would be nothing but a major project, which gets drafted by the ton every year, nothing wrong with that, but he is not really a "hidden gem".

His by far biggest strength is that he always have good speed and serviceble stickhandling in a very impressive matter. He got his prioritys right and can always execute it.

His big probelm is that he always will be a little weak and a little small. He can contribute allot now since he always have his speed up and can take advantage of flatfooted D's. At the NHL level his speed wouldn't be outstanding, and he would suddenly loose the advantage he got. His vision and stickhandling aren't good enough alone to give him space, his size aren't -- so there wouldn't be much left.

Though if he could improve his speed so that he really could sperate him from the best in the NHL, he could make it. I would defenitly have some hopes for him if he were drafted for my team. He have improved a ton the last 2 years, and its not unusual for

Gistedt isn't drafted because the best place for him to develop the next 3-4 years are in Frölunda, Sweden. With the 2 year rule, there don't make any sense drafting him yet.

Junland is also a bit of a project. He is again a kid who looks good, but I don't think anyone feel its time for him to move over the pond in 18 month or something, would be a great draft pick if he had 4-5 years on him to develop at home.

And what's the deal with Bergfors?

He just seems out of synch. The Swedish national team plays very swedish, Bergfors have spent the last two years in Albany, AHL. He will need some time before he really fits in.

Bendlin also aren't exactly slow to bench stars.

...

Great stuff, thanks a lot man.

Bendelin is a great coach. One of the very best in Sweden, VERY underrated I would say.

Gistedt has been much better than Enroth.

If we are going to get a medal we really need Backstrom and Bergfors to get going.

Especially Bergfors has been a dissapointment so far. (a very surprising dissapointment I would say)

Bendelin have really surprised me. I thought he was a coach that didn't like quick changes. It's good that he send some signals to Bergfors to get his act together.

Maybe Lindquist-Bäckström-Zackrisson is a good line.

I want Bendelin to put Bergfors with Berglund and Johansson, the next game. Even though Berglund scored a goal yesterday, he haven't really impressed either, nor have his linemates.

Omark-Isaksson-Hörnquist should be intact IMO, it's our best line so far.

Is Junland playing on the top defence pairing and getting lots of pp time?