Believe it or not, it has been nearly four years since Canada pulled off its Cinderella run capped off by Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal against the United States to win the gold medal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
Next year in Sochi, twelve teams will again duke it out to see who can win the gold as the country with the best men’s national hockey team. The two-week competition is still months away, but here is how the twelve squads shape up right now.
1. Sweden
The Swedes will be looking to win their second gold medal in three Olympics, as they took home the honor in the Torino 2006 Olympics. They should be considered the early favorites this year because of incredible depth at all positions.
For forwards, the Sedin twins, the young Gabriel Landeskog, the recently-traded Loui Eriksson, and Detroit Red Wings such as Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik Zetterberg, and Johan Franzen headline the cast. Sweden has many players that play a finesse style and should be able to put up some big offensive numbers.
On defense, Sweden has Erik Karlsson, the best offensive defenseman in the NHL as well as Niklas Kronwall, and youngsters like Victor Hedman and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
What sets Sweden apart from others is in addition to their strength up front and on the blue line, it boasts one of the best goalies on the planet in Henrik Lundqvist.
2. Canada
The Canadians were lackluster early on in 2010, but made up for it by ultimately winning the gold.
When it comes to offense, nobody can match Canada. There is the possibility of seeing a line featuring Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby, and John Tavares: arguably the three best players in the world today. Also up front will be superstars like Jonathan Toews, Rick Nash, Claude Giroux, Jason Spezza, Patrice Bergeron, and Corey Perry, among others.
Canada’s defense is also extremely stacked. Shea Weber and Kris Letang are two of the world’s top offensive defensemen, and the Chicago duo of Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith will likely play alongside each other. P.K. Subban and Drew Doughty are also among elite NHL defensemen and will create a logjam of starpower on Canada’s blue line.
The team is coached by Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings, who some say is the best coach in hockey.
The reason Canada is not number one is goaltending. Goaltending is a severe weakness for the Canadians, as the starter will likely be either Carey Price, Mike Smith, Corey Crawford, or Roberto Luongo: goalies that are decent but not quite as talented as Sweden’s Lundqvist or the USA’s Jonathan Quick.
3. Russia
The growth of the KHL since the last Winter Olympics could play a huge impact in Sochi, and it could lead to the Russians taking home the gold.
Some of the most talented players in the world play for Russia, such as Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, and the new KHL (not NHL) star: Ilya Kovalchuk.
Like Canada, Russia has a bit of a goaltender situation as Ilya Bryzgalov and Evgeni Nabokov will likely be the team’s top tandem.
4. United States of America
The Americans pulled off a surprising run in Vancouver, only to fall short in overtime of the Gold Medal Game.
The U.S. does not have the same star power as teams like Canada or Russia, but its team is still incredibly deep all the way through the roster. Some of Team USA’s top offensive players are Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, Dustin Brown, Bobby Ryan, and Ryan Kesler.
Defense is also a strength on the U.S. team, as it boasts names like Dustin Byfuglien, Ryan Suter, and Keith Yandle.
Perhaps the biggest strength for Team USA is goaltending. Jonathan Quick, Craig Anderson, Jimmy Howard, Cory Schneider, and Ryan Miller all have shots at being the team’s #1 keeper.
5. Finland
Finland could be a dark horse in this year’s competition solely because they will be very tough to put pucks by. Pekka Rinne, Tuukka Rask, Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi, and Niklas Backstrom are all Finnish, and any of the five could challenge for the starter’s position.
The team will not score as much as others, however, but forwards like Mikko Koivu, Valtteri Filppula, and Teemu Selanne could still be very effective.
6. Slovakia
Slovakia is fairly balanced in all areas of the game. Up front, Marian Hossa and Marian Gaborik will lead the way in terms of scoring, but the offense is fairly bleak after those two.
Defense is somewhat of a strength for the Slovaks, as Zdeno Chara will be a very intimidating presence and Lubomir Visnovsky may still have something left in the tank.
In goal, Jaroslav Halak of the St. Louis Blues will likely start for Team Slovakia. Halak has been a little inconsistent in his NHL career, but he can be one of the best goalies in the world when he is on his game.
7. Czech Republic
The Czechs are led by long-time NHL veterans Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias. They have some offensive depth in Jakub Voracek, David Krejci, Radim Vrbata, and Martin Havlat but the defense is that of a sub-par NHL team.
In goal, things could be a little shaky for the Czechs. Ondrej Pavelec and Tomas Vokoun are expected to be the frontrunners for the starting job.
8. Switzerland
As far as NHL talent goes, there are not a whole lot of recognizable names on the Swiss roster.
Minnesota’s Nino Niederreiter and Nashville’s Roman Josi are two of the younger Swiss players on the team. while neither have reached their potential yet, they could both become productive players for their respective teams in the NHL.
Veteran defenseman Mark Streit, currently of the Philadelphia Flyers, is one of the more experienced players on the team who could provide some good production on the blue line. In addition to Josi and Streit, NHLers Luca Sbisa and Yannick Weber will also patrol the blueline for the Swiss.
In net will likely be Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller, who is one of the better goalies in hockey today.
9. Norway
There is little to no NHL experience on the Norwegian roster, but still some intriguing players who could make a minor impact.
Patrick Thoresen of SKA Saint Petersburg is one of the top players in the KHL and will likely be one of the top producers on Team Norway.
Current New York Ranger Mats Zuccarello will also be a key part of Team Norway.
10. Latvia
Latvia could surprise some people since almost the entire team is made up of players from the KHL’s Dinamo Riga.
Since many of these same players have played with each other for a longer period of time than those of any other country, the Latvians could be at an advantage when it comes to team chemistry.
11. Austria
Team Austria is centered around Buffalo Sabre Thomas Vanek and New York Islander Michael Grabner: two of the better offensive players in the game.
Other than those two, Austria does not have many NHLers or former NHLers at all and will likely not be one of the better teams in the tournament.
12. Slovenia
Los Angeles Kings star Anze Kopitar, the only Slovenian whose name is on the Stanley Cup, will lead the surprising Team Slovenia. Ranked 18th in the world, Slovenia shocked plenty of other countries and qualified for the final bid in Sochi 2014.
Jan Mursak of the Detroit Red Wings is another notable Slovenian from the NHL.
Team Slovenia is coached by Anze Kopitar’s father, Matjaz.