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Feb 12, 06
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Kelly Hrudy's Men's Olympic Hockey predictions....
Kelly Hrudey's Medal Predictions
Gold - Canada Silver - Czech Republic Bronze - Finland Men's Ice Hockey - The Contenders Table of Contents The Favourites On a Roll On a Slide The Dark horse Analysis Medal Predictions The Favourites Canada Credentials: Seven-time and defending Olympic champions. 2004 World Cup of Hockey champions. 23-time world champions. Russia Credentials: Eight-time Olympic champions. 23-time world champions. United States Credentials: Silver medallists at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Two-time Olympic champions. Two-time world champions. 1996 World Cup of Hockey champions. Czech Republic Credentials: 1998 Olympic champions. 11-time and defending world champions. Sweden Credentials: 1994 Olympic champions. Seven-time world champions. Finland Credentials: Runner-up to Canada at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Has won an Olympic silver and two bronze medals. Five-time silver medallists at the world championships. Top On a Roll Canada Can there be any question? Since capturing the country's first Olympic gold medal in 50 years, the Canadians have gone on to win two world championships and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey title. Canada's roster is so deep many experts often quip it could send two medal-contending teams to the Olympics. "They just have greater will power than a lot of the other countries," says CBC hockey analyst Kelly Hrudey. Top On a Slide United States American general manager Don Waddell and head coach Peter Laviolette decided to go with a youth movement that will help them long-term, but could end up hurting the U.S. in Turin. With veterans Brett Hull, John LeClair and Jeremy Roenick either retired or passed over, Waddell selected several NHL players with no Olympic experience. "They looked old at the [2004] World Cup of Hockey," says Hrudey. "They're not far off from being a world contender again, but to me it looks like their program is off." Top The Dark horse Finland The Finns surprised many experts by beating the Americans and advancing to the final of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Finland took Canada to the limit in the final before falling 3-2. While losing one of the top NHL goaltenders in Miikka Kiprusoff hurts, Finland still has enough weapons on offence and defence to scare any nation in the world. "I don't think Finland gets the respect it deserves in international hockey," says Hrudey. "This team has a very good hockey program." Top With the withdrawals of Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman, Colorado Avalanche centre Joe Sakic is now Team Canada's unquestioned leader. (Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images) Analysis No matter which country captures gold in Turin, the new NHL rules implemented for the Games should allow the quality of play to flourish. This field is so deep that as many as six nations have a realistic chance of winning. "I really think that the 2006 Olympics may be the best hockey we've ever seen," says Hrudey. "What I find personally so exciting about this tournament is it's not like 20 years ago when only two hockey powers [Canada and Russia] ruled the world. I think that's one of the reasons it's such a better international scene for hockey." Still, Canada sits atop the hockey world following three-plus years of near domination. The Canadians began their ascent by erasing 50 years of frustration when they beat the United States 5-2 to capture gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. The win sparked a roll that saw Canada claim three additional international titles and head to Turin as the clear favourites. Despite the withdrawals from veterans Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman, the Canadian squad, led by Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla, remains loaded with scorers and sports a defensive unit considered the best in the tournament. Though Hrudey is picking the Canadians to defend their Olympic gold medal, he says he won't be surprised if the team struggles early in the tournament. "One of the things Canada has banked on over the years is good team chemistry," he says. "That just doesn't' happen after one or two skates together, it takes some time. I wouldn't doubt that they get a scare or two early on." Two nations that should give Canada stiff competition are Russia and the Czech Republic. The Russians, who self-destructed four years ago in Salt Lake City, have arguably the best trio of young players in Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. With retired superstar Pavel Bure now running the Russian hockey national program, the team looks to regain its lost dominance of past years. "They always develop highly skilled players then lay in the weeds," says Hrudey. "They'll start off slowly in the preliminary round and then seem to turn it on when they need to." The defending world champion Czech Republic squad has experienced a renaissance with individual players in the NHL this season. Dominik Hasek, 41, continues to be one of the best goaltenders in the world. The last situation any country wants to find itself in is facing Hasek in a shootout. Just ask Canada. Czech superstar Jaromir Jagr has also relocated his scoring touch after toiling in mediocrity for the past few years. The Czech line of Jagr, Martin Rucinsky and Martin Straka has been so good for the New York Rangers this season that it would seem foolish for coach Alois Hadamczik to separate them in Turin. "The Czechs are an extremely highly-skilled team and play with a lot of pride," says Hrudey. "They always scare you and are one of those teams you don't like to face. You have to play your very best against them or you know that you're going to lose." Perhaps no other country has as much to prove as Sweden. Led by Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin, the Swedes looked invincible after destroying Canada 5-1 in the opening game in Salt Lake City. However, an embarrassing 4-3 loss to Belarus in the quarter-finals resulted in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. Sweden's loss was so shameful, it prompted one newspaper to publish headshots of players on the front page with their accompanying NHL salaries. "Goaltending is going to be a factor again," says Hrudey. "They just don't seem to develop some of the strong goaltenders that the other countries around the world have." The U.S. team also heads to Turin with some question marks. Having witnessed an old team outplayed by Finland in the semifinal game of the 2004 World Cup, American GM Don Waddell overhauled his roster and has added 12 new faces. The future of the U.S. team looks promising but the inexperience of the 2006 squad may be too difficult to overcome. "I'd never discount them but it doesn't look as though they're a real strong contender," Hrudey says of the U.S. Top 
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Feb 14, 06
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I think Sweden has a better shot at Bronze than Finland.
I'll take Lundquist over Niittymaki anyday. Sweden's weakness has always been goaltending. They have solid d in Ohlund, Lidstrom, Nordstrom up fron Alffy, Forsberg, Zetterburgh, Sundin, Sedin's. I'll pick this team over Finland for Bronze. They may challenge for a Gold to barring another breakdown Last edited by KenJi; Feb 14, 06 at 03:46 PM.
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