wjc S69 WJC Team Rankings

[FrostBeard 1,975]

 

Hello there everyone and welcome back to VSN content! This time we will be looking at WJC, teams and how they stack up to each other. Let's not waste much more time and get straight to question at hand - who are the strongest teams this season!

 

1. Europe

Lacking true star talent usually required to win such a tournament, the European roster boasts such an incredible depth that should allow them the come at their opponents in waves for the entirety of each game. The question is, will their goal-tending (leagues worst) get them the saves they need should their offence sputter?

 

Strength - Forward Talent
The clear strength of this European roster is its forward strength. With zero holes in their forward group, this team will be a machine that keeps on churning.  If Balentine Kidd (302 TPE), Mac Hooper (290) and Guy Lesieur (288) can find chemistry, the trio should be able to match any other lines production this tournament.   Combining that with the secondary scoring of guys like Tallinder (261), Stava, Roadkill Steve among others it’s hard not to choose them as the tournament favourites.

 

Weakness - Goal-tending
Boris Boris is not a high calibre goaltender. With just 141 TPE to his name, Boris will be tasked with just stopping enough pucks for the offence to outscore. Unfortunately for Boris, his defence group is lacking star power so unless Europe plays with the philosophy of the best defence is a good offence, Boris may find himself under attack. That’s a lot of pressure for a young goaltender.

 

2. World

Outside of Europe, the next three rosters are quite interchangeable and good team chemistry may end up being the difference. Placing our bets though one of them to be the best of the rest, the World’s roster holds enough promise to be challenging for a top spot. 

 

Strength - Defence
While the worlds forwards should be able to match most teams enough, and their depth up front should overcome other teams like Canada and Asia, it’s their team defence that holds the most promise. Led by Charles Drumm (310) and Khalabib Stiopic (286), this defence will be counted on to provide stability for a team hoping to contend. 

 

Weakness - Forwards
Unfortunately for the World roster, their Achilles heel, which might be too big to overcome, is their top talent upfront.  With Killey Foilen (258) as their best forward, and Storm (228), Ritchie (221), and McGirr (221) as their only other forwards above 200 TPE, the offence may be hard to come by. In a tournament where the offence is important, this may be the reason we’ve placed them too high.

 

3. Canada

Usually counted on as a staple atop this tournament, Canada has faltered a bit leaving itself much too vulnerable for team and fans alike. Although they have a few very good players still, Canada’s depth is sorely lacking. It will be the reason they won’t win this tournament and is definitely the reason we have them ranked in the middle of the pack.

 

Strength - Top Talent
With forwards Jubis (295), Telker (287), Rice (260), defenceman Saskamoose (336), and goaltender Fang Flashback (254), Canada has the top talent to remain a threat in this tournament. If they hold hope that they can compete here, they will lean heavily on this core group of players.  They will be required to grind out these victories but expect Canada to be in many close games. Their ability to win the close ones will be the deciding factor of their fortunes.

 

Weakness - Forward Depth
For what Canada has in top talent, the drop off after them is significant. With the best second-line player at 179 TPE and the best third liner at just 66, Canada has some serious depth issues. These secondary lines upfront will be tasked with just hanging in there against their opponents as they allow their top linemates some rest between shifts. Clearly, this may prove too much for them and is the reason we have them sitting as just the third-best team in the tournament.

 

4. USA

Another staple atop the hockey world, this USA roster has too many holes in their roster that will be increasingly difficult to overcome. While they have a few very talented players they lack any sort of offence to score enough for success.

 

Strength - Defense/Goal-tending
Though they might struggle to score, the USA has put together a decent defence that will be leaned on heavily along with potential goaltender of the tournament Virgil Ligric (348) to keep the puck out of their net.  With Shawn Glade Jr (199) being their “worst” defenceman, this defence corps should be among the tournaments best and possibly be enough to keep them in close games.

 

Weakness - Forward Depth
For how much depth USA has on the back end, their forward lines are in shambles. Outside star Koda Adok (346) and possibly Jaxon Walker (236) they have no one else that will contribute any offence. Though their drop off isn’t as significant here as Canada’s, USA is a spot lower on the rankings because they own the tournaments worst top line. If they aren’t shut out in multiple games this tournament, consider it to be a success.

5. Asia

No team in this tournament has a roster as polarizing as Asia’s.  With a star-studded top line of Roy Yamazuki II (328), Hiroshi Okada (324) and Jerry Wang (313), Asia’s roster is made up of eleven skaters sub 176 TPE and a poor goaltender (198). 

 

Strength - Top Line
With arguably the best line in this tournament, Asia could always be a surprise team should that line score its team out of trouble. Having three forwards above 300 TPE is a luxury no other team enjoys and so when they are on the ice, this team should at least be fun to watch. Will they be able to carry their team to some success this tournament?

 

Weakness - Everything else
Outside the big three, Asia has just one hole in its roster and it’s a big one. That’s because that one hole is the entirety of the rest of the roster.  Expect many goals to be scored in games Asia is playing in and unfortunately, most of those goals will end up in the back of the Asia net. Opposing teams should be able to walk all over the Asia defence and bury goal after goal in the back of their net. This is the reason Asia sits at the bottom of the rankings for this tournament. 
 

And that will be it for this one, tell us your thoughts in the comments and lets get ready for the championship!  

 

VSN Writer VanCanWin

 

(Posting this on his behalf)

 

People mentioned: @trevmi, @ShawnGlade, @TukTukTheGreat, @MacH, @KC15, @Patrik Tallinder, @Edustava, @stevo, @Walter Fizz, @Jubis, @Telkster, @Krice13, @frescoelmo, @Aye my name jeff, @BigBallerFromDownUnder, @DangerGolding, @cartoes, @Cxsquared, @uphillmoss, @MMFLEX, @hewasajazzman, @enigmatic, @ColeMrtz @Donno100, @SweetMike666

[zepheter 585]

Best of luck other teams. Go World!

[McLovin 393]

Don't sleep on the boys in red, white and blue, go USA!

[Cxsquared 455]

Kinda week WJC overall. It's going to be interesting to see how it pans out.

[Greg_Di 937]

[Jubis 1,282]

[Cxsquared 455]

28 minutes ago, Jubis said:

[Enorama 1,980]

3 hours ago, FrostBeard said:

If Balentine Kidd (302 TPE), Mac Hooper (290) and Guy Lesieur (288) can find chemistry, the trio should be able to match any other lines production this tournament.

 

Considering they've been playing on the same line at the VHL level, I should hope that they've got chemistry

[Cxsquared 455]

1 minute ago, Enorama said:

 

Considering they've been playing on the same line at the VHL level, I should hope that they've got chemistry

When has Simon ever cared about what we hope...

[ShawnGlade 1,002]

usa has to have the best d-core in this tourney. the second best vhlm dman right now with over 200 tpe being the "worst" dman on the team is something to be proud of

 

[MexicanCow123 894]

[ColeMrtz 571]

4 hours ago, FrostBeard said:

With a star-studded top line of Roy Yamazuki II (328), Hiroshi Okada (324) and Jerry Wang (313)

Me and the boys tearing apart the WJC

[Erik Summers 451]

15 minutes ago, ColeMrtz said:

Me and the boys tearing apart the WJC

This was definitely some bulletin board material! We're doing great in our first two games. I still predict that someone on that line takes tournament MVP.