Hockey World Cup (World Cup of Hockey) Projected Starting Goaltenders for Semifinals/Finals
Teams will begin to gather on September 5th for their first official practice before kicking off the Hockey World Cup’s pre-tournament schedule on September 8th. The 2016 WCOH officially starts on September 17th, and will take place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre.
This tournament was first called the Canada Cup which began in 1976 and ran through 1991 before it was renamed “World Cup of Hockey” in 1996. United States defeated Canada to win the first official Hockey World Cup. After an eight-year hiatus, the tournament returned in 2004 with Canada coming out on top to beat the Czech Republic. Now 12 years later, the WCOH finally returns.
Eight teams will compete in this year’s tournament: Canada, United States, Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Europe, and North America. Team Europe and North America are new additions in 2016.
Those from remaining European nations will be put together for the first time ever, while NA consists of the best Canadian/American players 23 and under.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also announced intentions to gather in four years for the next Hockey World Cup in 2020. There are also rumors that both All-Star Teams (Europe and North America) could be scrapped in favor of a qualifying process for smaller countries.
Hockey World Cup (World Cup of Hockey): Projected Starting Goalies
As you can probably tell, today’s focus will be strictly between the pipes.
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One of the biggest questions for several teams heading into the tournament is which netminder will inevitably be the number one goalie heading into the semifinals/finals?
With teams having two to three legitimate options to pick from, there’s bound to be a difference of opinion in the hockey world.
Don’t be surprised if certain teams let the debate work itself out, sort of ride the hot hand type strategy. After all, with so many pre-tournament games before the preliminary rounds, there should be more than enough time to get a look at all three goalies.
Canada
Projected No.1: Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
If Price looks shaky after being out of competition for so long, Braden Holtby and Corey Crawford will be ready to carry the load, but it’s difficult to imagine the best goaltender in the world struggling with all that extra rest.
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United States
Projected No.1: Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils
This is the toughest prediction to make with Ben Bishop, Jonathan Quick, and Cory Schneider being similarly elite netminders.
Conventional logic might suggest two-time Cup winner Jonathan Quick to be the favorite, but there’s something to be said about Schneider’s performance over the past three seasons. He continues to put up Vezina-worthy numbers, he just needs to stay healthy.
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North America
Projected No.1: Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins
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This trio is much more debatable than it seems.
Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck seems to be an afterthought for most. Even Connor McDavid made an interesting comment on Monday at the BioSteel Camp saying something along the lines of “we have a couple of really good goalies”.
Hellebuyck should be feeling disrespected after being a standout for Team USA at the 2015 World Hockey Championship, and following it up with a 13-11-1 record, 2.34GAA and .918 save percentage (two shutouts) for the lottery bound Winnipeg Jets in 2015-16.
Realistically, any one of Matt Murray, John Gibson, or Connor Hellebuyck is capable of carrying the load. Given Murray’s recent success in helping Pittsburgh win a Stanley Cup, it should be his job to lose heading in.
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Europe
Projected No.1: Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Given his resume, it seems Frederik Andersen should be able to secure that top spot for games that matter. If either Thomas Greiss or Jaroslav Halak (New York Islanders) can emerge as the main guy, it could help give clarity to New York’s murky goaltending situation.
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Sweden
Projected No.1: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
Robin Lehner and Jacob Markstrom can certainly challenge King Henrik, but it’ll be difficult to surpass him on the depth chart. An unfortunate injury might be the only way Lundqvist loses time in the crease.
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Russia
Projected No.1: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Rewind a year and this would be a very different debate. Sergei Bobrovsky and Semyon Varlamov both had mediocre seasons with younger options emerging within the organization. Meanwhile, Vasilevskiy looks to be one of those goalies poised to knock off a starter (Ben Bishop).
Finland
Projected No.1: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
This is admittedly a much closer three-way battle than most people realize. Both Rask and Rinne are proven elite netminders, while Mikko Koskinen is coming off a monster 2015-16 season (between the KHL and international competition).
The Finn’s should prove tough to score on regardless of who stands between the pipes.
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Czech Republic
Projected No.1: Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings
There should be very little debate on this one. Some could argue that Michal Neuvirth‘s 2015-16 season is reason to believe he could challenge Petr Mrazek, but let’s call that unlikely at best. Mrazek went 27-16-6 with a 2.33GAA, .921 save percentage, and four shutouts this past season.