World Cup now on deck

The World Cup of hockey is being held starting this weekend. Sweden is ranked 2nd in the world and certainly hopes for a medal. I think there is a strong chance of a medal, but I think that there are some really strong teams at the moment.

Firstly, look out for Russia. They beat Sweden in the finals of the Euro Hockey Tour, two games - one in Sweden and one in Russia. The Russians looked sharp. They have some pretty big stars on board; Kovalev, Yashin, Datsyuk, Afigenov, and more besides. They are deep with Yashin playing on their third line. I think they will definitely medal in these games, along with the Czech Republic. Canada of course is always strong and the US can be strong as well. People forget that there are some pretty strong American players.

The Swedes do not have all of their best players unfortunately. Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, Niklas Sundstrom as well as other stars on not going to play. I cannot understand why their best players do not want to play for the national team. I would think it would be an honor. I understand that the Europeans play more national matches than the Americans so it can be more commonplace to play in your national colors, but still - this is the World Cup.

The Swedish team is pretty good though, and many players have come right out of the finals right into international competition. Daniel Alfredsson and his line has been kept intact from the Gothenburg team and the best player in the Swedish League, Henrik Lundqvist, is in the goal. When you have a strong goalie, you always have chance to do well. Lots of stars, eager teams and coaches, should be a good World Cup.