The 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship Results (Part Five)

Welcome to the fifth post of a miniseries of posts I am going to make about the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Most people don't realize that this tournament isn't just sixteen teams competing to win the gold medal. There are dozens of countries in various divisions competing to rise up the ladder of international ice hockey. In this, the 78th edition of the IIHF tournament, there are actually 46 teams trying to improve their international ranking and someday grab the gold medal.

Links for Part One, Two, Three, and Four are right here, where I painstakingly checked out Division III, Division II B, Division II A, and Division I B respectively.

Yesterday's post covered the triumph of Poland in Division I B. Congrats to the Poles for moving one step closer to joining the championship tournament. Next year, they'll compete in today's subject, Division I A, and attempt the leap into the top tier. While one team rises, one must fall, so Romania will sink into Division II A and attempt to move back up next year.

Speaking of Division I A, that would be our subject today. The second tier of the IIHF tournament ladder features six teams similarly to the preceding Division II, but there's more at stake than any other tournament. Winning in this tier means a shot at the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship tournament, the ultimate goal of the annual series of tournaments. Even more interesting is how two teams are promoted to the Top Division, while only one moves down. It's a tougher division to try to move up but plenty of the teams in the division now have bobbed up and down the bottom tiers in the last decade. The rising teams must compete against the likes of Canada, Russia, United States, Sweden, Finland, and all the other mainstays in the upper tier, which is quite the tall task. For this year, the Division I A tournament took place in Goyang, South Korea from April 20th to 26. Here are the final standings:

All charts courtesy of Wikipedia

Slovenia and Austria rise from the absolute dogfight that took place in this tier, while host South Korea were throttled in all five of their games and see demotion after being shut out of points. The difference-making games in this tier were Austria's overtime wins over Ukraine (3-2) and Hungary (5-4). Notable players in this tier's roster list were Austria's Michael Grabner (New York Islanders), Michael Raffl (Philadelphia Flyers), former Detroit Red Wing and the world's second most successful Slovenian player Jan Mursak, and his superior Anze Kopitar. Wait a minute...you must be asking yourself how Kopitar can be in two places at once. Great question! The NHLers I mentioned didn't actually play a single shift in the tournament. I can't say for sure what Grabner and Raffl were doing but Kopitar is a little busy winning playoff games in the NHL to play for his country. So this all begs the question.

Why the hell were these guys named to the team when there was no G-D way they were going to play?!?

Perhaps they thought the threat of Kopitar and Grabner was enough to have the other teams roll over. Looks like it all worked out anyway.

Here's the tournament's top scorers:

Good job, Thomas Koch, for winning the scoring race without scoring. Austria obviously dominated the scoring in this tournament, but kudos to seeing Kim Ki-sung of lowly South Korea get seven points in five brutal losses.

Here the top goaltenders:

Not exactly a goaltending duel in any of these games. Oh well, here's some actual footage via YouTube:





The Hungarian jerseys are awesome, and at one point a lot of Hungarians were reading this blog so here's a little something for them.

Tournament directorate named goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji of Japan (the first Japanese player to make the NHL), Austrian defenseman Dominique Heinrich, and forward Jan Muršak of Slovenia the best positional players. How does three points in five games get you the tournament's best forward? Maybe he killed every penalty or something. I don't know, I'm running out of steam for this tier.

Starting Monday I dig into the big tournament. You know, the one you all probably thought all these posts was about but I tricked you into reading five other posts first. See you then!

The Wiz Biz: Retiring an NHL Number

How does a franchise decide what numbers to retire? What is the criteria? How much of an impact does it have on players currently playing?

These are all interesting questions that come up when hockey enthusiasts talk about the importance of a number. Some numbers are now immortalized by outstanding careers of certain players. For example, no one can ever wear #99 again. Not even you, Wilf Paiement. Below is a collection of fun facts related to retiring NHL numbers. Enjoy!

• Currently, the Anaheim Ducks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Florida Panthers, the Nashville Predators, the San Jose Sharks, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are the only teams without retired numbers. It seems inevitable that Anaheim will hang forward Teemu Selanne's #8 in the rafters and I suspect Tampa will consider retiring Dave Andreychuk's #25 now that he is VP in charge of fans. In due time, the remaining teams on this list will find their immortal player to raise to the rafters. Perhaps in due time Rick Nash in Columbus or Patrick Marleau in San Jose. Only time will tell.

• As rare as it is to have your number retired, only six players have their number retired on more than one team as a direct result of their service. The Silver Six:

• Bobby Hull: retired with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes
• Gordie Howe: retired with the Detroit Red Wings and the Hartford Whales (now defunct)
• Wayne Gretzky: retired with the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings (league wide)
• Raymond Bourque: retired with the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche
• Mark Messier: retired with the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers
• Patrick Roy: Retired with the Montreal Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche

• The first number retired among NHL teams was Irvine Wallace "Ace" Bailey of the Toronto Maple Leafs. On December 12th, 1933, Ace was hit from behind by Eddie Shore and his career ended in an instant. An "all star" game was held on his behalf in 1934, where Shore and Bailey shook hands. The #6 remains in the rafters at the Air Canada Centre today.
  
  
• Aside from Gretzky's #99, the #77 of Raymond Bourque is the next highest number, followed by #66 Mario Lemieux, and #35 of Tony Esposito and Mike Richter. The number most frequently retired number is #9, which has nine players on eleven teams including defunct teams:
• Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens.
• Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers.
• Johnny Bucyk, Boston Bruins.
• Bobby Hull, Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets.
• Lanny MacDonald, Calgary Flames.
• Clark Gilles, New York Islanders.
• Glenn Anderson, Edmonton Oilers.
• Adam Graves, New York Rangers.
• Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers.
  

Now that I have polluted your mind with an excess of facts about retired number, it's time to discuss the questions posed at the beginning of the article. If you take a glance at all of the names that are listed here and on the "List of NHL Retired Numbers" page, at least 90% of the names belong to players you know about. The scorers, the legendary goaltenders, the multi-time Stanley Cup Champions, and the legends of a time no one can remember. Some names that appear on that list are unrecognizable to even the most hardened hockey buffs. Who is Barry Ashbee? Bob Gassoff? Michel Brière? The latter two had their careers cut tragically short from accidents, while Ashbee was struck by in the eye and later died of leukemia.

The criteria for retiring a number is entirely dependent on context. Players who have been mediocre scorers or had only menial impact on the ice, all due respect to them, have had their numbers retired. Statistics do not matter as much as you would think they should. The retiring of a number is about more than the game itself. Men who have been deemed the "heart and soul" of a team, those who have died tragically or had their careers cut abruptly short, and those who served their team loyally have earned their place in the rafters of the home team arena.

The perfect example to demonstrate my point is New York Islanders forward Bob Nystrom. Dubbed "Mr. Islander" and beloved by Long Island fans, Nystrom's career statistics are not by any means mind boggling: in 900 regular season games, Nystrom scored 235 goals, 278 assists, 513 points and 1248 penalty minutes. In 157 playoff games, Nystrom had 83 points and 236 penalty minutes. His statistics are somewhat comparable to Tomas Holmstrom with the except of Nystrom's seemingly fearless attitude towards taking penalties. But he will always be remembered for the goal.

Skip to about 1:30 to get to the good stuff. Tonelli to Nystrom, back of the net. The beginning of a dynasty. Nystrom would remain a central piece of the Islander dynasty that would go on to dominate the NHL for four years before the Oilers finally toppled their empire in 1983-1984. Nystrom's play would peter off after the successful run of the Islanders until he retired in 1986. Nystrom was a power forward who was not afraid to get physical, but more important to his legacy are the four playoff overtime winners and his dedication to the Long Island community. After retiring he remained with the team in a number of positions, including Director of Special Projects, Director of Community Relations, Director of Amateur Hockey Development & Alumni Relations, and finally Director of Corporate Relations. His jersey was retired in 1995.

Nystrom wasn't the power scorer like Mike Bossy, but one could argue no one was or will be. He also wasn't the two way dynamo that was Bryan Trottier. He may not even have been as strong a power forward as Clark Gilles. Yet all four men have their numbers retired by the Islanders, rightfully so, and Nystrom will not be forgotten by Islanders faithful for being the man who put the puck in the net for their first championship. It's players like Nystrom who belong in the rafters alongside the Potvins and the Bossys. The easy choices are always the trophy winners, the all-time scorers, or the legendary defensemen. The best choices are the players who represent the heart of a team and the soul of the community.

Who is the NHL's Best Player Below 21?

They aren't old enough to drink (in the United States) and their playoff beards are typically pitiful, but the NHL has a healthy crop of players below the age of 21. Below is a list of under-21s from each team to consider:

Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler, 19

• Strong rookie season for Anaheim (GP 73-G 9-A 29-P 38)
• Has a gold medal from 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships (United States)

Atlanta Thrashers: Evander Kane, 19

• Already has 135 games experience and 68 points under his belt.
• Has a gold medal from the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships (Canada)

Boston Bruins: Tyler Seguin, 19

• Struggled this season (GP 71-G 11-A 11-P 22)
• Has been compared to Steven Stamkos in terms of development

Carolina Hurricanes: Jeff Skinner, 18

• Calder-like season (GP 79-G 29-A 29-P 58)
• One of the youngest All-Stars in professional sports in North America

Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, 20

• One of Colorado's best players already with 117 points in 157 games
• Been compared to Yzerman, Sakic; a real franchise player

Edmonton Oilers: Taylor Hall, 19

• Was the leading Calder candidate until injury (GP 65-G 22-A 20-P 45)
• Plenty of junior hardware proves pedigree, will be face of Oilers franchise like Gretzky was

New York Islanders: John Tavares, 20

• Back to back 24 goals or more seasons, plenty of points with 118 points in 158 games played.
• Has the junior stats and hardware, appears to be the next Trottier/Yzerman of the NHL.

New York Rangers: Derek Stepan, 20

• Great rookie campaign (GP 79-G 20-A 22-P 42) as well as good college career
• One of only four players to score a hat trick in the first game of their NHL careers

Ottawa Senators: Erik Karlsson, 20

• Already has several years of professional hockey under his belt
• Off to a good start in the NHL with 71 points in 135 games on a rebuilding Ottawa team

Toronto Maple Leafs: Nazem Kadri, 20

• Limited experience with Leafs thus far, but dynamic on the ice
• One of very few blue chip prospects in the Leafs system

So whom among these ten prospects has the brightest future? At this point in their careers, John Tavares has proven to be a natural leader on the ice with the Islanders and it won't be long until he dons the "C" for captain. A few other players on this list might wind up wearing a letter in the coming years, but few will have the Yzerman-like impact on their team as Tavares. There's something to be said about Jeff Skinner's dynamic play as well as his status as the youngest player on the list. In interviews he has come across as a very mature person for his age and should fit in well on a young Carolina team that should get into the playoffs next season.

So who do you think is the best player on this list?

The Wiz Biz 3: Playoff Eulogy Edition

This is an experimental column where I look at issues of the day and comment on them in a sentence or two. It's meant to be funny and somewhat insightful. I hope it lasts...

Before we get started, this is a special edition of the Wiz Biz where I salute the valiant but futile efforts of NHL teams officially eliminated from playoff contention. When a team is eliminated, they deserve a final sendoff...

• The Ottawa Senators were eliminated a while back but they deserve to be acknowledged for their fine effort. Despite being out of the big playoff race following a massive skid in January, there were a lot of positives to come out of this season. Erik Karlsson is rounding into a reliable defensemen, Craig Anderson appears to be the goalie of the future, and Chris Phillips was locked into a contract extension. Unfortunately, this ranks among the Senators' worst seasons and a lot of question marks plague the team's future, including the effectiveness of Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, and Sergei Gonchar. It appears as though it's time for this team to rebuild around its core stars.
• The Florida Panthers were eliminated over the weekend, marking the 10th consecutive season they have missed the playoffs. To say the team needs a major overhaul is an understatement. Luckily, forwards Stephen Weiss and David Booth will be a good start. However, losing Tomas Vokoun to free agency is a big blow to the team's future. As the team continues to struggle with attendance as well as on the ice, there needs to be an overhaul of the franchise in every aspect.
• The New York Islanders have struggled for the past few seasons to maintain a competitive edge in their edition. John Tavares is going to be the face of the franchise for years to come, but there are a number of young scorers who put up impressive numbers: Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner, Blake Comeau, and Tavares all picked up 20 or more goals this season. Scoring won't be a problem in the future...but goaltending may be. After going through Rick DiPietro, Dwayne Roloson, Al Montoya, Kevin Poulin, Nathan Lawson, and Mikko Koskinen, the Islanders have just about exhuasted their goaltending resource with no clear cut number one. It's likely they will begin next season with DiPietro, Poulin, and Montoya on the depth chart. Not the best tandem in the league given DiPietro's continuous injuries, but they can be hopeful the American goaltender will finally emerge as the legitimate starter they thought he was when they signed him to that huge contract.
• Rest in Peace, Edmonton Oilers. I've already covered my disdain for the Oilers in a previous Wiz Biz but I'll rant yet again on why this team stunk this year. Full marks to the young players like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi, Andrew Cogliano, and Sam Ganger. No one expected these kids to do a damn thing this year. And they didn't. But they would have done more than nothing if it wasn't for the bad season Nikolai Khabibulin. In seasons not too far out of memory, the Bulin wall was a terrifying opponent who stifled some of the league's most potent offenses. This season, he's been nowhere near his old self. To an extent it seems like he gets out of bed just to collect that fat paycheck, but I'm sure the competitor inside of him expected Edmonton not to be devoting so much time toward rebuilding. Ah well.
• Colorado. The Avalanche. Buried by the weight of having to match the results of last season, where Craig Anderson strapped the team to his back and marched up the standings to get the team into the postseason. This year, Anderson was off his game and a combination of untimely injuries and just piss poor play sent the Avalanche back into the basement. This is a team that needs to make some big moves to secure what they just gave away for peanuts: goaltending. Is it time to shop John Michael Liles? Perhaps a coaching change? A front office shake down? It could be all three. Having a lottery pick will help.