The World Cup of Hockey begins Saturday in Toronto when Team Europe faces Team USA in group play at 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Here are scouting reports on Team Europe, the Czech Republic and Russia.
Team Europe
The Good
Yeah, Team Europe looked pretty ordinary for most of its twin losses to Team North America to open the pre-tournament schedule -- but things appeared much more promising as it beat up on Sweden in its final tune-up game. So much veteran leadership will come over the boards for this team, including multiple Stanley Cup winners Marian Hossa and Anze Kopitar, who was named captain of the squad. There's good talent and size on the back end with Roman Josi, Mark Streit and Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara even though Chara struggled in the first two exhibition games. Team Europe also has some feisty kids, including Leon Draisaitl and Tobias Rieder, who can spice things up on offense. Team Europe may also have the tournament's secret weapon in head coach Ralph Krueger, who lead the Swiss national team into a place at the world hockey head table. He has a history of getting lesser lights to shine in these kinds of tournaments.
The Bad
In losing Frederik Andersen to injury, Team Europe has fewer options in goal and that's unfortunate. Jaroslav Halak was only OK in the first loss to Team North America and Thomas Greiss, so stellar for the New York Islanders last spring, was worse in the second. Frankly we'd go with Philipp Grubauer, the Washington Capitals' netminding prospect. The defense isn't particularly deep and there are questions about Chara's durability; he looked rusty in the first two games against the younger, faster Team North America squad. Apart from the impressive Kopitar, Team Europe won't be nearly as deep down the middle as it will need to be in order to knock off anyone -- let alone Canada or the U.S., which is what it will take to move out of the preliminary round. And unless Marian Gaborik can rekindle some past glory playing with Kopitar -- the veteran Slovak had a pair of goals in the team's second loss -- the offense looks to be overmatched against pretty much everyone else in the tournament.
Czech Republic
The Good
There's very little pressure on the Czech Republic at the World Cup, as injuries have a team that was already a longshot to win the tournament basically left for dead before things even got going. So the Czechs should be able to play loose. We saw a hint of that as they split their first two pre-tournament games with Russia before edging Team North America 3-2 on Wednesday. There's still talent up front that could make life difficult for opponents in the form of Jakub Voracek, captain Tomas Plekanec and Ondrej Palat. And we know that both Petr Mrazek and Michal Neuvirth, who beat the Russians in a shootout in the Czechs' second game, have the potential to be red-hot. The Czechs just have to hope they get the right red-hot netminder between the pipes at the right time. They draw the Canadians right off the hop on the first night of the tournament (8 p.m. ET, ESPNEWS) so maybe they can catch lightning in a bottle and take advantage of some hometown nerves. Maybe.
The Bad
How to put this delicately? The Czechs just aren't that good. The offense is thin compared to every other team in the tournament and that was before the withdrawal of David Krejci and Tomas Hertl. Meanwhile, the defense is less than thin, especially after the loss of Radko Gudas. If they get behind -- and it seems inevitable that they will fall behind -- the Czechs have little to suggest they can rebound in games, which puts intense pressure on the goaltending and defense to keep them close and hope for a lucky break or power play opportunity. New Jersey Devils veteran Patrik Elias (who is not on this squad, by the way) joked that perhaps the Czechs should rejoin with Slovakia to form a new version of the old Czechoslovak teams from back in the day. His Czech countrymen face a difficult challenge in this tournament.
Team Russia
The Good
Take a look at Russia's roster and it's evident the team could have one of the strongest cores of forwards in the tournament. It's a dynamic lineup with the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Vladimir Tarasenko, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Pavel Datsyuk and Artemi Panarin.In net, the Russians have three solid goaltenders with Andrei Vasilevskiy, Semyon Varlamov and Sergei Bobrovsky. Russia is going to compete and if it can figure out its defense, it has the potential to be a tough out.
The Bad
There are questions surrounding the offense and whether or not superstars Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin can produce and lead the attack. The Russians have struggled at the international level and haven't earned a medal in the past three Winter Olympics. It's obvious the Russians have the ability to score goals, but the team's biggest weakness is the defense. -- Joe McDonald