There is very little left before the start of a major youth event, the 42nd World Hockey Championship. This time the World Championship will be held in the American city of Buffalo. The tournament starts on December 26 and ends on January 5.
Groups.
The teams are divided into two groups:
Group A: USA, Canada, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland
Group B: Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belarus
Russian national team game schedule:
26.12 Russia – Czech Republic
28.12 Russia – Switzerland
29.12 Russia – Belarus
31.12 Russia – Sweden
Forecast for the tournament.
Last year, the teams played it hot, the US and Canada teams met in the finals, the match turned out to be dramatic, first one team took the lead, then the other, in the end the outcome of the match was decided in a shootout, in which the representatives of the American team were stronger, 5-4 . In the match for third place, the national teams of Sweden and Russia met, no one thought that the Russians were capable of winning this match, even the Swedes themselves were 100% confident in their victory, but the Russian youth team, “not shit”, gave such a fight, that the victory was ours, the result was 2-1, bronze.
Since 2011, the Russian youth team has always been in the top three, this is one of the most stable European teams, the tournament favorites are usually the Swedes and Canadians, Russia, the USA and Finland remain in the shadows, but as tournament statistics show, these teams are capable of a lot .
Just a month ago, the Russian youth team finished a super series against the Canadian youth, and performed well, the score in the series was 3-3, the Canadians won in shootouts.
Bookmaker quotes for MFM2018
Now let's look at the bets that bookmakers give on the winner:
USA – 2.60, Canada – 3.55, Russia, Sweden – 6.50.
Why is it profitable to place a bet right now?
The reason is clear, further the odds will only fall, the less time before the start, the lower the odds. Who to bet on? Definitely the Canadian team, although they are not the host of the tournament, I think they are the main favorite of the tournament, the bookmakers give a good odds on their victory, they will definitely play in the finals, where there is a possibility of a win-win option, make a sure bet, in the finals there is such an obvious odds on the Canadian national team You won't see. It will be difficult for the Americans, they are pushing their stands forward, this is good, will they have the strength to cope with such pressure, after all, they are young people, they have a lot of energy.
The Russian team, judging by the latest matches with the Canadian team, is fine, we have a leader, Kirill Kaprizov, a couple of Armenians who score that they need it to win (just kidding). Last year the Swedes, with their golden youth, burned out, if they made the right conclusions, they will reach the finals. My breakdown of the top three winners is as follows: Canada, Sweden, Russia, USA.
During the New Year holidays, hockey fans will receive a wonderful gift - 2017 IIHF World U20 Championship. The current U-20 World Youth Championship will be held in the Canadian cities of Montreal and Toronto from December 26, 2016 to January 5, 2017.
The teams are divided into two groups of 5 teams, of which the best 4 will advance to the quarterfinals. Group compositions:
- Group A: Sweden; Finland; Czech Republic; Switzerland; Denmark.
- Group B: Russia; Canada; USA; Slovakia; Latvia.
The teams will play in the quarter finals according to their places in the group stage: A1-B4 B2-A3 | B1-A4 A2-B3.
Predictions for the victory of the 2017 Youth World Cup
All hockey fans are interested in who will become the best junior team among the hockey teams? To answer this question, let’s turn to the opinion of experts.
According to expert analysis, the main favorite to win the World Junior Hockey Championship is the Canadian team with odds of 1.90. The second most likely team is the USA (4.25), and The Russian national hockey team closes the top three contenders. The odds for Russia to win are 7.50. It means that with a bet of 1000 rubles, your winnings will be 7500 rubles.
In their first match, the Russian team will meet in the early morning of December 27 with the Canadian team. Check out the entire tournament on the page.
The Russian youth team is not among the favorites of the 2018 World Hockey Championship (players under 20 years of age), which will take place from December 26 to January 5 in the USA, this is the bookmakers’ forecast for today. According to bookmaker analysts, the 2018 World Cup will most likely be won by the host team of the tournament, the US team or the Canadian team. Bookmakers put the Russian team in fourth place on the list of contenders for victory.
Bets on the winner of the 2018 MFM Hockey Championship
Bookmaker bwin accepts bets on the victory of the Russian national hockey team at the World Youth Championship with odds of 8.50. Accordingly, the chances of success for Valery Bragin’s team are approximately 20 percent. Bets on the US team are accepted with odds of 2.45 (the probability of winning is about 41 percent). You can bet on the Canadian team with odds of 2.90 (34.5 percent). The bookmakers placed the Swedish team in third place in the list of contenders for victory - 7.25 (14 percent), and the Finnish team in fifth - 11.00 (9 percent).
Where will the 2018 World Youth Hockey Championship be held?
Youth championship matches will be held at two arenas in Buffalo (New York): KeyBank Center and HarborCenter. One of the 2018 World Cup matches between the USA and Canada national teams will be played outdoors on December 29 in the suburbs of Buffalo on the field of the home stadium of the NFL team “Buffalo Bills” - New Era Field. The current winner of the tournament is the US team. The Russian team won bronze medals at the 2017 World Cup, silver went to the Canadian team, and Sweden took fourth place.
Youth World Hockey Championship 2018 game schedule
At the preliminary stage, the Russian team was placed in Group B along with the teams of Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Belarus. In Group A, the teams of the USA, Canada, Denmark, Slovakia and Finland will compete for access to the playoffs. The four best teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Two-fifths of the teams from each group will take part in the consolation round (games to retain their place in the elite division), which consists of a series of best-of-three matches.
Match schedule MFM-2018 (Moscow time)
December 26
- Czech Republic – Russia 20:00
- Belarus – Sweden 22:00
27th of December
- Canada – Finland 00:00
- Denmark – USA 04:00
- Switzerland – Belarus 23:00
December 28th
- Slovakia – Canada 03:00
- Finland – Denmark 20:00
- Russia – Switzerland 22:00
December 29th
- Sweden – Czech Republic 00:00
- USA – Slovakia 04:00
- Belarus – Russia 22:00
December 30th
- Canada – USA 00:00
- Czech Republic – Belarus 20:00
- Sweden – Switzerland 22:00
31th of December
- Finland – Slovakia 00:00
- Denmark – Canada 04:00
- Switzerland – Czech Republic 20:00
1st of January
- USA – Finland 00:00
- Slovakia – Denmark 02:00
- Russia – Sweden 04:00
January 2
- Consolation round 20:00
- Quarter finals 22:00
January 3
- 1/4 finals 00:00
- 1/4 finals 02:00
- 1/4 finals 04:00
4 January
- Consolation round 20:00
5 January
- 1/2 finals 00:00
- 1/2 finals 04:00
Mikhail ZISLIS, hockey correspondent
Forecast - 5:0. Any other option than a cakewalk for the Swedish team seems fantastic. The maximum that the Danes are capable of is to save face and not lose very badly.
Evgeniy BELOUSOV, hockey correspondent
Forecast - 5:2. Tre Krunur is the undisputed favorite of the Viking Derby in Montreal. And although 11 Danes competed at the last World Cup, their more skilled opponents will prevail, but probably not in a dry situation.
Anastasia ZHDANOVA, hockey correspondent
Forecast - 4:0 . The Swedes, whom some Western colleagues ranked as one of the main favorites of the tournament, will deal with the Danes without any problems, despite the fact that the future outsiders of Group A have almost half of their squad left from last year.
Pavel KLIMOVITSKY, hockey correspondent
Forecast - 7:2. An excellent chance for Nylander, Eriksson Ek, Petersson and other Swedish stars to jump right into the race for the title of top scorer of the tournament. However, the Danes will also score their two or three goals.
(23:30)
Zislis forecast: - 9:1. One of the tournament favorites will have no problem destroying a team whose goal is to survive in the elite division. If the Latvians lose with a difference of at least 5 goals, then for them this result can be considered a success.
Belousov's forecast: - 7:0. Eriks Mulins's Latvians are not inferior in size to the Stars and Stripes, but the class of people from NTDP will affect the start. If the Balts don't have a traditional goalkeeper to help out, the American students will warm up the crowd at the Air Canada Center with a big victory before the evening "classics".
Zhdanova's forecast: - 5:2 . The original Latvians should hardly count on anything other than points in the match with Slovakia, but Dzierkals and Co. are capable of sealing the goal for the Americans.
Klimovitsky's forecast: - 8:1. Despite the fact that the Latvian national team is considered almost the strongest in its history, this will not save them from defeat - the Americans will crush the opponent in the first period.
(1:00, MATCH TV)
Zislis forecast: - 2:4. The current world champion, even without last year's top three Puljujarvi-Aho-Laine playing in the NHL, must prevail over the mediocre Czech team.
Belousov's forecast: - 3:6. The opponents, diluted by a third with foreign players from North America, will show spectacular hockey. Suomi's chances are preferable even in the absence of Laine, Aho and Puljujarvi.
Zhdanova's forecast: - 1:2 . The Finns, who lost last year's champion team, will play with the Czechs in hockey typical of adult teams - with a minimum of moments and a soporific effect for the spectators.
Klimovitsky's forecast:- 4:3 OT. I’ll take a chance and bet on the Czechs, who failed in friendly matches: they will create a mini-sensation and beat the current world champions.
(4:00, MATCH TV)
Zislis forecast: - 4:2. Valery Bragin sets the goal of bringing the team to the peak of its capabilities for the quarterfinals. Therefore, the first match in the group can be safely sacrificed. This does not mean that the Russians will serve their number. But the hosts, who will have home ice and always loyal judges at the World Youth Championship, will have an easier time.
Belousov's forecast: - 5:2. A year and a half ago, juniors born in 1997. Yuri Rumyantsev spent the whole tournament preparing for the final with the Canadians, but in the quarterfinals they were stopped by the Swiss. The core of that team meets the “maple leaves” already at the start in the youth team format, but one cannot count on a successful outcome of the meeting with the hosts who are eager to tear and throw. Although, as Buffalo's experience shows, a defeat at the start from Canada leads to gold.
Zhdanova's forecast: - 3:1. At the playoff stage, Russia would have more chances against the Canadians - our team will enter the tournament gradually and not easily. The difference of two goals will help Samsonov hold on.
Klimovitsky's forecast:- 4:1. This will be the most difficult match for the Russian team in the entire tournament - even if they have to meet the same Canadians again in the playoffs, next time everything will be much easier. Unfortunately, Bragin’s team will not be able to survive today.
Final Canada - Finland and Russia without medals? Forecast for the 2018 World Cup
Lev Lukin does not believe in the Russian youth team. Throw tomatoes at it.
Belarus
The youth team of Belarus, after a year-long absence from the MFM elite, returned to the cohort of the strongest U20 teams. Yuri Faykov's team was in a group with teams from Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, and the main task of the Belarusians at the tournament will be to maintain their residence in the elite division. Hockey in Belarus has been going through hard times lately; the adult team is looking for options for reinforcement in the form of naturalized foreign players, which suggests that talented Belarusian hockey players appear in very limited quantities.
Therefore, it is doubly difficult for the youth team to compete on equal terms with their rivals, who try out future stars at such tournaments.
Forecast: Belarus will compete in the group with the Czechs and Swiss for reaching the playoffs, but, most likely, Faykov’s team will have the last place in its top five and a consolation round, following which the Belarusians will again find themselves in the first division of youth hockey.
Slovakia
But predicting who will become a potential opponent for Belarus in the consolation round seems to be a very difficult task. It is obvious that the national teams of the USA, Canada and Finland are unlikely to allow such a failure, although the same Finns a year ago were just fighting for the right to remain in the elite. But it is difficult to imagine that for the second year in a row the Suomi team will be left without the MFM playoffs, which means that the Danes and Slovaks will compete for the last vacancy in the relegation games in Group A.
Recently, the level of these teams has become equal, the Slovaks have not been among the strongest national teams for a long time, and the Danes, on the contrary, have more and more talented players. Last year, Slovakia was only ahead of completely hopeless Latvia in its group, and the Danes, in turn, created a sensation by finishing second in their top five.
Forecast: over the year, the situation in youth Slovak hockey has not changed dramatically for the better; Ernest Bokrosh’s charges will play in the consolation round and there they will retain the right to play at the 2019 MFM.
Denmark
Yes, the Danes should make it to the playoffs, but it would be very naive to hope for last year’s success of Olaf Eller’s team. In the Scandinavian group, the Canadians and Americans are traditionally strong at the youth level, the Finns are angry after last year's failure, and again taking second place in such a company is unrealistic.
Forecast: the main task of the Danes will be to show decent hockey in the match with the favorites, as well as win the main match in the group stage against the Slovaks. It seems that the Danish national team will cope with this task and will advance to the playoffs, where they will lose first place in Group B in the fight.
Switzerland
The Swiss team acts as a dark horse at every tournament, and the MFM in Buffalo is no exception. It is unlikely that Christian Wohlwend's team will compete for leadership in Group B with the Swedes and Russians, although such a scenario would not be surprising, because there is always a sensation at the World Youth Championships. It is also difficult to imagine the Swiss national team fighting for the playoffs when it has the Belarusian national team in the group. Before the tournament, the most likely scenario is that the Swiss will play the Czech team for third or fourth place in their top five.
This is exactly what happened at last year’s tournament, when these teams were separated by only one point, despite the fact that the Swiss were stronger in the head-to-head meeting. They could have caused a sensation in the playoffs, but the US team, in a bitter struggle, still beat the team from the country of banks and cheeses.
Forecast: at the 2017 World Cup, Switzerland had Nico Hischier, the future number one of the draft, and now the national team will have to do without him. Therefore, we predict Wohlwend’s team to take fourth place in the group and be eliminated in the quarterfinals.
10 bright young players who will miss the MFM for various reasons
The club's busy schedule, high competition, and injuries will prevent these talents from playing in Buffalo.
Czech
Before Buffalo, the Czech national team looks like the weakest team of the big six, and at the upcoming tournament, Philip Pechan's charges will have to work hard to destroy these ideas. For 13 years, youth hockey in the Czech Republic has not seen medals at world championships, which also affects the results of the adult team, which has not looked like a favorite at major international tournaments for a long time.
Of course, at the future youth forum the Czechs will make it to the playoffs, but it will be possible to count on more only under a miraculous combination of circumstances. In the group, Pechan’s team looks objectively weaker than both Russia and Sweden; the Czechs will have to fight with Switzerland for third or fourth place, although both positions most likely lead to the playoffs against the US or Canadian teams.
Forecast: in this situation, the Czechs need to try to take a higher place in the group, but we predict that they will not be able to jump above their heads, from third place in the group they will advance to the quarterfinals, the match in which will be the last for the Czechs in the tournament.
The Czechs will have to fight with Switzerland for third or fourth place, although both positions will most likely lead to the US or Canadian teams in the playoffs.
Russia
The Russian national team is going to Buffalo with wonderful memories, but it will be incredibly difficult for Valery Bragin and his team to repeat the success of seven years ago. The Russian youth team currently does not have hockey players of the caliber of Tarasenko, Panarin and Kuznetsov, and the potential first pick of next year’s NHL draft Andrei Svechnikov is still too young.
Of course, we believe in the talent of Bragin and our guys, there is no doubt that Russia will make it to the playoffs and is unlikely to take a place lower than second. But any position other than the first one will most likely lead our team to Canada, the USA or Finland, and in matches against these opponents Russia will not be a favorite.
Bragin chose new Buffalo heroes. Without Kravtsov, but with Svechnikov
The head coach of the youth team announced the squad for the World Cup.
Forecast: The Russian team almost always takes a long time to swing at the youth world championships, and therefore rarely wins the group. It seems that the tournament in Buffalo will not be an exception, the Russians will take second place, and already in the quarterfinals Bragin’s charges will be faced with insoluble problems. But let’s not forget that the youth team shows its best game under Bragin precisely when few people believe in it.
Russia will make it to the playoffs and is unlikely to finish lower than second. But any position other than the first one will most likely lead our team to Canada, the USA or Finland, and in matches against these opponents Russia will not be a favorite.
USA
At the last tournament, which took place on Canadian soil, the US team, led by Bob Motsko, won all the matches and won the 2017 World Cup gold. From that lineup, the Americans will not be helped by Clayton Keller, who shines in Arizona, but many other hockey players, as well as the coach, will defend the title in Buffalo.
Playing on home ice will certainly create a special mood among American talents, and in matches with competitors for leadership in the group, the US team may burn out, and the title of reigning world champions is a very difficult burden. Therefore, we predict the young Stars and Stripes only third place in the group after Finland and Canada, but an interesting continuation in the playoffs.
Forecast: in the elimination games, the Americans will probably be in the medal zone, there is a high probability of participating in the finals, but we will not see a second successive triumph of American youth hockey.
Sweden
The Swedes are bringing a decent squad to Buffalo and are the main candidates for victory in their group. The Czechs, Swiss and Belarusians will solve their problems, the Russians do not have a sufficient margin of safety to win the group, which means the Scandinavian team has every chance of success in the first stage.
First place in the top five B almost certainly puts Sweden in the playoffs against Denmark or Slovakia, which in turn almost guarantees the Scandinavians a semi-final.
Forecast: A year ago, Thomas Monten’s team lost at this very stage, and then lost to the Russians in the bronze medal match. Now the scenario risks repeating itself, only the opponent in the consolation final will most likely be different.
Finland
Last year's tournament ended in complete failure for the Finns, who started it as the current world champions. The Suomi team took last place in the group and fought with the Latvian team for the right to remain in the elite division.
The Finns probably remembered this slap in the face, and in Buffalo we are expecting revenge from them. It is unlikely that Jussi Ahokas' team is capable of winning the group against the powerful and always playful Canadians, but we give second place in the top five to Finland. Many experts and hockey specialists are betting on this team; the Finns have a number of brilliant talents, such as Tolvanen, Heiskanen or the WHL's top scorer Heponiemi.
Forecast: the Finns will probably go far in the playoffs; we predict the Suomi team will have the final of the tournament, where they will try not to lose to Canada for the second time in the tournament.
Canada
The head coach of the Canadian national team, Dominique Ducharme, is once again taking a team made up of powerful, scoring and skilled hockey players to the youth championship. It’s not without reason that the Canadians are considered the main favorites of this tournament every year: each junior league in this country can easily provide the youth coach with more than one roster for the national team, and before Buffalo, Ducharme was once again blindsided by the rich choice.
There is virtually no doubt that the Canadians will perform strongly in the group stage and, most likely, will take first place there. It will be difficult to stop Canada even before the final.
A year ago in Montreal, the founders of hockey lost the decisive match to the US team in a shootout. Now on American ice, the Canadians will probably want to make up for both that defeat and for the missed victory on Buffalo ice in 2011.
Forecast: a year ago in Montreal, the founders of hockey lost the decisive match of the US team in shootouts. Now on American ice, the Canadians will probably want to make up for both that defeat and for the missed victory on Buffalo ice in 2011. It’s just that we see Ducharme’s team’s opponents not as the USA or Russia, but as the Finnish team.
