Wasn't sure if I should make a thread for this but here is the Slovenian roster just announced as per NBC Sports:
Goaltenders: Luka Gracnar, Andrej Hocevar, Robert Kristan.
Defencemen: Blaz Gregorc, Sabahudin Kovacevic, Ales Kranjc, Ziga Pavlin, Klemen Pretnar, Mitja Robar, Matic Podlipnik, Andrej Tavzelj.
Forwards: Bostjan Golicic, Ziga Jeglic, Anze Kopitar, Anze Kuralt, Jan Mursak, Ales Music, Ziga Pance, Tomaz Razingar, David Rodman, Marcel Rodman, Robert Sabolic, Rok Ticar, Jan Urbas, Miha Verlic.
Reminds me of that Fresh Prince episode.........pass it to Kopitar.
Also no politics here as Kopitar's dad is the coach and he left off Kopitar's brother Gasper from the team:
It must be pretty cool for Anze Kopitar to have his dad coaching the team. I don't see Slovenia doing well at all. Is Kopitar the only NHLer on the team?
It must be pretty cool for Anze Kopitar to have his dad coaching the team. I don't see Slovenia doing well at all. Is Kopitar the only NHLer on the team?
I'm pretty sure he is the first and only NHL player from Slovenia.
How many teams make the Olympics? I had no idea Slovenia was even good enough to make that cut. Maybe they've picked things up over the last while, but to me they don't even register on the usual list of 3rd rate hockey suspects (ie, Italy, Norway, Austria etc).
on HNIC After Hours they had Anze Kopitar on the interview. He is a great interview. Really personable guy.
This is the first time ever Slovenia has qualified for the Olympics in hockey iirc. They are ranked way back in the rankings, but had a great qualification tournament.
Kopitar said that they have a fairly veteran team and one of their goalies plays in a competitive league and has a high save percentage. He's excited about it.
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How many teams make the Olympics? I had no idea Slovenia was even good enough to make that cut. Maybe they've picked things up over the last while, but to me they don't even register on the usual list of 3rd rate hockey suspects (ie, Italy, Norway, Austria etc).
This is how it worked (Slovenia ranked 18th beat out teams like Germany ranked 10th, Denmark ranked 12th and Belarus ranked 13th in the olympic qualifying tournament):
Seeding:
Group A: Russia (1), Slovakia (6), USA (7), Slovenia (18)
Group B: Finland (2), Canada (5), Norway (8), Austria (15)
Group C: Czech Republic (3), Sweden (4), Switzerland (9), Latvia (11)
Final Olympic Qualification (3 tournaments, 7-10 February 2013)
Group D in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany: Germany (10), Austria (15), Italy (16), Netherlands (24) Group E in Riga, Latvia: Latvia (11), France (14), Kazakhstan (17), Great Britain (21) Group F in Vojens, Denmark: Denmark (12), Belarus (13), Slovenia (18), Ukraine (20)
Olympic Pre-Qualification (3 tournaments, 8-11 November 2012)
Group G in Budapest, Hungary: Hungary (19), Netherlands (24), Lithuania (25), Croatia (30), 9-11 November 2012. Group H in Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukraine (20), Poland (23), Estonia (26), Spain (29) Group J in Nikko, Japan: Great Britain (21), Japan (22), Romania (27), Korea (28), 9-11 November 2012.
Olympic Preliminary Qualification (1 tournament, 17-19 September 2012)
Group K in Zagreb, Croatia: Croatia (30), Serbia (31), Mexico (32), Israel (33)
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How many teams make the Olympics? I had no idea Slovenia was even good enough to make that cut. Maybe they've picked things up over the last while, but to me they don't even register on the usual list of 3rd rate hockey suspects (ie, Italy, Norway, Austria etc).
12.
9 automatic qualifiers and 3 from a 3 different qualification tournaments held last Feb.
Slovenia won the group involving Belarus, Denmark and Ukraine (no NHLers)
edit: what OilFan said.
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I'd love to see that game between Israel and Mexico.
Israel is actually reasonably good - they're in Group IIA for this years worlds. There are two whole groups below that: Group IIB (Spain, New Zealand, Mexico, China, Turkey, South Africa) and Group III (Bulgaria, North Korea, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Georgia). Also Ireland, Mongolia and Greece entered the 2013 championships but don't seem to be there for 2014. Some high quality hockey being played there among these teams no doubt.
know most of them from the Austrian league ... happy for Luka Gracnar, he is doing a fantastic job here in Salzburg. Still surprised that he wasn't drafted. The Rodman brothers are also quite good, as are Pretnar and Kranjc (although his season has been a disappointment). Mursak was a beast during the lockout. Will still be the Anze Kopitar show and I guess they'll get torn apart in all three games.
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Originally Posted by OILFAN #81
Group D in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany: Germany (10), Austria (15), Italy (16), Netherlands (24)
aaaaah the memories ... kicking out the Germans was so, so sweet. First time they miss an Olympic tournament ever.
Team Slovenia roster announced for Sochi 2014
