Slovenia hockey team first time on Olympic games!!!!

[Pens4Life]

We beat Danish team yesterday in Denmark (referees were awful,no penalties for home team) 2:1 and we have won a place on Sochi Olympics 2014! The first time we achieved that! Im so proud to be Slovenian today!
With all the **** happening in my country,with money problems,stupid politics and coruption everywhere,SPORT is the only thing we Slovenians can be proud of and happy!

WE WILL PLAY USA, Russia and Slovakia in the group phase.
Robert Kristan (our best goalie of all times) was incredible again,made 29 saves Vs Belorussia (4:2 win) and yesterday with 32 saves was our best player alongside 2goals scorer David Rodman. Denmark outshot us 33:29,but we were better team,missed some big chances to decide the game earlier. National team coach is Matjaz Kopitar,father of Anze Kopitar. Anze and Jan Mursak were missed,but we managed to achieve this big goal anyway. We have only 6 hockey halls and now 1 professional club,2 million people - but we are sportnation with heart like the ocean

Team that achieved this miracle on ice is :

Goalies : KRISTAN the legend, A.Hocevar, L.Gracnar (maybe will be NHL drafted..)

Defense : Gregorc, Robar, A.Kranjc, Tavzelj, Pavlin, K.Pretnar, Kovacevic

Forwards : R.Ticar, Jeglic, Sabolic, David Rodman, Marcel Rodman, T.Razingar, Music, J.Urbas, Z.Pance, G.Kopitar,
Basic, R.Pajic, B.Golicic

Coaches : M.Kopitar and assistant coach Nik Zupancic

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Congrats.

[Gaucho]

Good stuff, that's quite an accomplishment.

[Rylan]

That was fun to read. By the end even I was excited for Slovenia :fist:

[columbia]

This takes me back to my days of hanging out at the SNPJ club in Imperial, PA. The GF was Slovenian.

[Bathgate]

There's a lot of people of Slovenian heritage living in the Pittsburgh area, and several radio programs with news and music of Slovenia, including one from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Saturdays. That means it's just beginning now on WEDO 810 in case Pens4Life would like to check it out at http://www.wedo810.com/.

[ulf]

Lines?

[Grunthy]

Woo go Slovenia. I am Slovenian, so this is awesome.

[mikey287]

Great for Slovenia! I had always selfishly hoped that Kopitar never played for Slovenia at the IIHF level and would commit to play for the USA in 2014...but this is right, good for the Kopitars, good for hockey in Slovenia!

[Idoit40fans]

Eww...Thats a rough group. Thats pretty awesome though, considering they only produced their first NHLer like 6 seasons ago.

[Pens4Life]

Lines?

Jeglic - Ticar - Sabolic is one of the best lines we had in a decade,three youngsters playing awesome,they have a incredible chemistry..

Even if we put together Mursak - Kopitar and even if Stajan would play on that line for Slovenia,probably the line above would be the most effective one.

We have been in Elite division couple of times and went out,and we are in again this year and I hope we stay. With coach Kopitar,we are more disciplined and more defensively organized than we were. Also it helps we have a great goalie in Kristan,but even backups are good.

[Pens4Life]

Eww...Thats a rough group. Thats pretty awesome though, considering they only produced their first NHLer like 6 seasons ago.

Well,I think we would have more NHL-ers if Slovenian players would be more known or appreciated (spelling,sorry)..
Terglav was drafted few years ago.. Goalie Kristan could be NHL-er,but I dont know how he never went drafted. Gracner is next goalie who could be in NHL after a few years. Mursak in playing there. I dont know,we have a few elite players I think,but we came from small market,small country and I dont think that even if our player is better like someone from maybe Slovakia,the teams would maybe pick Slovakian player,just because of the market and tradition. just my feeling. Things are changing now for better with Kopitar..

[mikey287]

You are right, P4L. In the scouting community, some are very hesitant to take a player from a non-traditional hockey country like Slovenia. That was the talk even with an elite talent like Anze Kopitar when he was drafted in the NHL.

I'm aware of Robert Kristan and I know he's thought highly of, but you won't find many in North America that are familiar with the name I don't think. Even I'm not terribly familiar with his game, just seen him in passing over the years.

For some reason, I've always confused Jan Mursak and Janos Vas...I always think Mursak is Hungarian and not Slovenian...even though it's not a Hungarian name...

The Slovakians aren't that good...who knows, maybe you can catch them napping if it's the first game of the tournament...good luck!

[Pens4Life]

Yes,Mikey I know.. The problem is that Slovenia isnt traditional hockey country just for outsiders,otherwise its very popular sport in our country and it does have a long tradition especially with clubs like Olimpija and Jesenice,big rivals and these two clubs have a large fan base.
Also in ex-Yugoslavia there were some big teams like Medvescak,Crvena Zvezda,Partizan and so on. My uncle was goalie - Domine Lomovsek and is a hockey legend in Slovenia,he played on a Olympics in 1984 in Sarajevo and on many World Championships. He was best goalie a few times on WC!
Right now there is a sad story behind club Jesenice,which produced many very good and legendary players in our country. Due to financial problems,because of wrong people leading the club,it almost collapsed,almost ruined for ever. But some ex players took over and club is thankfully still alive and getting back to track.
Right now the only professional club in Slovenia is Olimpija who is playing in international EBEL league. There is a few national players of Slovenia and a few in Sweden,Slovakia,Denmark,Italy,France and soo on.

[mikey287]

Yes,Mikey I know.. The problem is that Slovenia isnt traditional hockey country just for outsiders,otherwise its very popular sport in our country and it does have a long tradition especially with clubs like Olimpija and Jesenice,big rivals. Also in ex-Yugoslavia there were some teams like Medvescak,Crvena Zvezda,Partizan and so on. My uncle was goalie - Domine Lomovsek and is a hockey legend in Slovenia.

Sure, but by traditional hockey country - in the context of the NHL Draft - we would mean "traditional producer of talent" ...I hope they beat Slovakia make some waves for two reasons: 1. The Slovaks are slacking, basically since they split from Czechoslovakia and need a wake-up call (and money). 2. A major win would be helpful to hockey in that area and the more places producing hockey talent, the better off the world is. See: United States after 1980.

Rare for an American to be drafted in the first round (or really, at all, in any major round) through most of the draft's history. 1978: no American first rounders. 1979: one American in the first round (all the way through mid-2nd). 1980: one American in the first round. 1981: One American in the first round. 1982: One American in the first round. ...at this point, you'll start to see the effect. 3 and 4 years after an event because it effects "the decision" for kids at the high school level of what they should pursue seriously. At 17, it's too late to make so much progress in one year. At 14, it's very do-able.

1983: 5 Americans in the first round and 3 of the top 5 picks
1984: 4 Americans in the first round and 2 of the top 4 picks
1985: 3 Americans in the first round
1986: 7 Americans in the first round and 3 of the top 9 picks

Helped very much to put the Americans on the map. 1978-1982: Four Americans in five first rounds combined. 1983-1986: 19 Americans in four first rounds combined.

Very interesting that Lomovsek is your uncle! He couldn't possibly provide any info about Doru Tureanu could he? I know he's a little before his playing career, but who knows...he almost certainly would know more than me about him. Very interesting player who was pursued by the NHL during the course of his career. Always wanted to learn more, but the information is sparse.

[Bathgate]

You are right, P4L. In the scouting community, some are very hesitant to take a player from a non-traditional hockey country like Slovenia. That was the talk even with an elite talent like Anze Kopitar when he was drafted in the NHL.

Not that long ago (prior to about 1980), the US was deemed a non-traditional hockey country and only a handful of Americans played in the league up until then. I myself recall following the Pens when Tommy Williams, hardly a star, was the only American on any team. All the scouts and managers were Canadian and they had no respect for American developmental systems, including college hockey, so they did little scouting of them. The Canadian junior system was the source for nearly all players. Canadian players generally had little respect for the few Americans participating and sometimes mistreated them, even teammates.

The NHL was essentially an all-Canadian game until the mid-1970’s when the Leafs brought over Borje Salming to play for them, and that opened the gates for Europeans.

[mikey287]

You are right, P4L. In the scouting community, some are very hesitant to take a player from a non-traditional hockey country like Slovenia. That was the talk even with an elite talent like Anze Kopitar when he was drafted in the NHL.

Not that long ago (prior to about 1980), the US was deemed a non-traditional hockey country and only a handful of Americans played in the league up until then. I myself recall following the Pens when Tommy Williams, hardly a star, was the only American on any team. All the scouts and managers were Canadian and they had no respect for American developmental systems, including college hockey, so they did little scouting of them. The Canadian junior system was the source for nearly all players. Canadian players generally had little respect for the few Americans participating and sometimes mistreated them, even teammates.

The NHL was essentially an all-Canadian game until the mid-1970’s when the Leafs brought over Borje Salming to play for them, and that opened the gates for Europeans.

Correct (did you see my post above?). The lack of Americans goes way back too, it wasn't just circumstantial. A couple of audacious men in the 20's, 30's and 40's were laughed at for trying to create American teams. That is, until the unlikely story of the 1938 Chicago Blackhawks and the heroic performance of Mike Karakas. However, even that wasn't sustainable long-term. It was well into the 1970's before US College coaches and players would start to be a major part of the league. I might even say that that was an artificial influx brought about by the proliferation of professional teams between 1968 and 1975.

The Miracle on Ice seems to be a good place to mark the shattering of the glass ceiling for USA Hockey.

[Bathgate]

Correct (did you see my post above?). The lack of Americans goes way back too, it wasn't just circumstantial. A couple of audacious men in the 20's, 30's and 40's were laughed at for trying to create American teams. That is, until the unlikely story of the 1938 Chicago Blackhawks and the heroic performance of Mike Karakas. However, even that wasn't sustainable long-term. It was well into the 1970's before US College coaches and players would start to be a major part of the league. I might even say that that was an artificial influx brought about by the proliferation of professional teams between 1968 and 1975.

The Miracle on Ice seems to be a good place to mark the shattering of the glass ceiling for USA Hockey.

I must have been composing my post as you were posting yours. You kind of stole my thunder.

I have studied NHL history, so I am aware of Frederic McLaughlin's attempt to succeed with a bunch of Americans on his Blackhawks team in the 1930's. You are right that expansion had something to do with increasing the number of Yanks in the NHL and that the 1980 Olympics win really spurred it. The 1960 Olympics gold medal apparently did not do much although the goalie, Jack McCartan did play some NHL games I think.

I tried but could not locate a complete list of Americans who played in the NHL prior to 1980. Probably not too long of a list.

[mikey287]

Correct (did you see my post above?). The lack of Americans goes way back too, it wasn't just circumstantial. A couple of audacious men in the 20's, 30's and 40's were laughed at for trying to create American teams. That is, until the unlikely story of the 1938 Chicago Blackhawks and the heroic performance of Mike Karakas. However, even that wasn't sustainable long-term. It was well into the 1970's before US College coaches and players would start to be a major part of the league. I might even say that that was an artificial influx brought about by the proliferation of professional teams between 1968 and 1975.

The Miracle on Ice seems to be a good place to mark the shattering of the glass ceiling for USA Hockey.

I must have been composing my post as you were posting yours. You kind of stole my thunder.

I have studied NHL history, so I am aware of Frederic McLaughlin's attempt to succeed with a bunch of Americans on his Blackhawks team in the 1930's. You are right that expansion had something to do with increasing the number of Yanks in the NHL and that the 1980 Olympics win really spurred it. The 1960 Olympics gold medal apparently did not do much although the goalie, Jack McCartan did play some NHL games I think.

I tried but could not locate a complete list of Americans who played in the NHL prior to 1980. Probably not too long of a list.

Sorry about stealing your thunder I'm also a student of the game myself and have spent a lot of my free time over the past few years learning and understanding the history of the game for both the education of it and to help better understand the game today.

The 1960 Olympic win seems like almost as big of an upset as 1980 but being that it's a generation prior and the Soviets hadn't quite revved up their locomotive to full steam quite yet, so it's not talked about as much.

Here's the list of Americans from the start of the NHL until 1980: http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-in ... =&offset=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Only 63 players with 100 games played. Just 3 with 500+ games played. Though, I'm not adjusting for era in terms of season length, it's still fairly interesting.

And the goalies:
http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-in ... mes_goalie" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As you'd expect, just Brimsek sticks out (about the 10th best goalie of all time or so, right around there...easily the best American goalie by a mile) and then Karakas (not top 50) and then there's a precipitous drop off...just 3 with 100 games played there.

[Kovy27]

Good for Slovenia...enjoy losing every game by 10.

[Bathgate]

Here's the list of Americans from the start of the NHL until 1980: http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-in ... =&offset=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good find, but I well remember top-of-the-list names like Charlie Burns and Tracy Pratt because they played for the Pens and never thought of them as American. So I checked their Wikipedia entry and sure enough, they were born in the US, but moved to Canada at a young age where they became Canadian and learned to play hockey. Same with Cecil Dillon. I knew Gerry O'Flaherty was born in Pittsburgh as the son of a Hornet, but he too moved to Canada at a young age. So the list clearly overstates the number of Americans prior to 1980. The list does show that a lot of Americans started to filter into the NHL by the early '70's and I had sort of forgotten that. Interesting!

[Pens4Life]

Frank Brimsek from Minnesota,hm.. He probably was Slovenian,I mean he had relatives in Slovenia..
Vezina trophy winner 1939 and 1942,they called him Mister Zero,40 SO in 514 NHL games - legend
Brodeur has 120 SO in 1200 games as comparison..
Okey,I will ask my uncle about Doru Tureanu,I see he is the same age as Domine and played forward (big time scorer as well) for Romania. Hockey legend there,Montreal even tried to bring him to NHL,but he declined because of his sick mother. Tureanu and Domine must have played against each other a few times for sure in group B then. I doubt he has any newest info. My uncle isnt involved in hockey anymore.
Because HC Slavija (his first and last club in his playing and later coaching career) owed him some money,he didnt wanted to train further and he had also some family problems & tragedies.

@Kovy27
retire already

[Idoit40fans]

You are right, P4L. In the scouting community, some are very hesitant to take a player from a non-traditional hockey country like Slovenia. That was the talk even with an elite talent like Anze Kopitar when he was drafted in the NHL.

Not that long ago (prior to about 1980), the US was deemed a non-traditional hockey country and only a handful of Americans played in the league up until then. I myself recall following the Pens when Tommy Williams, hardly a star, was the only American on any team. All the scouts and managers were Canadian and they had no respect for American developmental systems, including college hockey, so they did little scouting of them. The Canadian junior system was the source for nearly all players. Canadian players generally had little respect for the few Americans participating and sometimes mistreated them, even teammates.

The NHL was essentially an all-Canadian game until the mid-1970’s when the Leafs brought over Borje Salming to play for them, and that opened the gates for Europeans.

Slovenia has about 1/150th the population of the US.

[mikey287]

Frank Brimsek from Minnesota,hm.. He probably was Slovenian,I mean he had relatives in Slovenia..
Vezina trophy winner 1939 and 1942,they called him Mister Zero,40 SO in 514 NHL games - legend
Brodeur has 120 SO in 1200 games as comparison..
Okey,I will ask my uncle about Doru Tureanu,I see he is the same age as Domine and played forward (big time scorer as well) for Romania. Hockey legend there,Montreal even tried to bring him to NHL,but he declined because of his sick mother. Tureanu and Domine must have played against each other a few times for sure in group B then. I doubt he has any newest info. My uncle isnt involved in hockey anymore.
Because HC Slavija (his first and last club in his playing and later coaching career) owed him some money,he didnt wanted to train further and he had also some family problems & tragedies.

@Kovy27
retire already

Yup, Frankie Brimsek, from Eveleth, MN - which basically is where all Americans came from it seemed at the time. Top-10 goalie of all time, unfortunately lost some years to the War effort. Also played behind a team defense that failed to adjust to the introduction of the red line in 1943. Lacked mobility. Was always good in the small rink in Boston, but when the defense played on the bigger ice, they were exposed that much more. But Brimsek was always there to hold down the fort.

Yeah, see if he remembers Doru at all. I have a feeling that he'll stick out vividly if he saw him play or played against him at all. From my research, Tureanu was head and shoulders above his competition at the time. I'm just always looking for any trinkets I can about him, he's grossly under-studied historically because of a lack of readily available information...

- Slovenia's population may be small to US standards, but that's not the bar. I mean, Ukraine has a larger population than Canada and that doesn't deter them from out-producing them talent-wise 1,000,000:1. Slovenia has a population similar to that of Latvia, which I consider a good hockey country. If Slovenia can accomplish Latvia's level of play, I think that'd be terrific...

[Penspal]

CONGRATS to Slovenia for qualifying. I love cheering for the underdogs in tournaments, so I hope they surprise someone and take a few games!!!!