Norway national ice hockey team. Norway national ice hockey team Head coach of the Norwegian national ice hockey team
Peter Thoresen's team is also not approaching the World Championship as a favorite in the fight for 4th place in the group. The Norwegians prepared for the World Cup against the Russian Olympic team and resignedly lost in all three matches with a total score of 2-7, although they played fairly reliably in defense. And if we add here the winter defeats from the Slovaks and the Swiss, then a sad picture emerges regarding the prospects for leaving the group, although it is unlikely that anyone seriously hopes for this, except for the most devoted fans of the team.
Quite a good performance at the 2017 World Cup
They started their journey at last year's World Cup very successfully, beating one of the host teams of the championship, the French team. But the success was not developed and the Norwegian team lost to the Swiss without much chance. The Vikings had no problems with the main outsider Slovenia and declassed the Balkan team. Thoresen's team looked more than worthy in the match with the Czechs, who were able to break the resistance only in overtime.
The Norwegians had a pretty good period, only they had meetings with the main favorites ahead, Suomi Norway lost only in overtime, but lost to the Canadians according to all the canons. In the remaining match, the Norwegian national team was content only with a victory over Belarus, but the team from the post-Soviet space rallied and put on an excellent fight, protecting itself from relegation and not allowing its opponent into the quarterfinals. In principle, the performance of the Norwegians at the World Cup in France and Germany can be considered quite worthy.
Hockey players' strengths are athleticism
TO strengths And the advantages of the Norwegian squad include the golden age of hockey players; most of the athletes called up to the national team are under 30 years of age and can boast of excellent physical characteristics. Norway plays strong hockey and is able to withstand other teams with the same style. The powerful Vikings are capable of crushing more technical teams, which can give the necessary advantage in a particular match.
Weakness in weak offense
But still, the team has many more shortcomings, including the lack of stars or simply strong players; in this regard, the Norwegians need to rely only on a cohesive team spirit. The Vikings have a very weak offense, scoring goals is very difficult, and if there are more than two of them in a match, it can be considered a colossal success. The team does not have a stable and reliable goalkeeper, which makes the defensive line quite vulnerable to opponents.
Odds and Predictions
If we rely on the performances of the Norwegian team at last year's World Cup, then the Vikings' chances of advancing to the quarter finals are quite reasonable, but they are unlikely to materialize. In addition to them, there are enough teams that would like to cling to the 4th position, and possibly climb higher. Still, let’s assume that Thoresen’s team will let strong Germany or the hosts pass ahead, perhaps the Latvians will shoot, in general, we’ll give the strong northeastern team 5th position in the group and no hassle about saving a place in the elite.
The composition of the Norwegian national team at the 2018 Ice Hockey World Championship
| № | Player | Role | Age | Height | Weight |
| Henrik Holm | goalkeeper | 06.09.1990 | 187 | 82 | |
| 30 | Lars Heugen | goalkeeper | 19.03.1987 | 183 | 83 |
| 33 | Henrik Haukeland | goalkeeper | 06.12.1994 | 186 | 83 |
| 47 | Alexander Bonsaxen | defender | 24.01.1987 | 180 | 84 |
| 43 | Christian Bull | defender | 13.08.1996 | 186 | 90 |
| 4 | Johannes Johannesen | defender | 01.03.1997 | 181 | 81 |
| Dennis Sveum | defender | 27.11.1986 | 185 | 82 | |
| 37 | William Strom | defender | 10.12.1990 | 191 | 97 |
| 90 | Daniel Servik | defender | 11.03.1990 | 183 | 83 |
| 6 | Jonas Holos | defender | 27.08.1987 | 180 | 93 |
| 17 | Stefan Espeland | defender | 24.03.1989 | 184 | 84 |
| 20 | Anders Bastiansen | forward | 31.10.1980 | 190 | 93 |
| 93 | Thomas Valkve Olsen | forward | 18.05.1993 | 186 | 90 |
| 15 | Tommy Christiansen | forward | 26.05.1989 | 190 | 96 |
| 18 | Tobias Lindström | forward | 20.04.1988 | 177 | 92 |
| 46 | Mathis Olimb | forward | 01.02.1986 | 179 | 83 |
| 40 | Ken-Andre Olimb | forward | 21.01.1989 | 179 | 80 |
| 28 | Niklas Roest | forward | 03.08.1986 | 174 | 80 |
| 22 | Martin Røymark | forward | 10.11.1986 | 184 | 86 |
| 16 | Eirik Salsten | forward | 17.06.1994 | 184 | 87 |
| 21 | Steffen Thoresen | forward | 03.06.1985 | 180 | 88 |
| 8 | Mathias Trettenes | forward | 08.11.1993 | 178 | 76 |
| 26 | Christian Forsberg | forward | 05.05.1986 | 185 | 92 |
| 12 | Mikael Haga | forward | 10.03.1992 | 178 | 73 |
| 27 | Ludwig Hoff | forward | 16.10.1996 | 180 | 86 |
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Norway national ice hockey team
Norway is a wonderful country in the north-west of the Scandinavian Peninsula. On October 6, this state became the most developed and prosperous state in the world, according to the UN, where, apparently, they don’t watch hockey at all. Norwegians have everything: access to three seas, rich in various edible benefits that increase life expectancy in the country, beautiful landscapes of mountains, seas and forests, they have their own language and a culture rich in myths, they also have sports, because it is very difficult to compete with Norwegian skiers, speed skaters and biathletes. There is only one thing missing: the chances of getting into the playoffs at the upcoming World Cup. If we talk a little more about the country itself (though I really don’t want to talk about its hockey), then on the globe it resembles a weed in the country or a poor student taken in tow by several excellent students. The fact is that Norway is surrounded by several world hockey leaders at once, and it seemed that at least the wind from Sweden, Finland or Russia should inflate something. And once again you are convinced that in one climate, which means winter, you cannot raise a hockey generation. This is the only thing you can grow...
Without rushing anywhere
For the first time, Norwegians get to the World Cup when many self-respecting national teams had already made their debut there long ago - in 1937. Perhaps some of the team players wanted to visit London, perhaps some had friends in the Czechoslovakian national team or among the Swiss, but the hockey players from the North clearly did not intend to play then. Having lost the first match 7:0 to the Czechoslovaks, they lost even more confidently to the Swiss - 13:2, scoring the first goal in the history of the national team. By the way, it should be noted here that the Norwegians do not have the honor of swinging and training - their first game at the world championship was also the first game for the national team in general. The next year, of course, work was done to correct the mistakes (it’s unlikely that any adequate person would not do it after this), but it was of little use. As a result - thirteenth place, and the ninth place, which was at the last tournament, already seems quite decent.
After this, the team began the Swedish period: from 1939 to 1941. Matches are held exclusively with Tre Krunur, eight in three years. There is no point in writing about each, let’s just say that the overall score by January 1941 was 62:10, and the best result for Norway was a draw - the first in history, with a score of 3:3. Playing series is apparently very popular in this glorious country, and in 1947 there were four meetings with the Finns, and everything was really bad there: 53:5 in total.
Of course, everything happens for the first time: a stick shoots, Roy Jones loses, a partner in an American film is not killed. Norway also had to win somewhere at least once, and one of the best consolation countries at that time, Belgium, helped it in this. At the 1949 World Championships in Stockholm, the Scandinavians won their first victory - 2:0. It was a good sign - sixth place at the championship in London, where they destroyed the French 11:0 and the first meeting with the Canadians - 0:11. It is confusing, however, that at that time there were only seven participants. But the next year, the best result in the history of the country: having sensationally beat the USA dry and finished with England, the Norwegians become fourth and have not been able to surpass this achievement for more than half a century. Approaching it only in 1962, becoming fifth in the world, but third in Europe.
Troubled times
Having existed for some time in the elite division, taking places in the eighth to tenth place and periodically falling into the lower group, Norway is approaching the most terrible period of its history: from 1966 to 1989, this team emerges from the lower leagues exclusively for the Olympics, where, at best, takes one or two games.
Then there were incendiary matches with China, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia and deadly matches with Canada & Co. at the Olympic Games. It’s only amazing how, with such a game, the Norwegians managed to suffer their biggest defeat already in 1947, losing 20:1 to the Finnish team. With the game that was in the 70s, it was very difficult not to surpass at least this achievement. Moreover, at the games in Yugoslavia there was even a draw with the USA.
The Scandinavians have been more or less firmly entrenched in the elite since 2006. Angry with themselves in 2005, they record 15 wins and only lose six times in not the most important matches. The Norwegians were even awarded the biggest victory in history, defeating China 25:1. At the 2008 world championship, thanks to an amazing match with the Finns, where it suddenly went to overtime, the Norwegian team made it to the playoffs, from where they were immediately noisily thrown out by Canada - 2:8. True, even there the team of Roy Johansen, who has been leading it for 9 years now, managed to amuse the audience, winning back during the meeting from 0:2.
In Germany, the red and blue will meet with their neighbors the Swedes and the Czech national team. Provided that no significant reinforcement is expected in the squad, Johansen would be better off thinking about how to surprise the French in order to still get into the second part of the tournament instead of the repechage group.
The team does not have enough stars in the sky, but it still managed to raise some people:
Ole-Christian Tollefsen. The defender, who managed to stay overseas, albeit in the Detroit farm club, could have become at least some trump card for his team, but... He chose to elbow Bartechko and receive a three-match disqualification. Is it worth reminding that the first group stage of the championship will consist of three matches.
Patrick Thoresen. The Salavat Yulaev striker played an important role in his team this season and was even called up to the Jagr Team for the All-Star Game. However, the Norwegians have a tradition of beating someone before the World Cup, and Patrick follows it. In one of his last on-ice combats, he gave a heartfelt effort to the most important player for the Russian national team - Alexei Morozov. If this is due to a reluctance to play for the national team, Thoresen can be understood.
The Norwegian team took 14th place at the 2007 IIHF World Championship. The team took second place in the consolation group, which it entered from fourth place in Group C (C) of the preliminary stage.
The Norwegian national team played six games at the championship, winning two victories, including against Austria in extra time. In the championship matches, the team scored 17 goals and conceded 21. Thus, the difference between goals scored and goals conceded was -4 goals.
The Norwegian national ice hockey team was one of the participating teams at the 2008 IIHF World Championship, held in Canada from May 2 to May 18, 2008. In the preliminary round, the team took 2nd place in Group C. At the end of the championship, they took 8th place.
Material for the 2010 World Hockey Championship.
Norway team at the 2010 World Championships
When they say about a team that it is like one family, this is perhaps best characteristic for a real team. It happens, however, that the word “family” is not figurative, but has the most direct meaning. Norway, small by hockey standards, is exactly that case.
Judge for yourself. Leading Vikings forward Patrick Thoresen, who represents SKA in this squad, has two relatives in national team. And not like the mythical Afonya, but the closest ones. Patrick's father Petter is the head coach, and his brother Steffen, who is 2 years younger than the 34-year-old army man, is a colleague in attack.
Nepotism, would you say? Like, Patrick, with his indisputable authority, brought both his dad and his brother into the national team, with whom, quite likely, he will play on the same line? There is probably some truth in this. However, we should not forget that Steffen is a pretty decent forward by Norwegian standards. On the other hand, even in the domestic championship he is far from the best. Petter as a coach also did not achieve anything outstanding, although he still showed himself as a teacher by raising such a son.
The expectation is that the SKA striker will fight not even with double, but with triple energy - for himself, for his brother and for his father. In the most literal sense of the word! Meanwhile, the Thoresens are not the only family in this Norwegian team. So, another leader of the attack - Mathis Olimba - also has a younger brother, Ken-Andre. True, in this case there can be no suspicion of nepotism: Olymbus Jr. is a very strong player and has proven his class a long time ago.
Yes, Mathis Olymbus is in great demand. Patrick Thoresen wants to see a super passer in his line with Steffen, but Olimbu, naturally, will be more pleased to play with his own brother. What will coach Thoresen do? Will he decide to break up the pair of sons for the sake of a potentially stronger trio of Patrick Thoresen - Mathis Olimb - Ken-Andre Olimb? Not a fact.
In any case, the Norwegian team has not fallen below 12th place at major world forums over the past decade, reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup three times during this period. At the Games in Vancouver they were tenth, in Sochi they finished in the top ten. There is, however, a pleasant sign for them: the Norwegians showed their best result at the Games back in 1972 in Asia, finishing eighth in Sapporo. In addition, the NHL’s decision on Pyeongchang plays into the hands of this team: overseas the Vikings are glorified only by “pocket ranger” Mats Zuccarello.
Norway national team stars
Patrick Thoresen
There is definitely one player in the Norwegian national team that Oleg Znarok, if he had the opportunity, would take into his national squad. We are, of course, talking about Patrick Thoresen, without whom, by the way, Vyacheslav Bykov three years ago would not have been able to lead SKA to the first Gagarin Cup in the history of St. Petersburg. What Thoresen did in the 2015 KHL playoffs, especially in the difficult semi-final series with CSKA, can safely be called a manifestation of heroism.
When, at the end of last year, the “Viking” returned to the banks of the Neva, skeptics doubted: was the Norwegian whom we remember coming to us? It soon became clear: this is the same Thoresen! He suits Znarok’s style even better than Bykov’s hockey, and the fact that in elimination matches the selfless northerner gives even more than a hundred percent makes him simply an invaluable fighter. It’s not for nothing that the forward is remembered with warmth everywhere – even in Edmonton and Philadelphia.
In the three seasons that Thoresen spent in Sweden, Switzerland and Norway, he has not changed at all, adding to his baggage of experience. So Norway has the kind of leader that we still need to look for at the 2018 Games.
Jonas Holes
A participant of 12 world championships in the elite group, he is going to his second Olympics as part of the Norwegian team. Holes is an undoubted veteran, although according to his passport he is not that old - 30 years old, that is, the player is, as they say, in his prime.
Due to his youth, this right-handed defenseman with a good shot received the attention of the press and even spent a good 2010/11 season in the NHL for Colorado. However, the Avalanche at that time had many strong right-handed defensive players - Foote, Johnson, Shattenkirk... But Jonas never found his niche: he still wasn’t cut out to be a playmaker, and he was too small for a power player.
In short, Holes returned to Europe, transiting through Sweden in 2013 and moving to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The Norwegian spent two very strong seasons for the “railroad” team, certainly memorable for our fans.
The route from Yaroslavl to St. Petersburg (Plotnikov, Hersley, Gavrikov) is not bad, especially since after Thoresen the “Vikings” are valued on the banks of the Neva. If Jonas were Russian, who knows, but the foreign players in SKA should be stronger, so the defender went further west - to the Swedes and Swiss, like the aforementioned Patrick. Maybe he will also return to the KHL - after the Games?
Mathis Olimb
Olimba's track record includes fewer world championships than Kholos - only ten, but Mathis has already competed in two Olympics. When he was still young, scouts noted the boy’s main trump cards: good skating and vision of the court. This center forward’s modest physical dimensions, capable, however, of covering any position in the attack, were compensated by a competent choice of position and the ability to quickly roll back into his zone.
In short, the station wagon is a workhorse. Team player. Apparently, this lack of brightness - the absence of clearly defined trump cards - did not allow him to make his way from the lower Canadian leagues to the NHL at one time. There are plenty of hard workers in North America, but Europeans are expected to be creative.
Russian fans may remember Olimbus not only from Kahaelov’s 2015/16 season in Jokerit, but also from the World Championships. First of all, he established himself as an excellent passer, scoring 56 (9+47) points in 69 matches in the elite division of the World Cup. For comparison, Kovalchuk has the same 47 assists, but only in 84 World Cup meetings and with completely different partners.
The Norwegian team, unlike its neighbors - the teams of Sweden and Finland, did not achieve great success. In world hockey, the Norwegian team appeared much later than most teams. The Norwegians played their first game only in 1937, but it would have been better if they had not played it, since in this meeting they suffered their biggest defeat, and what a defeat at that. The meeting with the Swiss national team ended with a score of 47:0. The Norwegian Hockey Association itself was formed in 1934. In the hockey rankings, the Norwegian team ranks 11th, which in itself is not bad, because almost the only leaders in world hockey are higher. Norwegians cannot boast of a rich history and great achievements. The year 1951 can be considered the highest achievement in history. Then the Norwegian team took fourth place at the world championship, which was held in France, and since then the World Championship was also the European Championship, the Norwegians were able to win bronze medals.
Most of the hockey players of the Norwegian team play in the home championship and in the Swedish championship. Less – in the German championship. There is also a representative of the KHL - Patrick Thoresen, and there is also a representative of the NHL Christian Tollefsen, who is well remembered by everyone from the match of the Olympic tournament in Vancouver, when in a duel against the Slovaks he carried out a tough power move against the opposing player - Lubos Bartechko. A well-known veteran of the team is defenseman Tommy Jacobsen, who attended three Olympics with his team and is also the team leader in the number of games played. A Norwegian hockey veteran has been awarded the right to carry his team's flag at the Vancouver Olympics. In Canada, the team played relatively well, almost reaching the 1/4 Finals. The first period of the match with the Canadians can be called a success, in which the team, thanks to goalkeeper Grotnes, was able to withstand the founders of hockey. In the group stage, the Norwegians lost all matches, but one point in the match with Switzerland allowed this team to fight in the qualifying match for the right to advance to the quarter-finals. And the Norwegians gave a real fight to the Slovak team. The match ended with a score of 4:3, followed by the Slovaks, but the performance of the Norwegians can be called successful.
In 2008, the Norwegians, under the leadership of Roy Johansen, were able to reach the quarterfinals of the world championship in Canada. Johansen has been a mentor to the Norwegians since 2001. Then the Norwegians flew out of the world elite, and it took the coach four years to return the team to the elite. As a hockey player, Johansen competed in three Olympics. This experience clearly helped the Norwegian coach to achieve high goals with the team. At the 2011 World Championships, the Norwegians took a high sixth place, which was their best in history.
Many fans and experts were very skeptical about the success of the Norwegian team in 2011. Still, sometimes teams shine at world championships from which almost no one expects success. But what a surprise it was that a year later the Norwegians not only did not crumble, but began to play even better! Norway finished fourth in the group stage with four wins in seven matches, including a 12-4 defeat of the Germans. The Vikings were unlucky that their opponent in the quarterfinals was the Russian team, which was objectively stronger than them. As a result, the Russians won 5:2, and the Norwegian team began preparing for the tournament, where it set itself a new high goal - the semifinals! But the Norwegians failed to make a head start - they failed to even make it to the quarterfinals, falling behind the Czech team by two points.
It was not easy for the Norwegian national team, given that their opponents in the group will be such teams as Finland and Canada. Despite the fact that the Vikings have already accustomed fans to the fact that they can defeat absolutely any opponent, this time the trick failed. In the group stage, the Norwegian team lost all three matches, scoring only three goals, while conceding twelve! In the qualifying playoffs with a score of 4:0 and ended her performance at the Olympic Games.
At the Olympics that followed, the Norwegians did not jump over their heads, defeating their direct rivals - the Danes and Italians, but losing in shootouts to the French, who eventually qualified in ¼. To be fair, it must be said that the Norwegians looked very good at this tournament and were able to impose a fierce fight on the recognized leaders of world hockey - the Swedes, Czechs and Canadians, losing only one puck to each of these teams.
Fans of the Norwegian national team saw something similar in 2015, although the team looked very unstable at this tournament. Having imposed a fight on the US team and losing to the North Americans with a difference of one goal, in the very next match the Norwegians resignedly lost to the Finns with a score of 0:5. Then, having defeated Slovakia and Slovenia, Roy Johansen's team lost heavily to their direct competitor - the Danish team. The result of the tournament is a repeat of Minsk's sixth place. The Norwegian national team has confirmed the status of a team that belongs to the category that does not always reach the quarterfinals, but is also not in danger of relegation.
At the 2016 World Hockey Championship in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the Norwegian team will again try to storm the coveted 4th place, which gives the right to play in the quarterfinals of the championship. Roy Johansen's team is quite capable of doing this; they will have to confront the teams of Russia, Sweden and the Czech Republic, but the teams of Switzerland, Latvia, Denmark and Kazakhstan are quite tough for the Norwegians, but no one is immune from surprises.
