– Last Updated on November 20, 2022 10:16 pm
World Cup of Hockey Futures Handicapping
Looking for 2016 World cup of Hockey Odds? The World Cup of Hockey is ready to get underway and the field is wide open as we head into the tournament. Canada opens as slim favorites to win it this season, but their are plenty of teams that are going to give them fits. Who can grab the title?
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Let’s take a look.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds: Canada -105
Being favorites in hockey is nothing new to this Canada squad.
Back in 2015, Canada ran right through the competition in this tournament, going undefeated and knocking off Russia in the title game. The win last year put Team Canada at 19 Gold Medals, 11 Silver, and 6 Bronze dating back to 1931.
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It all starts with the Captain Sydney Crosby for this team. Crosby has a compliment of talent around him. Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf, Matt Duchene, and John Tavares are just a few offensive names that will headline this team.
Defensively, it gets even better. Corey Crawford and Braden Holtby headline the goal situation along with Carey Price who has battled his way back from injury.
Canada by far has the most talent here at the World Cup of Hockey. While they do always have a target on their back, this is still a spot where the opposition has to play perfect hockey to beat them.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds: Russia +500
The hosts will get the advantage of the home crowd behind them all tournament long.
Russia opens up as the 2nd favorites to win it all, as they were the runners up last year in a game they stood almost no chance in.
Headlined by Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, Russia has plenty of offensive threats to work with.
It’s whether or not their defense can step up here. The defense was completely overwhelmed in that 6-1 loss to Canada as they simply could not slow them down from peppering the goal. With what could be considered a weak group of netminders, cleaning up the trash on defensive rebounds is the biggest key for this Russian side.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds: Sweden +600
Sweden has an exciting group this season.
They aren’t going to come at you with 5 or 6 stars featured in the NHL, but what they do have is plenty of talent that comes from their youth. They’ll feature a group that will continue to come at you every minute of the game.
With the United States and Russia in their group, they at least get to avoid the task of trying to beat out Canada.
Look for them to rely heavily on their defense that is headlined by Victor Hedman. Him, along with Erik Karlsson are going to be key factors for Sweden. This defense is going to deal with a lot.
Not allowing the opposition to score in bunches and really keeping their foot on the gas is crucial, as they simply cannot slow down in any portion of games, especially against top tier teams.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds: USA +600
The United States proved they are ready for this year.
While it was just a pre tournament game, they took it to Canada and even managed to spark fight, as they are tired of dealing with them.
The United States has their fair share of talent that starts up front. T.J. Oshie, Patrick Kane, and Joe Pavelski will have to carry the load offensively, which is nothing new to them.
Defensively, the group isn’t going to overwhelm anyone, but they have some solid options. John Carlson and David Backes are just two of the names that will have to step up tremendously in this tournament if the United States hopes to have any sort of success.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds: Finland +1100
There is just a lot that has to go right for this Finland team to be successful.
Nobody really stands out on this Finland team, as they feature a bunch of 2nd and 3rd line NHL players, along with some players from various leagues in Europe.
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Still, they are a high energy bunch that can cause some problems if staked to a lead.
They’ll rely on their netminders in Pekka Rinne, Tuukka Rask, and Mikko Koskinen as they must control the game from the back.
Finland won’t be able to keep up in games that are high scoring. Look for them to try to slow the tempo down, especially against the top tier teams, and make their games more defensive minded.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds: North America U23 +1200
Team North America took down Team Europe in a pre tournament game and showed a lot of potential.
However, there was some flaws that this team must work out come tourney time.
They came out firing and looked as if they were playing with all the confidence in the world. However, as the game went on, their youth showed as they continued to be sloppy with the puck.
This is going to be the biggest issue for this team. Keeping in control and not making the mistakes to give away goals is a must.
Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin proved to be a difficult duo to deal with and will cause a lot of fits for the opposition.
Expect Matt Murray, who was the star in the NHL Playoffs, to get the nod as the #1 goalie.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds: Czech Republic +2500
The Czechs are not in the most ideal situation.
They’ll have the unfortunate task of dealing with Team USA and Team Canada in Group A, two teams they just do not match up well with.
This Czech team isn’t going to overwhelm anyone in terms of their offensive production. That means they’ll have to try to find a way to win games from the back.
It starts with Petr Mrazek and Ondrej Pavelec in net. Not allowing anything cheap or giving away goals is clearly a must. For this Czech team though, they’re going to see a lot of action in their own zone, there is no doubt about that.
Blocking shots and clearing out the front of the net is going to create some counter attacks. If they can do that and get out on 2 on 1s or 3 on 2s, it’ll give them the best chance here in this tournament.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds: Team Europe +3300
Team Europe has the biggest odds to win this and rightfully so.
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However, it’s been made clear that coach Ralph Krueger isn’t going to use the underdog card as the motivation for Team Europe.
However, they clearly are, especially after dropping 2 pre tournament games to Team North America.
This squad hasn’t developed any sort of identity for themselves. They’re sloppy on both sides of the puck and have continued to give away cheap goal after cheap goal.
They’re playing with almost nothing to lose this year and do have some talent to work with. Anze Kopitar and Marian Hossa are just a few of the offensive names that can cause problems for other teams.
It will be tough, but if this team can gain any sort of momentum and chemistry early in the tournament, they could be dangerous.
2016 World Cup of Hockey Prediction
It’s still going to be Team Canada’s to lose here in 2016. They have far more talent and are superior to every team.
Don’t sleep on Team USA or Team Russia though. Team USA did beat them in that pre tournament game and showed they have some sparks entering play here in 2016.
With the home crowd for Russia, if they can get going early in the tournament and keep this crowd electrified, they’ll have something to feed off of and be a dangerous bunch.
The Play: Team Canada -105
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