Thom Yorke

I don't like Finland at all this year. Yes, they have ridiculous goaltending (the fact that one of Rask, Rinne, Lehtonen and Niemi will not make the team is ridiculous), but for both their forwards and D, it's a clear transition year. The guys that have carried them in the past (Selanne, Jokinen, Saku Koivu, Timonen, etc.) are well past their primes and are all showing clear signs of their games declining this year, and all of their young talent (Barkov, Granlund, Vatanen, Maatta, Ristolainen, etc.) are just too young and inexperienced to be big factors this year. Mikko Koivu and Filppula is a great one-two punch down the middle, especially considering their lack of depth at other positions, and they always seem to be a tough out, but I just can't see them medalling this year.

Czechs could put together a great and complete set of forwards this year, but I think goaltending will kill them. Their defense, while not great, is passable with a bunch of solid contributors like Polak, Michalek, Hejda, etc. but Pavalec is by far their most proven goalie if Vokoun is out, which is frightening to think about. Still, their set of forwards look terrific. You have a bunch of great two-way threats with Krejci, Elias, Hanzal, and Plekanec, a couple guys who are very effective as grinder-types (Sobotka, Frolik) and a ton of guys who can change games offensively in many different ways, collectively (Jagr, Vrbata, Hemsky, Voracek, Hertl, Michalek, Hudler). You've even got some solid options left over after that with guys like Erat, Fleischmann and Tlusty. I think goaltending lets them down, but I definitely see them as more of a threat than Finland.

Russia is going to be Russia. It seems to be the usual cast of characters with a front-loaded offense (Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk, Radulov, Kovalchuk, Semin), and questionable defense. They do have some guys there that are good players, but they're more offensively-oriented as always (Markov, Voynov, Gonchar). Tyutin is easily their most effective defensive-minded d-man, which doesn't bode too well. Kulemin and Anisimov give them at least some element of grit and defensive play (along with Datsyuk, of course), I guess, but I'm not sure if it's enough. However, they do appear to have a couple capable goalies this time around in Bobrovsky and Varlamov, but I personally don't have much confidence in either one, and think both are too unproven. Overall, not much has really seemed to change for them, which means they'll be a threat for any medal if everything comes together for them. I personally like Canada and Sweden the most and give the edge to the US over Russia as well.

To fill out the big 8, Slovakia just isn't deep enough to be a factor, and Gaborik declining is going to be huge for them. Chara and Hossa are two of the best in the game, but it's not nearly enough to fill the rest of the holes in that roster. Halak and Budaj are solid enough, but don't hold up as well when you compare them to other countries.

Switzerland is going to factor in somehow just because of the trapping style of game they play. Even with Hiller declining, their defensive strategy, coupled with being able to ice a roster with nearly a complete NHL blueline, is going to find a way to frustrate teams and steal a win or two.