IIHF World Championships Update

Via: oilers.nhl.com

The round robin play in the 2013 IIHF World Hockey Championships is winding down, as most teams have only one or two games left as they look ahead to either medal contention or relegation. Let's take a look at some stats and standings, while I discuss some of the surprises of the tournament.

Group H:

It's a bit of a surprise to see the Americans topping this list as many, myself included, thought the Russians has a much better squad. But it's been nothing but frustration for team Russia so far, as they managed only three goals in two losses to the French and the Finns. The Finns have done well, their only loss to the Americans, and have been getting a boost from the home crowd. At the bottom of the group, I don't think anybody expected to see France fighting to make the quarter final, but with the impressive 2-1 win over Russia and another over Austria, they find themselves in the middle of the fight. With games remaining against the woeful Latvians and the competitive Germans, it seems they stand a good chance to avoid relegation.

Group S: 

Without a doubt the story of the tournament is the success of the Swiss. They're the only undefeated team in either group and have posted wins over powerhouse teams Canada, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Both the Canadians and Swedes have turned it around after a rough start to the tournament, but they may not be able to catch Switzerland for first place in the group. Norway has also done well, and the last spot in the quarter-finals will likely be determined on the last day of the round robin portion of the tournament, when they meet the struggling Czechs. Denmark and Belarus have had difficulty competing with the top teams, to nobody's surprise, and last place Slovenia looks like they don't even belong in this tournament. Expect them to get relegated to Div 1.

Scoring Leaders: 

There's no real surprise among the scoring leaders at the tournament so far, aside from the man at the top. North American fans are likely unfamiliar with Kontiola, a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick with only 12 games of NHL experience. However he was a top scorer for Traktor in the KHL this season with 31 points in 44 games. Kovalchuk has done all he can for the Russians, but those 25 penalty minutes show just how angry he has been with his team's performance. Stamkos and Statsny have been leading their team's in scoring as well, which is no surprise. The Swiss are led by up and coming players Niederreiter, a New York Islanders prospect, and Hollenstein, who finished second in scoring in the Swiss league this season.

So far it's been a fun tournament, with some huge upsets and surprises, and likely more to come. Once the round robin is set, I'll have a preview of the quarter final match-ups as we get closer to finding out which nation will take home the title of World Champion this year.