I've often wondered the same things about the Russians.Per wrote:The Russians are an odd bunch. So much skill, so little team spirit.
A guy like Ovechkin can be coasting around most of the game, not helping out in the defense, and then suddenly he throws in another gear, and can single handedly win a game. It's just odd.
So, with the Russians you never know what you're going to get. If they decide to pitch in for the team, they're a formidable force of nature, and can beat anyone. But almost as often as that you get a bunch of moody stars that each has great skills but doesn't much seem to care about doing the blue collar gritty work that every team needs.
You seldom see that happen for other national teams.
Swedes, Finns, Canadians, even Yanks, always willing put in the hard work.
The Russians? Some times yes, some times no.
Is it some sort of locker room politics or what is it?
The Czechs are a special case. They rely heavily on playing a sort of trap with quick counter attacks. If they get an early lead, they are really hard to beat. If they get an early goal against, you can crush them completely, as they have a really hard time playing when they are forced to try to take charge of the game.
It would just be a guess on my part, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was something in their early schooling and if you think about it and the ages of them, I can only imagine the mixed messages they got in school in regards to their feelings of nationalism and patriotism.
Add the fact that some feel it isn't appropriate to play in the NHL, (and that would include coaches maybe), and then mix all these feeling together and well, it's just a guess.
Could be as simple as mega egos..