{"time":1748362268892,"blocks":[{"id":"gFpZqebU_X","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\nIn the spirit of the NHL\nannouncing quarter-century teams for each of its 30 franchises that\nhave played since 2000, I thought I’d try a similar exercise by\ncountry – first and second teams. It’s not limited to NHL\nperformance, although that carries a lot of weight. International\nplay for the country also weighs heavily. To be eligible, a player\nneedn’t have necessarily played for the country at a major\ntournament, but he had (or has) to be eligible. \n"}},{"id":"W6UhudjSRn","type":"image","data":{"caption":" Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin playing for the Washington Capitals in 2020. © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images","withBorder":false,"withBackground":false,"stretched":false,"file":{"url":"https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/1b792375-7f3b-4e92-82d9-f4c6db4f4b24.jpeg","width":2914,"height":1943}}},{"id":"gtQtC-k2bu","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Countries\nchosen have to have played in at least four major international\ntournaments (Olympic games, top-division IIHF World Championships or\nWorld Cups of Hockey) since 2000. Based on that arbitrary number, 20\ncountries qualify. Great Britain barely makes the cut with four\ntop-level World Championships, while Hungary with three, South Korea\nand Poland each with two, and China with one do not. \n"}},{"id":"SnuUe_RNuW","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"I’m\nrevealing them alphabetically starting with Austria, although the\nfour teams in the 4 Nations Face-Off will\nbe held back until the end. Scroll down for links to other teams\npublished so far. \n"}},{"id":"m7gp8i8k","type":"video","data":{"url":"https://media-cdn.roundtable.io/media-service/videos/e7addbc6-2549-4839-8251-090d24ead100/mp4","caption":"","autoplay":false,"controls":true,"muted":false,"stretched":true,"width":0,"height":0,"image":{"url":"https://media-cdn.roundtable.io/media-service/videos/e7addbc6-2549-4839-8251-090d24ead100/thumbnail"},"cdn":{"videoId":"e7addbc6-2549-4839-8251-090d24ead100","libraryId":"372172","collectionId":"30032062-eefd-4041-a355-12ad05bc987b","cdnBaseUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net","mp4Url":"https://media-cdn.roundtable.io/media-service/videos/e7addbc6-2549-4839-8251-090d24ead100/mp4","thumbnailUrl":"https://media-cdn.roundtable.io/media-service/videos/e7addbc6-2549-4839-8251-090d24ead100/thumbnail","previewAnimationUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net/e7addbc6-2549-4839-8251-090d24ead100/preview.webp"}}},{"id":"yLaldDKsAx","type":"header","data":{"text":"\n\nRUSSIA","level":1}},{"id":"c1B6v2shkm","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"First\nTeam"}},{"id":"LuC61bqsTe","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"F:\nAlexander Ovechkin
F:\nEvgeni Malkin
F: Ilya\nKovalchuk
D:\nSergei Gonchar
D:\nAndrei Markov
G: Sergei Bobrovsky"}},{"id":"ILZpWCtzQa","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Second\nTeam"}},{"id":"KRoXAc7Umx","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"F:\nPavel Datsyuk
F:\nNikita Kucherov
F:\nArtemi Panarin
D:\nSergei\nZubov
D:\nDmitri Orlov
G:\nAndrei Vasilevskiy"}},{"id":"yqwBEHWSRA","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Russian\nhas not played in an IIHF-sanctioned tournament in over three years\nbut Russian players continue to play in the NHL and elsewhere. \n"}},{"id":"Mr2wMjisV9","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Unlike\nmany of the teams I’m doing this exercise for, the problem with\npicking quarter-century teams for Russia is the sheer amount of star\npower. If we look at a list of which Russian players have performed\nthe best in the NHL statisically since the turn of the millenium, the\nplayers above are the names that come up and it’s tough to think of\na reason to question the inclusion of any of them."}},{"id":"Hq8jG6XMkI","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Factoring\nin international performance, Kovalchuk moves up from the second team\nto the first as he’s the points leader for Russia in that time.\nLikewise, Vasilevskiy edged out Evgeni Nabokov for the second-team\ngoalie spot based on international results. \n"}},{"id":"X3CxxOmOnm","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/nikita-zaitsev-signs-4-year-deal-with-ska-st-petersburg","meta":{"title":"The Hockey News - Nikita Zaitsev signs 4-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg","site_name":"The Hockey News","description":"Veteran Russian defenseman Nikita Zaitsev has signed a four-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL club announced on Thursday.\n","image":{"url":"https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/MjA3NjEyODgwNjE3Njc4Nzcy/usatsi_22108376.jpg","width":null,"height":null}}}},{"id":"1N5_tiUAuj","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Agree\nor disagree with the selections? Comment below and check back daily\nas more international quarter-century teams are revealed."}},{"id":"nZYsUNxDc2","type":"header","data":{"text":"OTHER\nTEAMS","level":1}},{"id":"vE7_OKWqav","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Austria"}},{"id":"gYN-pwIRHW","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Belarus"}},{"id":"zxKIU6mBO3","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Czechia"}},{"id":"wQRbpVS4EG","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Denmark"}},{"id":"ZWqERWlJUC","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"France"}},{"id":"lILM1YwcKl","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Germany"}},{"id":"ZPTlQ-drem","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Great\nBritain"}},{"id":"_QOCTYTLdX","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Latvia"}},{"id":"-TGOicKxCq","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Norway"}},{"id":"_5yWTqFaLG","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Russia"}},{"id":"ODu7M8bJa8","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Slovakia"}},{"id":"DpIYlkXb7g","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Switzerland"}}],"version":"2.31.0-rc.7"}

Russia Quarter-Century Teams Unveiled: A Wealth Of Talent To Choose From