Biscuits and Breezers
Thank You Part 2 (6-10)
Welcome back to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! This is the second part of the Top Ten countries so we will just jump back into that. The countries featured in this time around are Canada, France, Turkey, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom! Enjoy!
6. Canada the land of frozen ice and the birthplace of the greatest sport on Earth. I am very grateful that I have a fan base in this country because they live and breath hockey. Canada is in the "Big Seven" as well and that is basically a given. Hockey's history is deeply rooted in Canada and that's what made it the great sport it is today. We have the Hockey Hall of Fame and Maple Leafs in Toronto, the Canadiens in Montreal, Flames in Calgary, the Green Men and Canucks all the way over in Vancouver, and the Oilers up in Edmonton. There are many great NHL players from Canada such as Sidney Crosby, all of the Staal Brothers, the Schenn Brothers, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang, Jonathan Toews, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, and Maurice Richard just to name a few. Canada has 8 Winter Olympic gold medals, 18 World Championship golds, and 3 Winter Uinversiade golds. Not to mention multiple Stanley Cup rings. Every body will remember the Golden Goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics right? I certainly do. Thank you to all my fans in Canada and hopefully we can have a strong connection in the future! Merci Canada! J'espère que nous pouvons maintenir le raccordement fort!7. Believe it or not there is more hockey in France than one would think. France is ranked 13th overall in the IIHF World Rankings. Les Bleus has 1 Olympic Gold and has one current NHL player, Antoine Roussel with the Dallas Stars. Some famous French players are Philippe Bozon, Jacques Lacarriere, Jean Ferrand, Albert Hassler, and Leonhard Quaglia. The team has had 56 World Championship appearances and 12 Olympic appearances. There are multiple minor level French players as well and they play with great skill and finesse. They are quick on their feet and have a knack for finding the
back of the net. I think it is very cool for a country known for its delicious food and their stunning views to take part in a sport not known in their country. I have found from the French fans and players I have met are incredibly passionate about their sport. The players take it very seriously and and the fans have their support 100% of the time! Thank you very much to all my fans in France! It means a lot to have a strong fan base in this country! Merci France de tout votre appui! Il signifie beaucoup! (My French is a tad rusty sorry if it is off!)
8. Turkey is up next and I am excited to have this country in the Top 10. Turkey is currently rated 40th in the IIHF World rankings and unfortunately has never won a gold medal. Probably the most notable Turkish player would be Cengiz Ciplak. He is the highest scorer on the national team and has had multiple hockey experiences from Edmonton to Turkey. He won the MVP crown twice in the Division 2 Group A World Hockey Championships for best forward and also has a record for highest scorer in one game when he scored five goals against Luxembourg. The Turkish players work in veryskilled units and seem very close to each other. I think that is good for any team but especially for one that is not commonly known. When you watch them you can tell that there is a deep passion involved. Maybe we will see more hockey in Turkey in the future! Hopefully that will be the case! Thank you to all the fans in Turkey and I appreciate your support! Türkiye'de ederiz! En biraz daha hokey getirsin! (I am sorry again if this is off, I have never spokeTurkish! Sorry!)
9. The Netherlands are up next! The Dutch are rated 24th overall in the IIHF World Rankings and have no gold medals unfortunately. They have had 1 Winter Olympic hockey appearance and 49 World Championship appearances. Hockey is very prominent in the Netherlands but some notable players would be Jack de Heer, Ron Berteling, and Tony Demelinne. They made one Olympic appearance which was in the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid. They proceeded to have a record of 1-3-1. Now they compete in the Division 1-B group at the IIHF World Championships. It suits them nicely because they are competing with Great Britain, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, and Croatia. Even though they do not have any NHL players, the Dutch are fantastic players. They have great on ice communication and puck passes. They skate very well and have great potential to be medal round contenders! Thank you to all of my fans in the Netherlands! Lets get the Netherlands a medal! Bedankt aan al mijn fans in Nederland! (I haven't ever spoken Dutch either sorry if the translation is off!)
named after famous Scottish NHL goaltender Charlie Gardiner. There is also another conference named after 1936 English Olympic Hockey gold medalist Carl Erhardt. The teams are located in Braehead, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife, Hull, Belfast, Cardiff, Coventry, Nottingham, and Sheffield. The team with the most titles is Coventry Blaze and the most recent champions are the Nottingham Panthers with their first title. Some notable players would be Wade Belak and Eric Cairns. I personally will be keeping track of this league because I like the idea of a major hockey league in the United Kingdom. Thank you for all the support and I hope to keep my audience growing here!
That concludes the Top 10 countries and make sure to look for the rest of the country shout outs! There are more to follow! Thanks for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Every blog will be filled with updated hockey news, player reviews, and much more! Until next time remember, don't get your breezers in a bunch because hockey is always around the corner. Remember, it's always a great day for hockey and it's a lifestyle not just a sport!
Comments
Post a Comment