Who will win the Ice Hockey World Championships?

Only eight teams are left in Bern at the World Championships. Russia, Belarus, Finnland, the United States, Canada, Latvia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic still have a chance to take home the cup. Of course, not all of them has the same odds at the bookies.

From the four quarterfinals, three seems to be rather one-sided. Russia, Canada, and Sweden are likely to move on without big problems. The fourth one, the United States vs. Finnland, will be an interesting match. Based on the group stages, Finnland has more chance, but it is hard to count out the Americans.

Unfortunately for the advancing team, they will play against Russia in the semifinals. It is hard to see that either Finnland or the US would beat Russia. Even without some real stars, like Ovechkin or Malkin, who play in the NHL playoffs, they are undisputedly one of the two best teams. As for the other semifinal, probably Canada against Sweden, it could be a real nail-biter. Canada was almost flawless in the first two group stages, but the Swedish team played an incredible game against Russia, although in the end they lost 6-5 in overtime. Still, I expect Canada to move on.

So, we reach the imaginary championship game: Russia vs. Canada. It is the rematch of last year's final, where Russia beat Canada in overtime. It is almost impossible to predict the winner, as the aforementioned Top Two's other member is Canada. As for me, I think Canad will win this time. Well, to be more correct, I will root for them, if this will be the final. However, as I've mentioned, (almost) everything is possible.