Kazakhstan made a spectacular rally against Slovakia but will be playing to avoid relegation on Thursday.
photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
Well, let’s be honest. If we had to have picked one team that most likely would play in the relegation game, it would have been Kazakhstan. They are playing in the top level for the first time since 2020 and have played up only eight times since 1995. And this year, they earned but one point in four preliminary-round games, that in an OT loss to Slovakia after making an amazing comeback by scoring two short-handed goals during a late five-minute major.
As is so often the case, their Achilles heel has been scoring. They lost to the Slovaks in that game, 5-4, and managed only four goals in the other three games. But they will give it their all against Germany, knowing how important staying up is to their developmental programs.
“It's always the best to play against the best,” said 19-year-old forward Alexander Kim, who plays for the Bismarck Bobcats, a Tier II team in North Dakota, and whose teammates include Matthew Rafalski, son of Brian. “The World Juniors is the best level of junior hockey. All the best players are here, so it's very important for the Kazakhstan program to stay where and player here every year, so the young guys get used to playing at such a good level of hockey. Being relegated takes a lot of time away from the new generation, so it's important to stay in the elite division.”
Kim was on last year’s Kazakhstan team that claimed first place in Division I-A to earn promotion this year, so he knows what the back side of the top level looks like. He also knows that while skill and scoring are essential elements to the game, they are not the only reasons teams win and lose, as he pointed out after the heart-breaking loss to Slovakia.
“Obviously, we are not the most talented team here, but I think if we stay a couple of years in a row in the elite division, then the level of our team will get better and better. But we also have other strengths that we can win games with. It doesn't have to be talent always, like today. Slovakia obviously had more talent than us, but we still went to overtime and put up a good fight against them.”
Kazakh players are not in great demand across the hockey world, so development has to come from within. But Kim sees no problem with that and believes the infrastructure is there to support and promote grassroots hockey and greater development.
“We have a KHL team, which is the best level of hockey in Kazakhstan, so everyone is trying to make that team. But we have a lot of junior leagues and teams that guys can play in and develop. We have good facilities all across the country, so I think we have opportunities for young guys to show their skills. That isn’t a problem.”
This is Kim’s final year of U20 eligibility, and if he represents the next generation of Kazakh talent, he at least shows ambition and desire worthy of “top-level mentality.”
“I want to play college hockey in America, NCAA. That's the goal for me,” he continued. “But obviously the NHL is the biggest goal that you can have, so I always have it in my mind to work on it. For me, I think I have to be stronger. Like today, a lot of battles in the corners I could have won but didn't. And times I need to keep the puck more, and score more. You can learn a lot from playing at the World Juniors.”
Kazakhstan’s next lesson will be Thursday morning in the relegation game. Let’s see if their next lesson learned is how to win under pressure at the top, or how to remain determined to return to the top level in two years.
As is so often the case, their Achilles heel has been scoring. They lost to the Slovaks in that game, 5-4, and managed only four goals in the other three games. But they will give it their all against Germany, knowing how important staying up is to their developmental programs.
“It's always the best to play against the best,” said 19-year-old forward Alexander Kim, who plays for the Bismarck Bobcats, a Tier II team in North Dakota, and whose teammates include Matthew Rafalski, son of Brian. “The World Juniors is the best level of junior hockey. All the best players are here, so it's very important for the Kazakhstan program to stay where and player here every year, so the young guys get used to playing at such a good level of hockey. Being relegated takes a lot of time away from the new generation, so it's important to stay in the elite division.”
Kim was on last year’s Kazakhstan team that claimed first place in Division I-A to earn promotion this year, so he knows what the back side of the top level looks like. He also knows that while skill and scoring are essential elements to the game, they are not the only reasons teams win and lose, as he pointed out after the heart-breaking loss to Slovakia.
“Obviously, we are not the most talented team here, but I think if we stay a couple of years in a row in the elite division, then the level of our team will get better and better. But we also have other strengths that we can win games with. It doesn't have to be talent always, like today. Slovakia obviously had more talent than us, but we still went to overtime and put up a good fight against them.”
Kazakh players are not in great demand across the hockey world, so development has to come from within. But Kim sees no problem with that and believes the infrastructure is there to support and promote grassroots hockey and greater development.
“We have a KHL team, which is the best level of hockey in Kazakhstan, so everyone is trying to make that team. But we have a lot of junior leagues and teams that guys can play in and develop. We have good facilities all across the country, so I think we have opportunities for young guys to show their skills. That isn’t a problem.”
This is Kim’s final year of U20 eligibility, and if he represents the next generation of Kazakh talent, he at least shows ambition and desire worthy of “top-level mentality.”
“I want to play college hockey in America, NCAA. That's the goal for me,” he continued. “But obviously the NHL is the biggest goal that you can have, so I always have it in my mind to work on it. For me, I think I have to be stronger. Like today, a lot of battles in the corners I could have won but didn't. And times I need to keep the puck more, and score more. You can learn a lot from playing at the World Juniors.”
Kazakhstan’s next lesson will be Thursday morning in the relegation game. Let’s see if their next lesson learned is how to win under pressure at the top, or how to remain determined to return to the top level in two years.