Predictions and odds for Slovakia's performance at the 2022 Hockey World Championship

The Slovak national team is a bronze medallist at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. Will Craig Ramsay's men now manage to show their mettle at the World Championship in Finland? We predict it will be tougher for the Slovaks at the 2022 World Cup.

The Slovak national team, led by Craig Ramsay, is in its fifth year of form. His men have never really made a name for themselves in the World Cup, culminating in their first-ever playoff appearance in 2021, only to be thrashed in the quarterfinals by the Americans. Even at the 2019 FIFA World Cup, they could not get out of the group, although they had a strong team with good names and were expected to meet big challenges.

At the 2022 Olympics, it was widely expected that Slovakia's chances of winning medals were slim, given they do not have the same colorful generation that they had in the past. Craig Ramsay's side started the group stage with two heavy defeats to Finland and Sweden, 2-6 and 1-4, respectively. Instead, in the last 16, they got past the Germans - 4:0, then sensationally beat the Americans in the quarterfinals - 3:2, stumbling over the Finns in the semifinals - 0:2, but still managed to take the bronze, beating the Swedes - 4:0.

Slovakia kicked off their World Cup preparation with a friendly against the Czech Republic, whom they defeated on aggregate 3-1 and 3-4. Then, Slovakia got two straight victories over Germany, 3-1 and 3-2. Craig Ramsay's squad lost to Norway 4-5 in a shootout in the last two games but then beat France 2-0. The Slovakian team will be led by New Jersey's Tomas Tatar and Juraj Slafkovsky, a national hero at the Beijing Olympics.

Slovakia will be drawn into a Group A with fewer top teams, but there isn't much to be proud of. Craig Ramsay's men should beat the French and Italians, it will be tough against the Canadians, and it will be a real showdown with Kazakhstan, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Looking at the line-ups of their direct opponents, it will be hard to count on points in these matches. The Slovaks are bound to cling to a result somewhere, but they can hardly be regarded as favorites in this foursome. As a result, we're betting on Slovakia's Total Under 12.5 points for 1.85.

The Slovak national team is a very unyielding team that occasionally clings to points against the group favorites, while in games against the middles and underdogs, sometimes allowing inexplicable failures and allowing the team to score points to the opponents losing in class. This has resulted in many matches involving Craig Ramsay's team being played out of regulation time. Even in friendlies before the 2022 World Cup, the Slovaks lost twice of their six contests, and both times those defeats came in shootouts. With that in mind, a bet on Total Over 1.5 overtimes against Slovakia in the group stage is worth looking at odds close to 2.30.

The Slovak national team is a pragmatic team that does not score too much and concedes even less. In the Beijing Olympics playoffs, Craig Ramsay' 's men conceded only four goals (1.00 goals per game on average) while striking out two clean sheets. In friendlies before the World Cup in Finland, the Slovaks also played well on defense, conceding just 11 goals (1.83 goals per game average) in six friendlies. They will continue to play their hockey at the 2022 World Cup, so the Slovak's Total Under 17.5 goals conceded for 1.85 is a good bet.

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