Germany has just caused a major upset and eliminated Canada from ice hockey. However, no NHL players were allowed to compete in the Olympics so it doesn't mean Germany is on Canada's level. It would be like Canada beating Germany in a FIFA-sanctioned match with no players from the top European leagues being allowed to compete.

It is odd to have the biggest event in a sport not feature the best players as have become accustomed in recent decades.

I expect Russia or "OAR" to win gold as they have the best talent once you strip away all the NHL guys.

I'm not surprised, Canada isn't a big hockey fan

I don't know what that means.

Germany desperately needs that Gold medal after the people who were actually supposed to get them failed miserably.

Even without NHL-players Germany is still the underdog by far against countries like Canada and Sweden (I haven't gotten over this quite yet ) so this is actually huge.

Somewhat comparable but not quite. Germany has 7 players in the NHL but Canada only has 1 player in a European top league (+1 playing for a somewhat good team in a league that isn't quite one of the best in Europe).
In other words the German hockey teams isn't nearly as bad as the Canadian football (or soccer) team.

But you're right with the assumption that it would be a huge surprise if Canada won such a game as a German team from the 2nd German division should easily be able to defeat them.

Good for Germany. That was Canada's "H" squad, but most guys on that team have varying degrees of NHL experience. There were 3 players with over 700 NHL games a piece. Of course the players with the most experience tended to be well past their prime, and none were "stars" to begin with, but there were fair number of recognizable names. I'll be rooting for the Germans to annex the hockey gold medal to their total now.

Close match, but goaltending has really made the difference. Germany was outplayed, but took full advantage of their chances. Guess Russia wins this one...

This is what happens when you don't let NHL players go. US didn't even make the semis. You know what African football players do when the African Cup Of Nations is on midway though European football season? They go.