The World Cup of Hockey (WCH) has returned after a decade and it's new format will be exciting. The inclusion of Team Europe made up of players from the smaller European hockey nations other than Russia, Sweden, Finland, or the Czech Republic-allows for a higher quality of tournament and greater parity. The budding young superstars of the NHL will also be representing Team North America, a team that has already garnered great online support from younger fans. The team seems tailor-made to be an underdog story, often the best part of any sports tournament. Additionally, the event also acts as an alternative and improved All-Star Game tournament, harkening back to the days of the Challenge Cup in the late 70's.
The WCH format allows the organizers to maximize revenue. Nations like Norway and Latvia do not possess the players to attract big crowds. Additionally, those teams always have heavily unbalanced rosters boasting few NHL stars and low-level skaters from other leagues. A squad consisting of the best of the remaining European countries creates a more competitive team that will attract viewership. It will unite the people from those other countries, while also proving more entertaining and suspenseful games.
The WCH also allows players under the age of 23 to shine on the world stage. The tournament has created an environment where Team North America, a squad made up of Canadian and American players under 23-years-old, can compete with the world's best and gain valuable experience. The team has already created a buzz and garnered much support from the online community, which only grew stronger with their 4-0 victory over Team Europe in the pre-tournament exhibition matches.
For years, the All-Star Game, held in January in the middle of the NHL season, has received criticism for its constant format changes and lack of competition. Fortunately, the WCH serves as a healthy alternative for those critics, addressing most of the issues fans have with the All-Star Game. Due to the tournament's format, the stakes are high for the players akin to the Olympics where there is national, or regional in Team Europe's case, pride involved. Even a team like North America can take pride in defeating the best of other nations and winning the trophy despite not representing a country. Additionally, the tournament has the broad appeal that the All-Star Game has always lacked. While the All-Star game only garners attention from the NHL's biggest fans, this event will appeal to an audience reaching across Europe.
Unfortunately, many of the criticisms have focused on the behind-the-scenes ongoings of the event rather than the actual on-ice product the fans will see. The first priority for the NHL should be to entertain fans. Without a shadow of a doubt, the WCH will prove to be one of the most fun events the NHL has put together in a long time.
The hockey world awaits the drop of the puck on Thursday afternoon and the beginning of the World Cup of Hockey (WCH), an international tournament dormant for over a decade since a failed 2004 edition. Team USA is set to face off against Team Europe to kick off a tournament that is design to one day be a replacement for NHL players' participation in the Winter Olympics. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hopes this event will allow him to both avoid the millions of dollars lost by sending players to the Olympics in the middle of the NHL season and to lower the chances of players getting injured in non-NHL events. But aside from the event being an NHL money-grab, the tournament is set up in a very gimmicky fashion. Rather than have the top eight national teams face off in a typical international hockey tournament, the NHL has opted to go with the top six teams along with a so-called 'Team Europe' and equally vague 'Team North America.'
To be clear, this is an NHL-centric product packaged as an international event. The tournament will not be played with International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules and teams are only allowed to use players who have played in the NHL. While it's been advertised as 'the best against the best,' it's hard to imagine the WHC living up to the hype when Russian stars Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk won't be able to participate due to their KHL teams' schedules.
As for the team rosters specifically, Team Europe is made up of players from less well-represented hockey nations in Europe. Players from these European countries have voiced their displeasure with the tournament's setup. Swiss defenceman Mark Streit didn't mince words when asked about the strange format.
"It's supposed to be the top eight [countries]," Streit said. "For players, you want to play for your [national] team. That's the whole purpose of it. [...] I don't like it at all."
Additionally, it is completely arbitrary to have a squad of under 23-year old North Americans playing as Team North America. Although some would argue this is a way to let the NHL's young stars shine on a national stage, it seems more like a publicity stunt to sell jerseys.
With the Olympics every four years, the IIHF World Cup every spring, and the WHC every second year, not to mention the annual World Juniors tournament, NHL fans will suffer from a case of national-hockey-overload. Aside from the fans, participating in so many tournaments is bad for players who have lives to live outside of hockey. Bettman knows hockey fans have an itch they just cannot stop scratching. It's not without reason that the WHC finals is decided by a best of three series instead of the typical single-game elimination format. The gimmicks seem to never end. Frankly, this 'best against best' tournament is starting to look more like a tournament of Lower Field Quidditch than a contest of global hockey prestige.
While there's no doubt die-hard hockey fans will watch every minute of the tournament, the World Cup of Hockey has an unorthodox set-up and feels like an inferior olympic games. We'll certainly watch the highlights, but will not feel the same sense of national pride.
The World Cup of Hockey (WCH) has returned after a decade and it's new format will be exciting. The inclusion of Team Europe made up of players from the smaller European hockey nations other than Russia, Sweden, Finland, or the Czech Republic-allows for a higher quality of tournament and greater parity. The budding young superstars of the NHL will also be representing Team North America, a team that has already garnered great online support from younger fans. The team seems tailor-made to be an underdog story, often the best part of any sports tournament. Additionally, the event also acts as an alternative and improved All-Star Game tournament, harkening back to the days of the Challenge Cup in the late 70's.
The WCH format allows the organizers to maximize revenue. Nations like Norway and Latvia do not possess the players to attract big crowds. Additionally, those teams always have heavily unbalanced rosters boasting few NHL stars and low-level skaters from other leagues. A squad consisting of the best of the remaining European countries creates a more competitive team that will attract viewership. It will unite the people from those other countries, while also proving more entertaining and suspenseful games.
The WCH also allows players under the age of 23 to shine on the world stage. The tournament has created an environment where Team North America, a squad made up of Canadian and American players under 23-years-old, can compete with the world's best and gain valuable experience. The team has already created a buzz and garnered much support from the online community, which only grew stronger with their 4-0 victory over Team Europe in the pre-tournament exhibition matches.
For years, the All-Star Game, held in January in the middle of the NHL season, has received criticism for its constant format changes and lack of competition. Fortunately, the WCH serves as a healthy alternative for those critics, addressing most of the issues fans have with the All-Star Game. Due to the tournament's format, the stakes are high for the players akin to the Olympics where there is national, or regional in Team Europe's case, pride involved. Even a team like North America can take pride in defeating the best of other nations and winning the trophy despite not representing a country. Additionally, the tournament has the broad appeal that the All-Star Game has always lacked. While the All-Star game only garners attention from the NHL's biggest fans, this event will appeal to an audience reaching across Europe.
Unfortunately, many of the criticisms have focused on the behind-the-scenes ongoings of the event rather than the actual on-ice product the fans will see. The first priority for the NHL should be to entertain fans. Without a shadow of a doubt, the WCH will prove to be one of the most fun events the NHL has put together in a long time.
The hockey world awaits the drop of the puck on Thursday afternoon and the beginning of the World Cup of Hockey (WCH), an international tournament dormant for over a decade since a failed 2004 edition. Team USA is set to face off against Team Europe to kick off a tournament that is design to one day be a replacement for NHL players' participation in the Winter Olympics. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hopes this event will allow him to both avoid the millions of dollars lost by sending players to the Olympics in the middle of the NHL season and to lower the chances of players getting injured in non-NHL events. But aside from the event being an NHL money-grab, the tournament is set up in a very gimmicky fashion. Rather than have the top eight national teams face off in a typical international hockey tournament, the NHL has opted to go with the top six teams along with a so-called 'Team Europe' and equally vague 'Team North America.'
To be clear, this is an NHL-centric product packaged as an international event. The tournament will not be played with International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules and teams are only allowed to use players who have played in the NHL. While it's been advertised as 'the best against the best,' it's hard to imagine the WHC living up to the hype when Russian stars Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk won't be able to participate due to their KHL teams' schedules.
As for the team rosters specifically, Team Europe is made up of players from less well-represented hockey nations in Europe. Players from these European countries have voiced their displeasure with the tournament's setup. Swiss defenceman Mark Streit didn't mince words when asked about the strange format.
"It's supposed to be the top eight [countries]," Streit said. "For players, you want to play for your [national] team. That's the whole purpose of it. [...] I don't like it at all."
Additionally, it is completely arbitrary to have a squad of under 23-year old North Americans playing as Team North America. Although some would argue this is a way to let the NHL's young stars shine on a national stage, it seems more like a publicity stunt to sell jerseys.
With the Olympics every four years, the IIHF World Cup every spring, and the WHC every second year, not to mention the annual World Juniors tournament, NHL fans will suffer from a case of national-hockey-overload. Aside from the fans, participating in so many tournaments is bad for players who have lives to live outside of hockey. Bettman knows hockey fans have an itch they just cannot stop scratching. It's not without reason that the WHC finals is decided by a best of three series instead of the typical single-game elimination format. The gimmicks seem to never end. Frankly, this 'best against best' tournament is starting to look more like a tournament of Lower Field Quidditch than a contest of global hockey prestige.
While there's no doubt die-hard hockey fans will watch every minute of the tournament, the World Cup of Hockey has an unorthodox set-up and feels like an inferior olympic games. We'll certainly watch the highlights, but will not feel the same sense of national pride.