What to make of the World Cup?

The World Cup of Hockey is less than two weeks away but despite Sportsnet’s best attempts to hype up the event, excitement among Hockey fans is just not that high.

Now I haven’t seen hockey in a while so I will take anything I get. But there are many fans that can’t seem to care enough.

The problem is this weird mix of national and continental teams that contradict the Sportsnet ads asking ‘who owns hockey?’ The ad shows fans and players in the tournament from Canada, the USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and Czech Republic but just flat out ignores team North America and team Europe. Fans in the ad explain their connection to their country’s hockey history and it captures perfectly that we care about WORLD tournaments because we can support OUR COUNTRY. By making absolutely no mention of the other two teams it also captures that it is indeed strange to include ‘best-of’ and ‘under-23’ teams in a tournament in which everyone expects to support their country. Not even the concept of including Connor McDavid, one of hockey’s most exciting players, made it worthwhile for Sportsnet to make mention of the other teams.

Now I know it’s not Sportsnet’s fault, I’m just picking on the ad to make a point. The World Cup of Hockey is the NHL’s baby, and it seems that they have too many interests they are trying to balance. Gary Bettman has a standard answer when he’s asked if the World Cup of Hockey is replacing the Olympics. He has stated multiple times that it is separate from the Olympics and does not bear any weight on the decision for the NHL to break for its players to participate in the Olympics. Of course the timing of the World Cup suggests otherwise.

The NHL gets no revenue from a three-week break in the season in which more than half of players playing are from the NHL. Of course they are going to have a problem. The World Cup of Hockey is obviously a creation to test whether the NHL themselves would be able to come up with a tournament with as many eyes on it as Olympic hockey. And perhaps it’s not to replace the Olympics, but to gain more bargaining power in negotiating a better deal when stopping the season for the Olympics.

But the idea of replacing the Olympics is what bothers fans. There is no question that this is not the Olympics, not even close. And the All-star teams put together are seen as a gimmick among hockey fans, and I certainly see it that way too. I mean, what happens when team North America ends up playing team Canada in the final? What happens to the whole idea of supporting your country. Isn’t it going to feel weird? And for the players, they are not really playing for country pride, because their opponents are also from the same country.

There is also support for the Olympics. As evil as the Olympics are, there is no question that when the world gathers to play winter sports, the best hockey players in the world should be there to represent their countries. To many fans, it just seems complete that way.

I agree with this argument if the World Cup is structured with all-star teams, but it the teams are only countries, the tournament would become a lot more serious. That is actually how the NHL intends to organize the 2020 World Cup of Hockey. For the remaining two teams to be qualifying countries. And if that happens, I would be okay with NHL players not going to the Olympics. But who knows, maybe by that point the NHL has agreed to send its players to the Olympics.

Pretty much every hockey fan I have talked to has had a negative or at most neutral view of the World Cup. Despite the problems, I think there are some really great things to look forward to in this tournament.

Team Canada

To be honest, I can’t find a problem with this line-up. Up and down, left and right, it is extremely balanced. Drew Doughty could play third pairing minutes for this team. That’s how good it is. One of the best parts of this tournament will be to see if team Canada has any problems against the other teams, including their group-mate, team USA.

Team Sweden’s Defencemen

It should be a crime to have Eric Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Victor Hedman on the same team. No doubt Sweden should be the favourites to win their pool.

The Final

What many fans don’t know is that the World Cup of Hockey Final is a best of three. That’s right. We could potentially see Canada and Sweden play a total of 3 games over 5 days. Or whoever it is. I mean it would be really nice if it was Canada and Sweden.

Those are two of the best teams in my opinion, and hopefully that potential match-up is enough for you to get into the World Cup. Here at the Rig, Kris Hansen has been previewing the teams, and so far you can preview team North America, team Europe, and team Russia.

You may not be happy with the gimmicky nature of the World Cup, but know that in three weeks time we may be seeing a really entertaining hockey series between two hockey powerhouses.