Have you ever said to yourself, "Boy I would really like a World Cup for the sport of hockey. Except I want it with only eight teams and not one, but TWO "all-star" teams."
Well guess what, you are in luck friend.
After details slowly leaked out in the days prior to the all-star bonanza that is currently taking place in Columbus, the NHL officially laid out their plan for the return of the "World Cup of Hockey".
Here is a link on NHL.com of all the details. This link includes video to the awkward press conference which included Anze Kopitar, a man who would not even have a country to represent in the tournament.
I will lay them out quick and dirty right here for you though:
-The tournament will take place every two years for now, and eventually will be staggered with the Olympics on a four year basis (conceivably). So in the future every two years we will see either the Olympics or the World Cup.
-It will be a two week tournament starting in early/mid September and ending in late September or early October.
-The tournament will feature eight teams: USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, and two teams "All-star" teams. One will be comprised of North American U-23 players and the other will include the best players from all over Europe.
-It will be held in Toronto in 2016, and the host cities will have to bid for the tournament in the future. Like you would a FIFA World Cup.
- The tournament will use NHL rinks, rules, and officials.
- The tournament will be two groups, round robin, followed by a one game semi-final and a best of three finals.
Alright. Have you got all that? Have you taken in how bad that actually is yet?
First off, this tournament is about as gimmicky as it comes. Or at least that is how it feels.
I understand perfectly what the NHLPA wants here. They want to give the NHL players a chance to play in a tournament that matters. They want something other than the Olympics, and something that players can actually play in outside of the IIHF World Championships. The IIHF WC takes place in May, smack dab in the heat of the NHL playoffs. Many players with countries competing do not get to go over and participate due to being with their respective NHL squads during the playoffs. Thus, the World Championships tends to lack the real punch and star power of a 16-team World Tournament. It is a shame for both the players, and the IIHF.
So the answer the NHL and the NHLPA came up with was a bizarre tournament comprised of six national teams and two all-star teams? In one word: Pathetic.
There has been some outcry already due to the NHLPA and NHLs exclusion of both Slovakia and Switzerland right off the bat to include the aforementioned Euro All-Star team and the NA Young stars team. And they have every right to be mad.
Take a look at this snippet from Dave Isaac at the Courier-Post, who had a less than happy Mark Streit's take,
"I don't like it at all. Not one thing about it," Streit said. "It's a nations tournament. You love playing for your country."
The format of the new World Cup, which hasn't been played since 2004, is to have the European All-Star team, a North American "Young Guns" team comprised of players under 23 years old, Canada, the U.S. and the four aforementioned European nations.
"It's supposed to be the top eight (countries)," said Streit, who represented Switzerland in 12 World Championships. "For players, you want to play for your team. That's the whole purpose of it. I don't know. I don't like it at all. There's supposed to be the top eight. Go with that. Whoever's in is in; whoever's not is not. This is…I don't know."
Full article can be found here
To me, the World Cup of Hockey should be about the growth of the game along with the quality of the game.
This format fulfills neither. It takes the six best teams in the world and puts them in a preseason showcase along with two all-star teams. It eliminates what should be paramount in the international stage of hockey: growth.
It was odd to see Anze Kopitar up on the stage in support of this, as his Slovenian national would not even be a participant. All the honor and prestige of representing your country in a tournament of the world's best hockey teams and players...well, that does not exist for players from Slovenia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany and the countless other nations excluded from the tournament.
The NHLPA has essentially isolated the developing hockey markets in places like France, Latvia, Belarus, Italy, Kazakhstan etc. etc. Markets that could be big, if they had a reason to grow. Like, say, international prestige? A World Cup perhaps?
Is it a competitive thing? Do they want this tournament to be about the competition? Because if that is the case they must have forgotten the performances of Slovenia in the Olympics, or Slovakia in the World Juniors. Heck, even Belarus made it to the knockout rounds in last years IIHF World Championships. Dear god, even France beat Canada remember? Does anyone remember the performances of Kaspers Gudlevskis of Latvia in the Olympics? When he stopped 55 of 57 shots and nearly led Latvia to a knockout round upset of Canada? How amazing was that? You could go down the years of the IIHF tournaments and the Olympics and find admirable performances and great games between Davids and Goliaths. Latvia, Slovenia, Belarus etc. etc.
THAT is what it should be about. These smaller nations do not expect to win obviously and hockey is a very top heavy international sport currently. But all these smaller nations probably ask is for the right to compete. The right to play with the big dogs and the right to be on the same stage as the NHL and the best in the world. The NHLPA and NHL have effectively told them, "Sorry, you aren't one of the major nations so you can't play." That does not seem fair at all.
And in their place they put a North American U23 all-star team? Excuse me? If you are not good enough to make Team USA or Team Canada, better luck next tournament. There should not be a U-23 team in a "World Cup". No way, no how.
Imagine if you will that in the next FIFA World Cup, FIFA decided to eliminate four spots from the tournament in order to place a Spanish, British, German, and French U-23 team. The outcry would be unreal.
It is painfully obvious that Hockey is NOT Futbol. It does not have the same number of competitive teams, nor does it have the same level of competition throughout. That still should not be a determinant factor in what teams get to play. And what this current format actually does is limit exposure, growth, and development of lesser known national programs. They have nothing to play for outside of the IIHF World Championships, which always have that feeling of a second rate tournament due to the NHL star absentees.
You know what I love about watching the FIFA World Cup? The teams like Ghana, and Croatia, and South Korea. You want to see the up and coming nations. You want to root for the little guys. The ones that are not giants, but they are trying their damndest to get there. Every little taste of success in the tournament fuels the national interest and the national program. Imagine for a second that the French national team beats Canada in the World Cup of Hockey. Maybe it is only the knockout stages and it is one win. Still, that sort of national prestige and accomplishment is what gives kids and adults alike the passion for the sport.
Latvia came out in droves to vote for Zemgus Girgensons. Slovenia was up to all hours of the night to watch Anze Kopitar play in the Stanley Cup Finals. These people love hockey just as much as Canadians, Americans, Swedes, and Finns. So let them have their day in the sun also. Again, they are not expecting to win, but they should be granted the right to compete.
But alas, there will be no Davids in this tournament. Only Goliaths will participate.
What probably should have happened and hopefully one day will, is a bigger focus on the already existing 16-team IIHF World Championship tournament.
Simple solution, move the tournament to January-February where the Olympic/All-star break would normally lie and play the tournament then. Release NHL players to it, allow more than six freaking national teams, and enjoy a true World Cup. You want to still include those two all-star teams of NA youngsters and the rest of the world who did not make it? Play a pre-tournament series, best 2-out of-3.
As reader RangerDanger94 points out, the all-star teams are expected to be a one time thing, with the tournament growing to full capacity by 2020.
Have they alienated some of the countries already with the format though?
Maybe some of you are saying that an IIHF WC in the middle of the season would take too long. It would be about the same length as an Olympic break, as the World Championships take roughly two and a half to three weeks.
There are obviously tons of things to consider, and it would not be as simple as I make it seem. However, doesn't that seem better than what was presented?
Let's not even get into the scheduling, which places the tournament in preseason of the NHL. It will interrupt training camps and it will probably be turned down by a fair number of NHL players due to preparation for the upcoming season. It also extends the season for a select amount of players who would compete in the tournament and also have teams go deep in the NHL playoffs. We are talking a season lasting from potentially early September to June. That is a lot of hockey.
The NHL and NHLPA made a point of saying that this is simply a jumping off point, and they one day want the tournament to be like the FIFA World Cup. That means more teams, qualifying rounds, etc. etc.
But I cannot even come close to believing this was their best attempt at a jumping off point. It is uninspired, gimmicky, and ultimately unfair. It is equally baffling when they have the IIHF World Championships sets up in a format that works, and has worked for several years. Maybe there is some underlying dispute between the IIHF and the NHL/NHLPA that prevented some things. I cannot say for certain what went on in the process here. However, at best this feels like an uninspired attempt to quickly appease the numerous players who do not get to compete in the IIHF World Championships and do not want to wait every four years to play in the Olympic tournament. They seem to have got that part across, but have missed entirely on everything that should matter in a World Cup. The spirit of competition and the right to play for your nation.
This is an NHL centric product packaged as an International idea. It has only the NHL in mind. Try explaining to the guys like Streit, Girgensons, Vanek, Draisaitl, or Roussel that they won't be able to play. Guys who wouldn't make the Euro all-star team but would be proud to suit up as a member of their respective country.
There was hope and excitement for a theorized World Cup of Hockey, but after the announcement today I am probably one of many who is scratching their head and saying, "Really? This is the best you had?"
Maybe it will take time for it to come to full fruition and I will be eating these words. I have faith in the NHL and the NHLPA given the vision and foresight they have showed in other matters like the Outdoor Games, Expansion, and the new All-Star format. For now though, the execution of this leaves a lot to be desired. That is just one man's opinion though.
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