The World Cup games are underway, even if it’s just pre-tournament games. There is finally some hockey on TV, which is always good. But the World Cup is drawing some negative attention from people who want it to fail. I see that point. So here are some musings on why I’m excited, and why I’m not, for the World Cup of Hockey.
Why I’m Excited
1.International hockey is always fun for me. It’s exciting to see players outside of their club situations, and the selection of players on each team means that each night is going to be filled with great hockey. There’s rich opportunity for compelling narrative too – will Canada continue their dominance in international hockey or will a team like North America make a splash? It’s just a great opportunity for great players to showcase their talents and hopefully bring glory to their country in the name of sport.
2. It’s a great opportunity for Rangers players to showcase their talents on the global stage. While Henrik Lundqvist is already a league-wide superstar, it’s exciting to think that a guy like Derek Stepan might reach a broader audience with his talents on the second line of Team USA. Similarly, I’m willing to bet that a lot of people who haven’t heard or seen much of JT Miller before are going to come to appreciate his style of play. On the other side of the coin, it’s a nice opportunity to see players you otherwise wouldn’t be as aware of shine.
3. Team North America and Team Europe – they’re both sort of gimmicky, but their rosters overall promise to be a lot of fun. North America features just a wealth of talent both in terms of forwards and defensemen, and while the players are all the kinds of guys to be locked up by their respective teams long term at least we get to see them play together for this tournament. We’re likely never going to see Conor McDavid play alongside Johnny Gaudreau again, so why not enjoy it while we can? Similarly Team Europe features a nice mix of talent, allowing us to see what exactly happens when Mats Zuccarello plays on the wing of a center like Anze Kopitar.
Why I’m Not
1. While it is international hockey, and there’s some level of excitement there, it’s just not the Olympics. It’s hard to ignore the obvious, which is that the NHL wants its own version of the Olympics under its control so they can make money off of the TV rights and jersey sales. What’s more is the worry that the NHL might use this as an excuse to say “well we already have one international tournament for NHLers, so no need to send them to the Olympics”. That would be pretty lousy, and I hope it doesn’t come to pass.
2. Team USA is more than a little underwhelming. Their roster just isn’t up to par with a team like Canada’s or even Team North America’s, and giving Patrick Kane a letter is simply disgraceful. John Tortorella is a known quantity as far as the kind of game he coaches teams to play, so it’s unlikely we’ll see particularly inspired hockey from the Red, White, and Blue. I typically love to root for my country in international sports, but I have a hard time getting excited about this iteration of Team USA.
3. Injuries. There’s not a lot to say here, as I think for most fans it would be a nightmare scenario for their star player or players to go down with injury in this tournament directly before the start of the regular season.
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