Nahm’sayin?

The World Cup is the Best Hockey You’ll Watch in September

OpinionsVince Morello — Published September 26, 2016

I have to disagree with you—the World Cup of Hockey is not a cash grab, and it is in fact a world cup.

Like you, I originally thought it would be nothing more than a glorified all-star tournament, but I soon realized it was anything but that. Games were competitive, and the players on the ice were giving their all to win, even players from the invented countries.

On that note, I’d also say that watching the made-up teams has been fun. Team North America played the most exciting hockey I have ever seen, and Team Europe showed the world that they were a strong team, even when everyone counted them out.

While I will concede that it is not a world cup in the traditional sense, and seeing unlikely teams get past the qualifying stage—as you mentioned—is part of the fun, the NHL only had a year and half to put together the tournament. There wasn’t enough time for qualification games, and in a short tournament like this, it’s not fun to see the big hockey countries beat teams that barely squeaked in.

It is the first year of the tournament as well, and I do expect it to get bigger as it grows in popularity, so it won’t be what you call a “faux cup.”

In the end, the NHL managed to give its fans a nice, fun, and enjoyable tournament in September, and isn’t that the only thing that matters?

Cheers,

Ricky