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Too Big
No doubt it’s nice to have the World Hockey Championships being played in Canada for the first time in its history, but you have wonder about the size of the field and whether it’s necessary.
What is the point of having countries like Latvia, France, Italy and Denmark in the tournament?
They travel thousands of miles to have their doors kicked and it really is pointless.
It’s like the IIHF feels the tournament isn’t legitimate unless there’s a certain number of team in it. Even if it means several games between clubs that don’t stand a chance or teams that nobody cares about.
When you look the schedule, it’s heavily weighted with games that mean nothing compared to games that will actually hold some interesting.
Team Canada’s 7-0 exercise against Latvia on Sunday was a waste of time and bordered on cruelty, while several other games were lopsided and featured some teams actually backing off to save their opponents embarrassment.
A 16 team field for an International hockey tournament is far too ambitious and lessons its impact.
Eight would be enough and grab the interest of fans long before the current format does.
Fred: That’s a valid point. Another would be why do they hold this thing every freaking year??? Soccer which is by far more popular in the world has their championship every 4 years. The IIHF should hold this event every 4 years - in the fall so that all countries can ice a team of their best players. There are some guys on Team Cda that I’ve never heard of.
dont forget soccer needs the four years to whittle down the competition to the main event
hockey isnt likely to catch on in the warmer climes to the point where we need a four year play down.
as for the throw away games with the throw away teams, they actually do serve a purpose.
with the last minute assembly of the team it helps to have a couple of easier games.
I completely disagree. This tournament is not purely about competition like the NHL playoffs, but rather a sense of pride for playing for ones country, regardless of the outcome. Latvia, France and other countries know that they have no chance playing great teams like Canada, the US and Finland, yet they strap up and play anyway. They deserve respect from their countrymen for doing so, as well as their opponents.