The Jester's Quart: Hockey's Higher Calling

[Greg_Wyshynski]

My favorite Rick Tocchet story isn't a story that Rick Tocchet should know, or really want to know.

It was back in the late 1980s, at a New Jersey Devils preseason game at the Meadowlands. I was in my early teens, and my father - true to form - had us in the cheap seats, even for an exhibition...
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[Ishkur]

I'm just depressed that Janet Jones will now never be admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It's not fair.

Originally Posted by Greg_Wyshynski

Superbowl

We won't go there, but after enduring a week of this crap, I am absolutely disgusted with all the poor sports who just can't accept the facts and move on. For god's sakes, Steelers fans, stop whining about the Seahawks, the media, the announcers, America and everyone else except you who are pretty much in agreement about the awful officiating. It's just a game. Get over it and accept your asterisk with some class.

Man alive....

Originally Posted by Greg_Wyshynski

The Winter Games feature what is basically hockey's version of the soccer World Cup

No, the World Cup of Hockey is hockey's version of the soccer World Cup (not to be confused with the World Championships, which is another tournament altogether run by IIHF--The World Cup is not--that runs annually every Spring and is usually won by Canada depending on which players are free to play in it if their teams have been kicked out of the playoffs in time). The Olympics is just another top-level world class tournament to showcase the greatness of Canadian hockey. If it were up to us, we'd cancel the NHL and just have twenty of these tournaments a year. Where we can send three teams to all of them and sweep the medals.

Originally Posted by Greg_Wyshynski

The only star the Olympics ever made was Peter Forsberg, and that was before the NHL players were allowed to compete.

Neil Broten.

Give me some time to do some research, and I can probably find some more.

Originally Posted by Greg_Wyshynski

It would better serve the league to have young prospects competing on the world's stage

They already have that. It's called the World Juniors. Canada crushes everybody in that too.

Originally Posted by Greg_Wyshynski

The bottom line, however, is that the league's international players would never go for it, because representing their countries in their chosen sport means too much.

That part is true. Many European players have admitted that the World Championships actually means more to them than the Stanley Cup, which makes sense. They didn't grow up dreaming of hoisting the silver chalice, they grew up with visions of cultural pride and sticking it to the country down the street. To put it in perspective, Sweden versus Finland is like Duke vs. UK.

That's why European players are no good for the NHL playoffs, and to this day NO European captain has won the Stanley Cup: their hearts just aren't in it. They only get paid for the season, so after they put in their 82 games worth of dues, they don't much care after that point. They are itching to get home, and as soon as their team gets eliminated, they are on the first flight back to participate in the Worlds. It's like a widow remarrying before her husband has even been put into the ground yet.

While they love playing for their country, it's odd seeing such lackadaisical reception at the World Juniors from the euros. Only one country loves hockey so much that its people will watch it at all levels: Junior, NHL, European, amateur, pro, AHL, IHL, women, World Cup, Olympics, doesn't matter. That country is Canada. It's become such that the IIHF has decided to have Canada host the World Juniors every three years now, because every time its hosted anywhere in Europe the tournament loses money. There are sometimes thousands of empty seats in the gold medal game. But every time Canada hosts makes back its losses and then some. So Canada alone is pretty much keeping the tournament alive. This year's tournament in Vancouver had EVERY TICKET TO EVERY GAME SOLD a year in advance. Even meaningless games like #8 Belarus vs. #9 Kazakhstan relegation round were sold out. Canadians love hockey, and are the only ones who love watching it no matter who's playing.

Especially when Canada is winning.

[karasz411]

hey ishkur just remember something...

CANADA BLOWS


that is all

[Shane]

Ditto

[Ishkur]

We certainly do blow.........you kisses as we receive our gold medals.

[Greg_Wyshynski]

Originally Posted by Ishkur

No, the World Cup of Hockey is hockey's version of the soccer World Cup (not to be confused with the World Championships, which is another tournament altogether run by IIHF--The World Cup is not--that runs annually every Spring and is usually won by Canada depending on which players are free to play in it if their teams have been kicked out of the playoffs in time). The Olympics is just another top-level world class tournament to showcase the greatness of Canadian hockey. If it were up to us, we'd cancel the NHL and just have twenty of these tournaments a year. Where we can send three teams to all of them and sweep the medals.

Canadian knob-slobbing aside, what I meant by the comparison is that the Winter Games offer an international tournament for hockey that grabs the largest audience, much like the World Cup does for soccer. And by that I mean the dreaded "casual fan" that doesn't know the where/what/why of the hockey World Cup but knows to make time to watch Canada and Fins if they play during the Winter Olympics.

Neil Broten.

The fact you had to go back to 1980 to find an example basically proves my point.

They already have that. It's called the World Juniors. Canada crushes everybody in that too.

Again, you're viewing this through red-and-white glasses. I'm talking about what's good for the entire NHL, which would be to spotlight prospects that could all of a sudden be gate draws for teams like the Blue Jackets and Ducks when they come up following the Games.

-GDub

[Ishkur]

Look, it's not our damn fault we're so fucking awesome at hockey. If you don't like the way things are, produce better hockey players. We need the competition, dammit.

[Gunnerman]

Originally Posted by Ishkur

We certainly do blow.........you kisses as we receive our gold medals.

Now that was funny!!! Ishkur, I didn't realize you had such a sense of humor.