3v3 at the Olympics is Being Discussed

[Canadienna]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1853488447874367763

Thought this was interesting enough to warrant its own thread.

I'm not sure about it to be honest. Ice Hockey is a 5v5 sport. Creating a separate event with a separate gold medal for a novelty mode of hockey seems wrong. On the other hand, it could grow the game and bring in people who wouldn't watch otherwise.

What does the HF hivemind think?

Click to read more...

 

[joelef]

This is becoming the norm in many Olympic sports now. Cutting cost, faster paste and potential higher participation is why shorter versions of sports are being added. This is why I think usopc sole focus on the ncaa is misguided

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Lame as hell.

 

[the valiant effort]

Even the bright-eyed ten year old me would be asking what in the **** are you talking about

 

[WarriorofTime]

The fiba one feels super gimmicky. There’s a million Olympic events so it’s fine but it’s not super exciting unless they are somehow able to get NHLers doing double duty.

 

[abj]

Not so believable even if 3v3 idea incurred. I'm against idea.

 

[jj cale]

Agreed...............lame.

 

[Albatros]

As long as it's more for countries not otherwise represented I'm all for it.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

McDavid-MacKinnon-Makar

lol

 

[palsoft]

Is there any other specifications out there? What should be the rink size? Goalies? Or will they play it like pond hockey without them? too little information

 

[FrHockeyFan]

It's the version from the Youth Olympics played on sheet the size of an end zone. The IIHF has run a couple of test events last spring with more to come with a women's tourney in Brazil this week and plans for 8-team World Championships from 2026 onwards.

IIHF - IIHF prepares Olympic 3x3 proposal

Official bid goes to IOC early next year

www.iihf.com

Here is a game from a test tournament in UK last April.

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

Personally, I like it as development tool. Not so much as a full Olympic event.

 

[JackSlater]

The basketball one sucked, so this one likely will too. If they could convince some NHLers to do it I'd have some interest but that's unlikely. I'd honestly rather see road hockey at the summer Olympics if they want another gimmicky hockey event.

 

[Namejs]

The fiba one feels super gimmicky. There’s a million Olympic events so it’s fine but it’s not super exciting unless they are somehow able to get NHLers doing double duty.

Streetball has been around for nearly a century. It started at the grassroots level, developed into actual pro leagues and only then was it introduced at the Olympics.

3x3 hockey is the exact opposite of that. It's not an actual sport.

 

[JETZZZ]

I really liked the 3ICE version of 3 on 3 hockey. Hope that it ends up looking like that, but with national teams.

 

[Kane One]

I have no issue with it.

There’s millions of medals up for grabs in swimming and gymnastics and only one for ice hockey? Everything at the NHL skills competition should be a medal event.

 

[NyQuil]

Meh, seeing a billion speed skating and cross country skiing medals awarded makes me think why not?

 

[WayTooCold]

3 v 3 just eliminates all physical play. You'll hang on the puck forever. We can't steamroll ála Eric Lindros these other wimpy teams. As in 5 v 5.

Lesser countries have smaller talent pools. They might be able hang on w/ us a bit more.

 

[Vikz]

I dont understand most of you people. You sound like grumpy old men who dont want any changes. I also dont understand people who said that 3v3 basketball did not work. I had a blast watching this one - high pace game that takes only 20 minutes or so, and there are several games a day - fantastic format for action packed event like the Olympics.

However, the main question for me here is player eligibility. As Namejs correctly pointed out, 3v3 basketball is a legit sport with professional leagues all over the world and athletes who specialize in it. Same with, lets say, beach volleyball. There are no 3v3 leagues, it is not a legit sport yet.

So, what are the scenarios?

1) Do it swimming, skiing, skating style, where same people perform in different disciplines? No chance. I dont think Michael Phelps valued his 100m gold medal more than his 400m gold medal. However, if McDavid has 3v3 vs Poland in the morning and a classic game against Sweden in the evening, we all know which of these games will be a practise. If he even decides to risk fatigue / injury by playing both.

2) Allow anyone to participate except those, who participate in the classic ice hockey event. So, McDavid is busy with the main team, while, lets say, Tavares, who was cut at the last moment, decides to go 3v3. Yeah, Canada, USA, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Czechia will have an unfair advantage with legit superstars. But dont they have it in classic hockey too?

3) Ban professional hockey players from playing 3v3. Countries would be able to ice teams consisting of players from half-professional leagues, but there could be controversy regarding where to draw the line and the quality of play might end up bad.

But heck, I would be glad to watch this fast and entertaining new game when you don't wait 2 days for your team to play just to end up with a 1-0 slog.

 

[Namejs]

I dont understand most of you people. You sound like grumpy old men who dont want any changes. I also dont understand people who said that 3v3 basketball did not work. I had a blast watching this one - high pace game that takes only 20 minutes or so, and there are several games a day - fantastic format for action packed event like the Olympics.

However, the main question for me here is player eligibility. As Namejs correctly pointed out, 3v3 basketball is a legit sport with professional leagues all over the world and athletes who specialize in it. Same with, lets say, beach volleyball. There are no 3v3 leagues, it is not a legit sport yet.

So, what are the scenarios?

1) Do it swimming, skiing, skating style, where same people perform in different disciplines? No chance. I dont think Michael Phelps valued his 100m gold medal more than his 400m gold medal. However, if McDavid has 3v3 vs Poland in the morning and a classic game against Sweden in the evening, we all know which of these games will be a practise. If he even decides to risk fatigue / injury by playing both.

2) Allow anyone to participate except those, who participate in the classic ice hockey event. So, McDavid is busy with the main team, while, lets say, Tavares, who was cut at the last moment, decides to go 3v3. Yeah, Canada, USA, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Czechia will have an unfair advantage with legit superstars. But dont they have it in classic hockey too?

3) Ban professional hockey players from playing 3v3. Countries would be able to ice teams consisting of players from half-professional leagues, but there could be controversy regarding where to draw the line and the quality of play might end up bad.

But heck, I would be glad to watch this fast and entertaining new game when you don't wait 2 days for your team to play just to end up with a 1-0 slog.

You summed it up nicely, 3v3 is the most intense/action-packed format and it has a lot of entertainment value. Especially for neutral viewers from non-traditional hockey countries.

So I think it has potential, but it's not going to be the next big thing. Clearly, no NHL player is going to be allowed to risk injury while taking part in this. Also, because of the nature of the 3v3 format, way more teams can compete. It doesn't have to be limited to 12 teams only.

This could open it up for countries that have never taken part in the Olympics, which is also a great thing, because it has potential spillover effect into regular hockey. It can help popularize the sport.

3v3 is also not going to give as much of an advantage to larger individuals, which is nice as a wider range of players can showcase their skill.

 

[Czechboy]

Reading the thread I feel stupid saying this...

I think it's a great idea! I love it.

Especially if it has NHLers allowed... imagine the B level Yanks, Nucks or Swedes? They'd have amazing pools of leftovers. Be amazing hockey.

 

[GrumpyKoala]

Yeah!! now do boxe but with only one fighter at a time. Curling but only with the broom

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Lame af

 

[WayTooCold]

Remember when the UFC used to be just 1 weight class and 30minute round without any rules? That was fun to watch. Some crazy Canadian karatekas beating the crap out of everybody.

Nowadays there's millions of weight classes. Women, Men, Nonbinary, Transgender ...
Heavy weight division has been null void the last 10 years.
Nowadays there's only wimpy 5 minute rounds. Which is 5 minutes of gay wrestling and nothing happens.

You'll see much better fights for free at Canadian bars at 01:00 o'clock.

The UFC has been watered down. Do we want to water down hockey as well?

 

[vorky]

KHL will launch the 3on3 league in December. The competition will be played from December to mid July in the 2024-2025 season. The 24 games per team will be played on 34×18 m rink size, shootout instead of penalty, no hits, no fights. Teams: Dinamo Minsk, Avangard Omsk, Ak Bars Kazan, Barys Astana, Metallurg Mg, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Sibir Novosibirsk, Traktor Chelyabinsk. Details at press-conference next week. Seems like at least one player/team must played 200+ KHL games, active KHLer can play as well, but I am not sure. Needs to wait for details.

 

[Zine]

Remember when the UFC used to be just 1 weight class and 30minute round without any rules? That was fun to watch. Some crazy Canadian karatekas beating the crap out of everybody.

Nowadays there's millions of weight classes. Women, Men, Nonbinary, Transgender ...
Heavy weight division has been null void the last 10 years.
Nowadays there's only wimpy 5 minute rounds. Which is 5 minutes of gay wrestling and nothing happens.

You'll see much better fights for free at Canadian bars at 01:00 o'clock.

The UFC has been watered down. Do we want to water down hockey as well?

Not comparable to UFC.

Full 3 v 3 hockey is more akin to how street-ball relates to the NBA. It's an interesting off-shoot of the original game,

I'm all for it.