Anyone else pumped for the 4 nations?

[Neil Racki]

Im stoked

 

[Hanji]

It's hockey, I'll watch. But it's difficult to get emotionally invested in a half-ass tourney like this.

 

[DumbManHockey]

I'm gonna watch it more than likely, and no one is forcing me to watch it.

Could be good, only one way to find out.

King take.
Maybe I won't like it... not gonna let others decide that for me

 

[FlyguyOX]

If you choose to play this card, there are several missing.


Conspiracy theorists say the tariff war was started because NHL wanted to make the match more personal

/s

https://stats.iihf.com/hydra/757/IHM757325_74_3_0.pdf

I want all the top teams in the tournament, but having the 3rd best hockey nation left out is especially egregious.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I'm curious about it, will check out a few games and don't expect to care enough to watch the final.

 

[SEALBound]

I'll watch US vs Canada and then whoever is in the..."gold medal game" or championship or whatever they are calling it.

They needed to have Russia and an ad hoc Europe team. The 4 teams thing is so chintzy.

 

[ToDavid]

Not in the slightest.

Enjoy the 2 week all star games. Nobody is going out there to get hurt.

And yet you’ve got guys like Crosby who is missing regular season games but sucking it up to play in this tournament. You’ve got numerous players talking about how ecstatic they are for it.

Not everything has to suck.

 

[Hallonbroder]

Yes! Awesome not having the Russians in it, sad not having the Czechs in it. Also, no “blueberry”-nations, I e all games should be competitive.

For all the ones saying “too few teams” - you need to learn how international hockey and their leagues work.

For those not interested - we’ll go do something else than whine about it.

Fir the ones saying “I miss Russia, buhu” - go read a newspaper

 

[FlyguyOX]

Yes! Awesome not having the Russians in it, sad not having the Czechs in it. Also, no “blueberry”-nations, I e all games should be competitive.

For all the ones saying “too few teams” - you need to learn how international hockey and their leagues work.

For those not interested - we’ll go do something else than whine about it.

Fir the ones saying “I miss Russia, buhu” - go read a newspaper

Thou art so virtuous. I don't think you've expressed it enough between your profile picture and post, you should add some more to your signature.

 

[heksagon]

Mixed feelings. I've craved for a best-on-best for so long, so I can't say I'm not interested.

But... all the injuries to key players. All the missing countries (especially my beloved friends in Czechia!)... it just feels like something is missing. Hopefully we will have great Olympics next year to fill out that hollow feeling.

It will still be great to see all these world class talents represent their countries, not gonna lie.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

I want all the top teams in the tournament, but having the 3rd best hockey nation left out is especially egregious.

Hard to guess if they are actually third.

Assumptions are an incredibly pretty thing when your toughest opponent as of late was Kazakhstan.

I'll watch US vs Canada and then whoever is in the..."gold medal game" or championship or whatever they are calling it.

They needed to have Russia and an ad hoc Europe team. The 4 teams thing is so chintzy.

On behalf of Czechs, ad hoc Europe team can suck a fat one. I believe most Swiss and others who would participate would agree.

…

I do partially miss Russia, because shitting on them when they lose and refuse to pick up non-gold medals is a classic.

(Quickly followed up by them blaming everyone else for it.)

 

[Zalos]

Most people who will watch and are excited will not be posting in a thread on HFBoards. But yea, a lot of us are hyped for it!

It's been a while since we've had an international tournament with the cream of the crop.

 

[Hallonbroder]

Thou art so virtuous. I don't think you've expressed it enough between your profile picture and post, you should add some more to your signature.

Are you saying it’s wrong to support Ukraine?… I’m talking hockey here, but it’s great seeing Russia not competing this week, ngl!

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

Are you saying it’s wrong to support Ukraine?… I’m talking hockey here, but it’s great seeing Russia not competing this week, ngl!

Hey, I have a better option.

Once Russia returns to Worlds, have them face Czechs, Finns and Latvians so there is this chance they all go nuts and beat them.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

I think you're drastically underestimating the competitive juices of these players. There's a reason the PA badly wants the Olympics in every new CBA. These guys want to play in it and this is the audition.

Yes. There's a reason the PA wants the Olympics.

Not a cheap knock off.

 

[Whalers Fan]

Not interested at all. It's just a two week break from NHL hockey for me.

 

[Jared Dunn]

I just wish it was 8 teams instead of 4. Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany. Russia too, but I get it, I guess.

I understand why it's 4 teams so that the schedule is light and its over within 2 weeks, but at least 8 would've been more fun.

I think as much or more than these reasons is it's an NHL tournament not an IIHF tournament and those teams (besides Russia obv) don't have enough NHL players to build a full roster so then you're having to get buy in from teams in other leagues too

I think it's going to be great hockey and it should be fun even though it is flawed

 

[BHawk21]

very excited. There is NO WAY these guys arent playing balls out. Just look at the lineups.

 

[Brodeur]

It's not a perfect setup but I'm still happy to watch. I know how much the 1996 World Cup helped level up my hockey nerdiness as a kid. I get that most of us who post on HF are cynical adults but it should be a fun watch for the younger generation.

 

[ReimanSum1908]

Honestly, I could not be less interested in the tournament, and I hope that it is never repeated as it compromises the NHL schedule to no benefit. The Olympics mean something. The World Cup means something less. This means nothing at all to me and compromises the products in which I am genuinely invested.

Still, if there are people who enjoy it, may they do so fully.

 

[BHawk21]

Honestly, I could not be less interested in the tournament, and I hope that it is never repeated as it compromises the NHL schedule to no benefit. The Olympics mean something. The World Cup means something less. This means nothing at all to me and compromises the products in which I am genuinely invested.

Still, if there are people who enjoy it, may they do so fully.

but playing for your country means something to the players. Which means the games matter to them. It wont take long for the fans to see that.

 

[NVious]

It's gonna be cool, the players will be playing hard and it will mean something to them. Also I find the amount of people pissed about this to be funny too so there's that too.

 

[aylib]

Hell, yes! Excited to see TB well represented on Canada's roster.

 

[Beau Knows]

I'm excited. Seeing players like Crosby and McDavid on the same team for the first time is intriguing.

Even if you don't care about who wins this tournament, I think it should still be interesting as a preview of what's to come in the Olympics next year.

For some of these players this tournament is going to be like a try out. Canada for instance, needs a goalie to step up and take the reins before 2026, it's not clear who the net is going to belong to. If one of the guys has a monster tournament here, it could make the difference on who gets the starter job next year.

Even for the players that are locks for the Olympic team, chemistry can be a tough thing to find in these short tournaments. Getting some real games in and trying out different combinations should help the teams put together lines and pairing for 2026.

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

No.