Help understanding these tourneys

[hirawl]

World Championships are about hockey the sport and representing your country.
World Cup is about hockey the business and representing your employer.

Exaggerated for sure, but also pretty much the truth.

 

[Dr Despair]

Olympics are the only one everyone takes seriously.

This is quite accurate, IMO. There are moments when I envy soccer fans for their World Cup. Winning it is the highest mountain top in international soccer, questioned by no one. Having something similar in hockey is difficult. It always comes down to schedule. Soccer has the advantage of being an outdoors sport (in Finland we would call it summer sport) which is mostly being played from fall to spring. That leaves the summer wide open for international tournaments. Hockey begins at fall, but the Stanley Cup playoffs aren't done until mid June. As a hockey fan I consider myself hard(ish)core , but even I wouldn't care for a title tournament in July. Casual fans couldn't care less. Hockey is a winter sport, period. September then, well, pre season isn't the time for climax. If I was the Final Pope of the Universe I would a) make the NHL season start earlier and b) reduce the number of regular season games. If the Stanley Cup Champions were hoisting the cup already in early May, then perhaps a true Hockey World Cup could be played roughly at the same time the WC is played now.

For the time being I'm not ruling the Universe. Under the current circumstances the existing arrangement concerning the Olympics is the best thing available to our sport. It's not perfect but it's good. I hope we keep it.

P.S. Having said all that above I do have to add that I absolutely love the World Championships. For Europeans there is so much history there. Decades and decades of memories. Call it Skoda Cup if you must, but don't you dare try to take it away from me. It's a part of my spring. Always.

 

[Latgale_fan]

the folks in charge of the European teams try to ice the best possible team available.

Quite often though, as we can see this WC- they will ice just folks who want to come and play + you can look at future top draft picks, as the young Finnish guy and Auston almighty

occasionally keeping a spot open ridiculously long for a particular NHL player who's team is expected to drop out even mid-tournament.

akhm, team Russia... sorry something wrong with my throat, ehmmm only team Russia does that

The European NHL players on their part

Even if they are not in NHL, they still might say ''eff that, I'm gonna hit the beach''

weight if their teams allow them to go, if their teams don't want them to go, if they're tired after the season, if they have minor physical injuries they need to heal, if they have major emotional injuries they need to heal and if they will find their no-go now ahead of them if the Olympic year is less than ~two years ahead.

And team Latvia fans will then call them traitors and it will come up in conversation even if the guy in question is moderately successful in KHL next season.

The Americans, I'm told on the internet, usually consider it as little more than a two and a half week European vacation.

Which I think is a better attitude towards a hockey tournament than what team Russia has each year - that if you don't win it, you've failed your country, your president, your mother and your unborn children

 

[Latgale_fan]

The tournament in September is an Nhl organized show featuring two non national gimmick teams, so while you will have technically NHL's best players, the "national" aspect of the tournament is a joke and many hockey fans around the world have little interest in watching the tournament.

I think it's too harsh to talk about it like that. I get why some people are upset, but I wouldn't mind seeing Kopitar or Vanek actually winning something on some other level than the NHL team (if they actually do win something).
I can see why it sucks from Slovak perspective though. But it should be pretty fun little tournament and actually having Olympics level hockey

 

[clevelandcane]

Thanks for all the answers. I feel bad now because I'm looking forward to the tourney in September because it seems to have the better players.

Good info.

Thanks again.

 

[joshyhockey26]

I absolutely love the world championships.with the exception of the NHL playoffs and world juniors it's my favorite thing in hockey.we can only hope the world cup will EVENTUALLY be the tourney it should be.but I won't hold my breath on that

 

[Lempo]

Quite often though --

Good points you have all over there about stuff. I should have stressed I was extrapolating a bit my Finnish point-of-view as all-European. There really are interesting differences from country to country to the approach to the tourney.

Which I think is a better attitude towards a hockey tournament than what team Russia has each year - that if you don't win it, you've failed your country, your president, your mother and your unborn children

Our lot gets that only if they win and then on their part participate into the ensuing public drunken revelry. "Think of the children, they will now aspire to be national level hockey talents only for the alcohol-infested partying that's deemed acceptable by you!"

... I mean, (the sad truly life-altering ones excluded) the one sports-related injury still making it into headlines in Finland after five years is the suspicious ankle infection the team leader allegedly got that prevented him attending the celebrations in 2011.

"Oh, look at the cute tiny little Lion cubs straight outta winning the WJC! Not at all drunk! So cute! For shame, the men of 2011!"

 

[swissexpert]

Basically North Americans take WHC as a spring vacation, Europeans are more serious. Then NHL takes World Cup at September seriously, Europeans consider it more a marketing gimmick for the NHL.

Olympics are the only one everyone takes seriously.

So true, but we may have seen the last best-on-best olympics, which is very sad.

 

[Dr Despair]

occasionally keeping a spot open ridiculously long for a particular NHL player who's team is expected to drop out even mid-tournament.

akhm, team Russia... sorry something wrong with my throat, ehmmm only team Russia does that

Team Finland used to do that a lot. They would bring in players at a very late playoff stage. If I'm not mistaken players have been flown to the tournament venue just to play the final. They have changed their ways, though. I don't remember them doing this for years now.

 

[joey16]

So true, but we may have seen the last best-on-best olympics, which is very sad.

I don't believe that last.. but last for some time, yes.
That still doesn't make it less sad though.

 

[Xokkeu]

Thanks for all the answers. I feel bad now because I'm looking forward to the tourney in September because it seems to have the better players.

Good info.

Thanks again.

It may have better players, especially for USA and Canada but who knows the effort level. In 1996 it was off the charts. In 2004 it was more like preseason games.

 

[jj cale]

It may have better players, especially for USA and Canada but who knows the effort level. In 1996 it was off the charts. In 2004 it was more like preseason games.

I wouldn't agree with that, there was plenty of intensity in many games at the 2004 World cup.

The Canada-Finland game and Canada-Czech were hotly contested, so was Canada-U.S.

Wondering if you only watched a few games here and there and have a small point of reference for this opinion.

 

[Xokkeu]

I wouldn't agree with that, there was plenty of intensity in many games at the 2004 World cup.

The Canada-Finland game and Canada-Czech were hotly contested, so was Canada-U.S.

Wondering if you only watched a few games here and there and have a small point of reference for this opinion.

I was seated in row 8 at the face off dot for every game in Minneapolis. And went to Canada v Slovakia.

 

[jj cale]

I was seated in row 8 at the face off dot for every game in Minneapolis. And went to Canada v Slovakia.

Did you watch the games I mentioned here?

They were good games with plenty of intensity.

 

[Xokkeu]

Did you watch the games I mentioned here?

They were good games with plenty of intensity.

Canada and the US was a good game. The USA Russia game was awful and the USA effort vs the Finns was reminiscent of the bronze medal game in 2014

 

[jj cale]

Canada and the US was a good game. The USA Russia game was awful and the USA effort vs the Finns was reminiscent of the bronze medal game in 2014

Well the games I talked about were good games, really good.

You didn't see the right ones aside from Canada-US.

Lot's of stinkers last olympics too.

 

[agent082]

Yea the Swedes take it so serious that just 40 of our best players decline to participate.

Noticed this too. Isn't Tre kronor important to new generation of swedish players or what is behind this? Even Canadians seems to be more willing to play in WCH.