Hey, heres another stupid World Cup Idea

[JETZZZ]

Turn the NHL All Star Game into "NHL 3 on 3 World Cup"
(presented by Bridgestone or Honda or whoever forks over the $$$)

-Instead of 4 divisional teams, make 6 national teams (only the big 6 have enough NHLers to fill out a 3 on 3 roster last time i checked)

-play a 15 game round robin, 2 semi final games, and one final

-each game is only a 20 minute period, so every team can play each day

-Best case scenario, the players take it more seriously, playing for their nations, rather than with their divisional rivals (made up of players we specifically want them to get a hate-on for) and we get a mini Canada Cup every January (except on Olympic years, when they play in a real best-on-best...ideally...hopefully)

-Worst case scenario, the players dont take it as seriously as hoped, and we only get a slightly improved All Star Game format that has 7 days worth of events to sell tickets for and make the league money

Day 1
Skills Competition, as usual (perhaps another Canada v USA women's game too?)
Day 2
Canada v Sweden, USA v Finland, Russia v Czech Rep
Day 3
Canada v USA, Russia v Sweden, Czech Rep v Finland
Day 4
Canada v Czech Rep, Finland v Russia, USA v Sweden
Day 5
Canada v Finland, Czech Republic v Sweden, USA v Russia
Day 6
Canada v Russia, Czech Republic v USA, Finland v Sweden
Day 7
Semi Final 1 (#1 v #4), Semi Final 2 (#2 v #3), Final

Click to read more...

 

[Czechboy]

Turn the NHL All Star Game into "NHL 3 on 3 World Cup"
(presented by Bridgestone or Honda or whoever forks over the $$$)

-Instead of 4 divisional teams, make 6 national teams (only the big 6 have enough NHLers to fill out a 3 on 3 roster last time i checked)

-play a 15 game round robin, 2 semi final games, and one final

-each game is only a 20 minute period, so every team can play each day

-Best case scenario, the players take it more seriously, playing for their nations, rather than with their divisional rivals (made up of players we specifically want them to get a hate-on for) and we get a mini Canada Cup every January (except on Olympic years, when they play in a real best-on-best...ideally...hopefully)

-Worst case scenario, the players dont take it as seriously as hoped, and we only get a slightly improved All Star Game format that has 7 days worth of events to sell tickets for and make the league money

Day 1
Skills Competition, as usual (perhaps another Canada v USA women's game too?)
Day 2
Canada v Sweden, USA v Finland, Russia v Czech Rep
Day 3
Canada v USA, Russia v Sweden, Czech Rep v Finland
Day 4
Canada v Czech Rep, Finland v Russia, USA v Sweden
Day 5
Canada v Finland, Czech Republic v Sweden, USA v Russia
Day 6
Canada v Russia, Czech Republic v USA, Finland v Sweden
Day 7
Semi Final 1 (#1 v #4), Semi Final 2 (#2 v #3), Final

Disclaimer.. I don't watch the ASG and think it sucks.

I think it's a great idea.

The big problem is that you'd have to invite a bunch of Czech guys while leaving a bunch of Canadian ones behind. Still, I'd tune in for this.

 

[JETZZZ]

Disclaimer.. I don't watch the ASG and think it sucks.

I think it's a great idea.

The big problem is that you'd have to invite a bunch of Czech guys while leaving a bunch of Canadian ones behind. Still, I'd tune in for this.

True, but for even a bare-bones World Cup like this one, Id try to avoid gimmick ideas like multiple team Canadas, or another young guns team, or combining nations into one super team.

 

[alko]

Naaa. Its not a hockey as we know it. Its some hybrid. Maybe fun form some moments, but it is not a hockey game, we want to see.

 

[BOS358]

I like it! But would it fit the qualifications for "best-on-best?"

 

[JETZZZ]

I like it! But would it fit the qualifications for "best-on-best?"

It would not, but I dont think the NHL is capable of organizing a legit 100% best-on-best every 4 years, otherwise it would have happened every 4 years after 1996. This way, they still get to run a international-like tournament all on their own and pocket everything, while simultaneously improving the All Star Game.

 

[Boonk]

I think its a good idea, much better than the dung pile that was 2016.

 

[BOS358]

I think it would be "best-on-best" because all of the best players in the world would be there, much like every NHL All-Star Game.

Being serious...You missed the . I agree with you that this is a stupid idea. The whole idea of a bland "World Cup" as the NHL has presented it (1996 excepted) is stupid. As is the concept of "best-on-best," because nobody even agrees on what that means. Outside this board, nobody cares about the concept or the execution (see World Cup of Hockey, 2004 and 2016.)

 

[tony d]

Not the worst proposal I've seen. It'd be nice to see a true best on best tournament again.

 

[willb892]

It can't be worse than the current ASG, I actually quite like this idea.

If you want the players to take it seriously, a 7-day round robin might be a bit of a stretch. A good, competitive 3 on 3 is a real bag-skate, and the players may be less inclined to bag-skate themselves for 7 days straight.

To fix this, I would add 2 teams we all know and love: Team Europe and NA U23. Yes, this sullies the "World Cup" name, but it gets more NHL stars on the ice, more countries with an interest in watching, less games if you go with a 2-pool round-robin format, and ultimately a more competitive event, and isn't that what we all want?

If the NA U23 team really bothers you, what about a Team Black Aces: made up of the best players in the world not named to their respective national team? Basically same idea, maybe a few extra Europeans in there. I'm not sure what else you could do with an 8th team, unless you split up "West Europe" and "East Europe" or something. Or you could have a "Legends" team.

TLDR: I think this would work better with a shorter tournament and 8 teams, but not sure where the other 2 teams come from.