How can the World Championship improve as an event?

[Jussi]

Its an international sports committee like the Olympics or FIFA. I just assume there is massive corruption.

Assuming without any evidence doesn't exactly make the accuser credible in anyway.

 

[Past Considerations]

I'm fine with it every year, but it should definitely be moved back until a couple of weeks after the Cup Finals are over so all the teams can have all their players (that wish to play).

And, of course, it makes no sense to hold the tourney in an Olympic year.

That will increase the period between the end of European leagues (+non-playoff teams in NHL) and the start of the tournament. Also I'm not convinced that players are any more interested in the tournament after an exhausting cup run. So basically, the tournament would have to be moved to mid-June...

 

[Shrimper]

Because the difference between the good nations and the bad is too great.

France beat Canada this year and these teams will learn better against the best. To a degree obviously. But if you increased it from 16-24 you'd be inviting based on this years placings in Division 1;

Slovenia
Austria
Japan
Ukraine
Hungary
South Korea
Poland
Croatia

The only teams I think would perform badly would be Croatia, Poland, South Korea and Hungary. The others would be able to hold themselves away from bad/embarrassing scores I think.

 

[Hockeycast]

Work something out with the NHL to have it every 4 years with NHL participation. That way we can have a best on best tournament every 2 years, alternating between the Olympics and the WHC. This way we could actually get NHL refs since they won't be busy with the Stanley Cup playoffs.

[mod]

This. The World Championship should be like the World Cup, that way we'd have.
WC 2016, Olympic 2018, WC 2020 and so on.

 

[jkrdevil]

Play it is September (and thus move back the european club season). Also as a result (given arenas will actually be available) hold the tournament at least once every 4 years in Canada and the United States.

That gives the tournament a greater precense in the two largest hockey markets (going by player registration). Said tournament would probably make a lot more money than the current May format.

 

[Burke the Legend]

It would be incredibly difficult logistically, but I think it would draw WAY more viewers if, instead of a single host city, the top 8 seeds participate in 3 rounds of best-of-7 hockey in a 2-3-2 home/away format where teams travel to each country's respective host city.

good idea, make it like the Davis Cup.

 

[RandV]

No player based in Europe wants to play hockey in June.

There's always been the opinion around that the NHL should move it's schedule up a month, starting the season in September rather than October, but whatever the reason they have the NHL isn't going to make this change simply for the sake of the IIHF's WC tourney. So in an earlier thread like this I made the suggestion that maybe the IIHF should throw something enticing the NHL's way (World Cup maybe?) to get them to change.

I'm guessing though the reason it is how it is probably has something to do with baseball, as the World Series is always just ending as the NHL season begins. To start in September means the first month is competing directly with MLB playoffs, maybe it's more feasible now that baseball has declined in the US but it could still cost the league millions.

 

[Siamese Dream]

Host it when the NHL isn't playing.

Or the NHL could start their season in September like every other league in the world except the Australia one

 

[Siamese Dream]

France beat Canada this year and these teams will learn better against the best. To a degree obviously. But if you increased it from 16-24 you'd be inviting based on this years placings in Division 1;

Slovenia
Austria
Japan
Ukraine
Hungary
South Korea
Poland
Croatia

The only teams I think would perform badly would be Croatia, Poland, South Korea and Hungary. The others would be able to hold themselves away from bad/embarrassing scores I think.

It should be expanded by 2 teams to include Austria and Slovenia as those two plus Italy and Kazakhstan swap around literally every year. But any more than that and you're pushing it

 

[Past Considerations]

It should be expanded by 2 teams to include Austria and Slovenia as those two plus Italy and Kazakhstan swap around literally every year. But any more than that and you're pushing it

And then what, are you going to make it a closed A level?

I think exactly for this reason the number of teams right now is pretty ideal. There is a lot of variability between these few teams but at least this should keep their internal competition high. What sucks that for these small nations couple of NHL players and sometimes their only player can make a huge difference, and in this case luck of getting them plays a bit too big role.

 

[Kalzu]

The answer is simple, World Cup every four years.

I mean, the pre-season is the only possibility to get all NHL players. I don't see NHL having a break for anything but the Olympics, and even then they are reluctant.

Every four years because with the Olympics, it'd mean a best-on-best event every two years. Annual best-on-best event would be too much whereas every four years feels too little. Every two years is good, like in soccer, with the WC and continental ch'ships.

Then what to do with the World Championship? Maybe just leave it as it is. Pre-season WC would make it hard to leave the WCh away from those seasons. It'd basically mean WCh followed by the WC in few months and then the next WCh would be over one and a half years away. Or have the pre-WC season without any major event and have also the WCh in the WC season. If the WC had the Olympics' calendar slot, then dropping the WCh from that season would be easier.

 

[Urbanskog]

France beat Canada this year and these teams will learn better against the best. To a degree obviously. But if you increased it from 16-24 you'd be inviting based on this years placings in Division 1;

Slovenia
Austria
Japan
Ukraine
Hungary
South Korea
Poland
Croatia

The only teams I think would perform badly would be Croatia, Poland, South Korea and Hungary. The others would be able to hold themselves away from bad/embarrassing scores I think.

Hungary? I don't think that Hungary would embarrass themselves that badly if they played in the elite division.

 

[coolboarder]

It is virtually impossible to improve the event for this reason, NHL won't change their schedule to accommodate the WHC. Even if WHC decides to host the tournament after the NHL season is over, no player from the Stanley Cup champion and/or the finalist want to play the WHC right away. I do not view this tournament as a legitimate gauge of which country is the best hockey country in the world. The only solution to this problem is to do what soccer or football do, host the World Cup once every 4 years. There is no way to improve the event except to hold the qualifying tournament for the lesser countries for a chance to play in the World Cup of Hockey.

 

[ES]

Hungary? I don't think that Hungary would embarrass themselves that badly if they played in the elite division.

They played in 2009:
Slovakia 3-4 (GWG with 13 seconds left)
Canada 0-9
Belarus 1-3
- (relegation round) -
Austria 0-6
Denmark 1-5
Germany 1-2

 

[Urbanskog]

They played in 2009:
Slovakia 3-4 (GWG with 13 seconds left)
Canada 0-9
Belarus 1-3
- (relegation round) -
Austria 0-6
Denmark 1-5
Germany 1-2

Well, aside the matches against Austria and Canada, it's not all that bad. It's also worth noting that playing against the top countries ought to improve them, as it has improved Slovenia and Austria etc.

 

[SanDogBrewin]

Start the tournament 2 weeks later so more NHL players can join as there teams are being eliminated from the playoffs might be a start.

 

[Jussi]

Start the tournament 2 weeks later so more NHL players can join as there teams are being eliminated from the playoffs might be a start.

Nope, that would leave over a month or more gap between the end of European leagues and would eat up from the players off season. E.g. KHL training camps begin early July (10th this year) and the season finished about a week or two before the Worlds. That leaves a very short off-season and some players already declined to play at the Worlds due to fatigue. Players alone would object to it and e.g. the player associations in Finland(especially) and Sweden are strong enough so the federations will not even think about arguing with them.

 

[Xokkeu]

Start the tournament 2 weeks later so more NHL players can join as there teams are being eliminated from the playoffs might be a start.

Is there really that much of a point when so many Canadian and American players decline anyway?

 

[SanDogBrewin]

Is there really that much of a point when so many Canadian and American players decline anyway?

Yah those rag tag bunch of AHL and college players will be fine

 

[albator71]

Why not have 4 groups of 4 teams, top 2 qualifies for QF, last placed teams in each group plays agianst each others in a regulation group, First two placed are saved last two are relegated.

 

[Rekin]

Why not have 4 groups of 4 teams, top 2 qualifies for QF, last placed teams in each group plays agianst each others in a regulation group, First two placed are saved last two are relegated.

Some say that provides too few top games and is therefore not an option.

 

[lamini]

Depends what you see as a goal of WCH.

If you see it as an event for those top hockey countries and you don't care about development of hockey anywhere else than the best thing would be to change it into what's planed as World Cup (once every 4 years, best on best, only top 6-8 nations, atleast 1/2 of time in NA). The problem is that it'd kill hockey in the remaining countries

The WCH as it is now is good for almost everyone. Big European countries make money since they can host it like every 8 years, middle countries can play big guys every year and since those big guys have somethink like "B" to "D" squad, they can get some big wins out of it, and the smales hockey countries have their turnament every year

 

[canuck2010]

This. The World Championship should be like the World Cup, that way we'd have.
WC 2016, Olympic 2018, WC 2020 and so on.

That's the best format however the sticking point is that it will be very difficult to win over hard nosed NHL owners to give up even a dime of revenue. I don't believe they would ever cut the number of games that NHL teams play. Not sure that they are all really aok with their investments playing in all these tournaments especially if they are not making big money from it.

 

[canuck2010]

France beat Canada this year and these teams will learn better against the best. To a degree obviously. But if you increased it from 16-24 you'd be inviting based on this years placings in Division 1;

Slovenia
Austria
Japan
Ukraine
Hungary
South Korea
Poland
Croatia

The only teams I think would perform badly would be Croatia, Poland, South Korea and Hungary. The others would be able to hold themselves away from bad/embarrassing scores I think.

Not really a true read of the disparity between France and Canada in hockey.

 

[BladesofSTEELwFIRE]

The IIHF governs 28 tournaments, most of which have no chance of making a profit. They need to make their money somehow.

An American city should host a Division I or Division II tournament. It would be nice to see different teams for a change and I'm sure American fans would show up as long as it's a good hockey town.