In Defense Of Team Europe

[Canuckistani]

OK they're not kids fine, put whatever label on them you like but my point stands - National teams deserve to be treated with respect. Asking them to play against a team made up of "leftovers" isn't classy, it puts them in a no win situation and it should not be done, period. If I was in charge (of Team Finland, not the world ) and I was invited to the World Cup 4 years from now with the same setup I would just say no thanks, Finland declines to take part. Get in touch if you ever host a tournament for National teams only, then our National team would be proud to play. And not just Finland, I think Russia, Sweden, everyone should do the same.

It would be better if they all just made a mockey of it by sending U-24 teams or players from the Euro leagues that no one in NA has ever heard of.

 

[zeke]

Lance Hornby @sunhornby
Ralph Krueger, Team Europe getting lots of messages of support from small IIHF nations. "We're blood brothers against the top six (powers)."

 

[gretskidoo]

I'd make the team crusader themed and go with this one



Go all out or get rid of these teams. No half-assing.

Here's one for the NA team

 

[Xokkeu]

OK they're not kids fine, put whatever label on them you like but my point stands - National teams deserve to be treated with respect. Asking them to play against a team made up of "leftovers" isn't classy, it puts them in a no win situation and it should not be done, period. If I was in charge (of Team Finland, not the world ) and I was invited to the World Cup 4 years from now with the same setup I would just say no thanks, Finland declines to take part. Get in touch if you ever host a tournament for National teams only, then our National team would be proud to play. And not just Finland, I think Russia, Sweden, everyone should do the same.

You know what, I was wrong. I know that everyone on this board is a hardcore hockey fan. So I think most of us realize that this North America is really good. We've all followed McDavid, Eichel, Mathews etc for a long time.

But you know what the casual fan in Finland sees? Finland got blown out 4-1 by Team u23 North America leftovers. The news there is apparently apoplectic. They think they got blown away by a joke team. I had to explain to them that actually this North America team is probably better than team USA. But it's hard for casual fans to really grasp that. They just read U23 team.

 

[Jablkon]

I see no issues. If you're not good enough to win, you're not good enough to win. We don't need to baby fully grown men here.

If we got clobbered by the USA U24 team, I'd say "too bad, we lost to the better group." There's nothing embarrassing about being beat by someone younger.

I feel some contradictions here. Quite understand that some finnish fans feel embarassed. In terms of hockey and sklil these NA guys are not kids. But you see some of their faces and its there. Maybe except Ekblad. I mean Matthews traveled to Switzerland with his mum..... They are teached to be good professionals but somehow I miss here natural aspect of it. What can easily happen to them that they make somebody pissed and they decide to smash them on boards no matter whats the score is.....There is nothing what make older guys more mad than some young guys flying over them pretending they are on the same life level.

Even the fact how much media focused on that Matthews crosscheck on Polak was funny. No one would care normally.....If Polak decided to put off gloves he would be done and there will be nobody to save him...

 

[BruinLVGA]

Ahhh the all star exhibition crowd is already prepared to remove the Czechs. I'm sure that the Czechs will be happy to have be represented by team Europe minus Russia/Sweden/Finland as oppose to their national team. The team would be so fast though!

Re bolded... I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this. It is brutal that some folks are so eager to erase entire countries from being allowed to play meaningful hockey between each others because they want an all star type of thing.

By the third or fourth iteration of this thing (IF it will survive), it will be down to Team North America vs Team Rest of The World. Book it.

Why don't they save everyone time and make the All Star Game into a serious, short series of games (a best of 5 maybe?), instead of creating this abortion of a competition that is the World Cup? They already have it all nice and prepared, every year. Just make it a serious event instead of a clownish waste of time.

 

[CanadienShark]

I feel some contradictions here. Quite understand that some finnish fans feel embarassed. In terms of hockey and sklil these NA guys are not kids. But you see some of their faces and its there. Maybe except Ekblad. I mean Matthews traveled to Switzerland with his mum..... They are teached to be good professionals but somehow I miss here natural aspect of it. What can easily happen to them that they make somebody pissed and they decide to smash them on boards no matter whats the score is.....There is nothing what make older guys more mad than some young guys flying over them pretending they are on the same life level.

Even the fact how much media focused on that Matthews crosscheck on Polak was funny. No one would care normally.....If Polak decided to put off gloves he would be done and there will be nobody to save him...

I'm sorry, I don't see how I'm contradicting myself...

It's not about who has lived longer, it about who is actually better. I don't enjoy being beat by anyone younger than me (or anyone at all), but I realize that there are younger people than me who are generally better at things in life than me. It is what it is. I didn't realize that these "old" men needed to be catered to and babied because they can't handle being beat by younger men.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying though.

 

[gwh]

That would be an improvement in some ways but ... I've seen some posts from Finnish fans who are somewhat upset after last night, they seem to be somewhat embarrassed and humiliated and I feel for them. Their team is in a state of transition right now and while it's one thing for them to be thrashed by Team Canada, it's another thing to be thrashed by a bunch of kids and it would be even more humiliating if they were to lose badly to an U24 team made up of leftovers. The more I think about it, that's a really good reason never to have this team again.

How would I feel if the Canadian national basketball team got clobbered by say an U24 USA team that didn't even have it's best U24 players playing? I would feel humiliated and would ask - why are we even participating in this s..tshow?

Nevermind the Finns, we ll be booting you all in the bigger rink in the olympics.

I d be very worried about russian backlash though. If russians go 0-3 against gimmick crap, they might not come the next time.

Another interesting match would be US vs US kids. Based on the last games, the kids take with a massive margin. Talking US NT 0-6 and out...

 

[gwh]

But you know what the casual fan in Finland sees? Finland got blown out 4-1 by Team u23 North America leftovers. The news there is apparently apoplectic. They think they got blown away by a joke team.

The slant is "Don't worry about it, at least we got to bring a full team. Not everyone can do that"

 

[Gary Nylund]

I'm sorry, I don't see how I'm contradicting myself...

It's not about who has lived longer, it about who is actually better. I don't enjoy being beat by anyone younger than me (or anyone at all), but I realize that there are younger people than me who are generally better at things in life than me. It is what it is. I didn't realize that these "old" men needed to be catered to and babied because they can't handle being beat by younger men.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying though.

No babying and catering to, fair enough. How about about a competition which included the Canadian women's team and say the Italian men's team?

 

[gwh]

No babying and catering to, fair enough. How about about a competition which included the Canadian women's team and say the Italian men's team?

Somebody starts to catch on why all this gimmich crap will explode.

Wait until US men get booted from the tourney by the US kids in the tune of 0-6. That should go real well for NHL marketing department.

 

[Xokkeu]

Somebody starts to catch on why all this gimmich crap will explode.

Wait until US men get booted from the tourney by the US kids in the tune of 0-6. That should go real well for NHL marketing department.

We won't even make it there

 

[JackSlater]

I hate the asterisk, I've made it clear this interrupts our Golden Era. Since you've boycotted, it's hard to express the hockey we've witnessed. It's great hockey, it truly has been outstanding from the kids thus far, scoff at it or laugh all you want. That's your choice.

If we keep the Olympics with NHL participation, Team NA should stay (and frankly, it benefits Canada and lets our young players gain experience before they join the Mens team). If you want reduce it to "NHL players skating fast" and just being an "all star exhibition" it would be a disservice to how good the hockey Team NA is displaying. I'm sure you can appreciate the competitive difference between an all star game and this? You haven't watched though so it's hard to discuss.

The intensity and competitive play are obvious when you watch the games. I don't need to explain it, you've made the free choice to boycott as is your right. I've given this a fair chance, and I'm not disappointed. The hockey is excellent and I'm glad I've been able to witness this level of play.

I actually do understand the advantage that Hockey Canada and USA Hockey derive from this tournament. They essentially get a free opportunity to scout their future. I assume that is why Hockey Canada was more in favour of the format, as they likely assumed that Canada was loaded enough already. Likewise, I can see why USA was apparently not pleased with the format. While I've not seen them play and don't plan to, I admit that I will seek out a few opinions when it is over to hear about how specific players performed. There are many players on that team that I am hopeful for in the future.

As for the team returning, I don't understand the point. If nationality is not an essential part of the tournament, just use the youth gimmick to sell the all star game. People actually like and care about the World Cup. Essentially no one cares about the all star game. If you want to experiment with a youth all star team... the all star game is the place to do it. There is a whole weekend.

As for this being an exhibition, it is what it is. Canada played Sweden and Czechoslovakia in some absolutely brutal exhibitions in 1972.

OK they're not kids fine, put whatever label on them you like but my point stands - National teams deserve to be treated with respect. Asking them to play against a team made up of "leftovers" isn't classy, it puts them in a no win situation and it should not be done, period. If I was in charge (of Team Finland, not the world ) and I was invited to the World Cup 4 years from now with the same setup I would just say no thanks, Finland declines to take part. Get in touch if you ever host a tournament for National teams only, then our National team would be proud to play. And not just Finland, I think Russia, Sweden, everyone should do the same.

I really can't follow what stance you take from day to day, but I agree with this general premise. The imbalance in this tournament is a problem.

Last I heard, they will be revisiting the issue after the event is over to gauge how successful the idea was. Sadly, enough fans are gung-ho for it to return in 2020.

The only way the gimmicks idea is if Canada and (especially) USA loudly oppose having their best youngsters stolen from them ever again.

The amount of talent the US has lost to this gimmick team is just obscene.

I don't think that this subforum is a good representation of the average fan, either on the positive or negative side. Nothing that happens here is overly indicative of what the NHL does next time. The best any of us can do is hope for the leas desirable results this time. If USA is eliminated in the preliminary round, that's a nice start.

Re bolded... I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this. It is brutal that some folks are so eager to erase entire countries from being allowed to play meaningful hockey between each others because they want an all star type of thing.

By the third or fourth iteration of this thing (IF it will survive), it will be down to Team North America vs Team Rest of The World. Book it.

Why don't they save everyone time and make the All Star Game into a serious, short series of games (a best of 5 maybe?), instead of creating this abortion of a competition that is the World Cup? They already have it all nice and prepared, every year. Just make it a serious event instead of a clownish waste of time.

I wondered the same.

 

[torero]

I felt bad about Switzerland not being a nation worth enough to have its team on this tournament. (where i already feel the word "World cup of hockey" usurped).

When i see the style being played, i can tell you that the players from our national league (LNA) would look pretty good in a speedy environment with limited physicality.

Whatever ... let's see how team Europe does tonight ... Hop Schwitz and my Slovenian, Slovakian, French, German, Norwegian, Austrian and Danish brothers !! (pardon me if i forgot someone ... )

i feel more brother with a Black than with one of them
Please take this with humor ! Blacks tell you "brother" ... that is the reason ... and i have nothing against them or against my European "brothers" ... it was pure fun surfing on funny "European" concept and the habit Black people have to call you "Bro !" ... that was a real disclaimer for who intends to sue me for racism or xenophobia.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Somebody starts to catch on why all this gimmich crap will explode.

Wait until US men get booted from the tourney by the US kids in the tune of 0-6. That should go real well for NHL marketing department.

Catch on? I've said from the start that I don't think we'll see any gimmick teams next time. The NHL will get plenty of feedback and they'll realize that while they got away with it this time, they'd be wise not to press their luck next time. Maybe I just give them more credit than some others do.

 

[snipes]

As for this being an exhibition, it is what it is. Canada played Sweden and Czechoslovakia in some absolutely brutal exhibitions in 1972.

Yup those were nasty. Especially against SWE, prepared the guys for the battle that would ensue. Cashman ended up with what 50 stitches on the tongue?

As for keeping the format, if we have Olympics best-on-best, why not keep it? As you mentioned, it actually benefits us in the end. McDavid, Drouin, MacKinnon, Scheifele, Ekblad, Rielly, Parayko, Murray (both) are all getting excellent experience to prep them for the Mens team. Again, keeping the format presupposes best-on-best Olympics.

 

[Xokkeu]

Yup those were nasty. Especially against SWE, prepared the guys for the battle that would ensue. Cashman ended up with what 50 stitches on the tongue?

As for keeping the format, if we have Olympics best-on-best, why not keep it? As you mentioned, it actually benefits us in the end. McDavid, Drouin, MacKinnon, Scheifele, Ekblad, Rielly, Parayko, Murray (both) are all getting excellent experience to prep them for the Mens team. Again, keeping the format presupposes best-on-best Olympics.

McDavid would still be on the team in 2020, after likely playing in the Olympics in 2018 for Canada.

 

[snipes]

McDavid would still be on the team in 2020, after likely playing in the Olympics in 2018 for Canada.

I know, I prefer first the Big 6 option. But, I'm open minded to a similar format and enjoy seeing young North American players participating, I would be fine with it returning.

I don't mind the NHL getting creative, as long as we still have best-on-best nation vs. nation Olympic hockey.

 

[JackSlater]

As for keeping the format, if we have Olympics best-on-best, why not keep it? As you mentioned, it actually benefits us in the end. McDavid, Drouin, MacKinnon, Scheifele, Ekblad, Rielly, Parayko, Murray (both) are all getting excellent experience to prep them for the Mens team. Again, keeping the format presupposes best-on-best Olympics.

I would rather have the World Cup as something worth winning than as a scouting ground for the future. We already have a World Championship tournament that functions as little more than scouting grounds. It might be nice to have best on best hockey more than twice per decade.

 

[snipes]

I would rather have the World Cup as something worth winning than as a scouting ground for the future. We already have a World Championship tournament that functions as little more than scouting grounds. It might be nice to have best on best hockey more than twice per decade.

Yeah, every two years would be fun. I guess more properly, I wouldn't oppose a return with the similar format. Hopefully they just do a play in for the final two spots or go Big 6.

 

[Phil McKraken]

Kopitar is awesome.

 

[Ol' Jase]

Perfect example of the fan mindset vs a practical mindset. Interest in Finland is basically zeroed overnight. Interest in the USA is basically zeroed overnight. But hey, for the couple thousand, tens of thousands of us crazy hockey fans on HFBoards at least we got to see some fast hockey...

If the bolded is true, and this has "zeroed hockey interest" in those two nations, then they never had a legitimate foundation of interest to begin with.

 

[CanadienShark]

No babying and catering to, fair enough. How about about a competition which included the Canadian women's team and say the Italian men's team?

What? That's not an apt comparison.

 

[Little Psycho]

Kopitar is awesome.

"Uhhhhh anybody??"

 

[Theokritos]

If the bolded is true, and this has "zeroed hockey interest" in those two nations, then they never had a legitimate foundation of interest to begin with.

Logical consequence: future "World Cups" should be restricted to the only nation that actually has a "legitimate foundation": Canada East vs Canada West, a bi-annual best-of-seven series, the true "best on best" tournament. (Perhaps more intra-national than international, but the broadcasts can also be seen in the USA and in the Russian Far East, that should do, eh...?)