What intensity do you expect the players to play the 4 Nations Tournament?

[bossram]

players are prideful especially wearing their national jersey. I expect maybe not playoff level but more than a normal regular season game.

This is where I expect the level of play to be too.

These guys are competitive. They wanted to be selected to their national teams. They're going to try. Look at Crosby - he was doing everything he can to play.

People voting all-star or preseason calibre are out to lunch.

There's really some of you that think these guys will be giving all star/preseason level efforts? They are putting on a national team jersey on an international stage, not a Mastercard Metropolitan Division eyesore at Gary's Sponsored Sunday Skatearound.

If you can afford it, please buy yourself a clue

A lot of these people are gonna be eating a lot of crow when they see the level of play.

Well probably not. Most likely they'll just retcon what they said and pretend they were cheering for this tournament all along.

 

[bossram]

People voting anything other than playoff level haven’t been around in previous World cups, Canada cups or best on best Olympics. I remember the battle between Kasparitis and I think it was Lindros in the 1996 WC, Crosbys OT goal celebration in the 2010 Olympics etc etc however last World cup in 2016 included two gimmick teams which took away a bit of that. But there’s nothing like that this time. The 4 best eligible nations in the world in a best on best battle in the most classical a prestigious hockey towns. The premiere for Canada will be against Sweden in Montreal… expect playoff level intensity folks…

Yep. 100%.

Even with the WCoH, I get that it was 9 years ago, and people decried that as a "gimmicky" event, but the quality of play at that tournament was actually very high. The team NA vs. SWE game was some of the fastest paced hockey anyone has ever seen.

This tournament is being taken seriously by the players. That anyone thinks it'll be at an-star game calibre intensity is laughable.

 

[Offtheboard412]

Yep. 100%.

Even with the WCoH, I get that it was 9 years ago, and people decried that as a "gimmicky" event, but the quality of play at that tournament was actually very high. The team NA vs. SWE game was some of the fastest paced hockey anyone has ever seen.

This tournament is being taken seriously by the players. That anyone thinks it'll be at an-star game calibre intensity is laughable.

I remember before that tournament a lot of people hated the made up teams and were calling Team North America a gimmick team (which they were, to be fair) but as soon as they saw how they played it quickly turned to, "holy shit this team is awesome!".

 

[koyvoo]

There were people here who said all star game level. Lol.

First game has been quite competitive. Not playoff level intense, but they’re playing.

 

[Albatros]

There were people here who said all star game level. Lol.

First game has been quite competitive. Not playoff level intense, but they’re playing.

That says more about regular season NHL games these days. It was like the Euro Hockey Tour with better players.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

There were people here who said all star game level. Lol.

First game has been quite competitive. Not playoff level intense, but they’re playing.

Yea I'd say it was somewhere between a regular season and playoff game. Enjoyed it a lot. Hope the US Finland game is as good.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

There were people here who said all star game level. Lol.

First game has been quite competitive. Not playoff level intense, but they’re playing.

People that don't understand tribalism thought it would look like an all star game.

 

[Ben White]

That says more about regular season NHL games these days. It was like the Euro Hockey Tour with better players.

No, this game was at the level of a best on best Olympic game. It was a big game. Great atmosphere, and clearly meant a lot to the players. The Stanley cup playoffs is a different thing because they fight for that all a year, with the same group and it’s a long journey. So it means more once they reach the playoffs. Doesn’t mean that it’s that much more prestigious than a big best on best international game, it’s just difference things.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

That was a playoff level game for sure. The star players had way more physicality than they typically exert.

Remember, this is some younger players playing on the same team with their idol. You think Mack isnt bringing intensity with his best bud sid?

 

[lokomotiv15]

I could have quoted a dozen posts on the first page that aged poorly about low intensity, all-star game, pre-season levels of effort.

These are competitive NHL players, playing in the first (or at least closest to) best-on-best in 9 years for their countries in two phenomenal hockey cities with great fans in Boston and Montreal.

If you thought at least Canada (and probably, definitely the US and Finns, too) wasn't going to bring what they did last night, you're probably a doom-and-gloom, everything sucks, wiener.

I don't think Sweden maybe expected quite that from the Canadians, but they figured out quick and realized they had to play and play hard to not get blown out of the building.

 

[Golden_Jet]

I'm going with a preseason intensity.
Nobody wants to get hurt in a relatively nothing tournament, and nobody is going to go out there trying to injure anyone throwing hits while teams are about to start playoff pushes.
So while I expect some bumping, I don't expect anything even close to a regular season game. It's basically a 2 week long glorified all-star weekend.

lol, here’s the bump you requested,
So many posters eating crow today.