Which 8 countries should have a spot in a "real" world cup?
- Thread starter Eye of Ra
- Start date
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Chet Manley
Registered User
Eight teams seems like enough for a World Cup. Top five from the previous World Cup and three from a qualifying tournament the summer before.
swissdude
Registered User
- May 18, 2019
- 482
- 476
yes they did.2017 only gets 25% 2018 50% check... IIHF World Ranking - Wikipediasweden won gold 2017 and 2018 and yet germany have done better than sweden?
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
germany was not better than sweden in wc 2017, 2018 and 2019. theye just been better 1 time which was 2021 wc. so the rankings still makes no sense
If we would just have a top-8, I would give Germany and Switzerland the two last spots. But I think there is room for at least 12 teams in a World Cup and still have the games being somewhat competitive:
Canada
Czechia
Finland
Russia
Sweden
US
Germany
Switzerland
Slovakia
Denmark
Latvia
One of:
Norway
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Austria
Slovenia
France
Canada
Czechia
Finland
Russia
Sweden
US
Germany
Switzerland
Slovakia
Denmark
Latvia
One of:
Norway
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Austria
Slovenia
France
Stewie Griffin
What the deuce
WarriorofTime
Registered User
- Jul 3, 2010
- 33,306
- 23,634
Slovakia is still in the mix with Germany and Switzerland, even though they have fallen off. Germany and Switzerland probably have the edge but there's not a big enough gap to suggest it is necessarily the new normal especially as Slovakia consistently avoids relegation and makes it to the quarterfinals at the Junior tournament every year... and just in terms of raw number of NHL players they are about equal (Germany - 9, Slovakia - 10, Denmark - 12 from the most recent season).
This World Ranking is a big joke! The percentage rule is ridiculous. In last 5 Years Sweden was clear better than Germany. Medals must to ve much more weight in this rules.
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
ah ok, still, sweden better in 3 tournament, and germany better in 2 tournaments. winning 2 golds is better than anything germany done. so its still makes no sense that germany is ranked above sweden..
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
In some years Slovakia will be back with the big boys. They are spitting out top prospects.
The rankings are messed up because of this years crazy tournament. It´ll be totally different after next season when theres (probably) the best of best-olympics and wch(with not so best of best).
DuckyGirard
Registered User
- May 23, 2021
- 629
- 344
Team Quebec is obvious but for whatever reason people can't accept a simple idea.
Distinct culture with talent.
It'd be hugely popular but for whatever reason people get upset by the idea that it could be popular.
Distinct culture with talent.
It'd be hugely popular but for whatever reason people get upset by the idea that it could be popular.
No need for 8 teams in a World Cup. Just do it with the Big Six, just like in the good old Canada Cup days. Round-robin, semifinals and three game-finals.
Name Nameless
Don't go more than 10 seconds back on challenges
- Apr 12, 2017
- 6,571
- 3,044
Team Quebec, no way. No precedent for it and there wouldn't be much of an appetite. Plus they wouldn't even be that good nowadays. Probably outside the top 5 hanging out with the Czechs.
Puck Dogg
Puck life
- Mar 13, 2006
- 1,812
- 497
For the sake of simplicity the World Cup teams should be based on latest IIHF's world ranking. Sure, it has it's flaws but at the moment the top eight is big six + Germany and Switzerland.
Outside the eight only Slovakia is strong candidate but in international tournaments Germany has done better in recent years, highlight being silver medal in last winter olympics.
Both Slovakia and Germany have roughly same amount of NHL regulars but Draisaitl gives the advantage to the Germans.
Outside the eight only Slovakia is strong candidate but in international tournaments Germany has done better in recent years, highlight being silver medal in last winter olympics.
Both Slovakia and Germany have roughly same amount of NHL regulars but Draisaitl gives the advantage to the Germans.
DuckyGirard
Registered User
- May 23, 2021
- 629
- 344
But not actually. Which is why this is so absurd.
No one in Quebec would care, and non hockey fans wouldn't care.
It's a handful of people who go over the top for what would be a great tournament.
DuckyGirard
Registered User
- May 23, 2021
- 629
- 344
No precedent? We had team north america in the last cup.
This isn't rocket science. Quebec is a distinct part of the country.
One of the main gripe of many is that there is no longer a team for french speakers. Even montreal is almost entirely anglophone.
That sounds more like a challenge than anything else.
Honestly I think you'd be more upset with it being popular than anything else.
That looks reliable. Or do anyone think Germany is better than Sweden? And what relevance does that ranking have when it could be based on the results of some games with the C list-squads.
Ivo
Registered User
I have an idea. Take the top 6 teams. Then create one team from the remaining countries and call it Team Europe or something. And to make it 8, form another team from the best young Canadian and US players. Boom, eight teams right there.
Or does that sound too far fetched and weird? You will never know, unless you try!
Or does that sound too far fetched and weird? You will never know, unless you try!
Ajax84
Registered User
- May 23, 2016
- 50
- 26
If you want to have a 8-nation invitational World Cup then the top-6 are obvious, plus Germany and Switzerland. But the qualitative difference between Slovakia and GER/CHE is almost negligible, so it'd be wrong to auto-exclude them.
In an ideal world, there would be annual best-on-best Skoda Cups with 12 or 16 teams every non-Olympic year. The Olympics should be 16 teams, single elimination format (round of 16 -> round of 8 -> round of 4 -> Finals); the tournament too compressed as is.
To make group stages more meaningful, have the #1 auto-advance, then have the #2 teams play a pre-quarterfinal vs the #3 teams. Best-ranked #2 gets to choose their opponent among the 3's, then the 2nd best, and so on. Maybe give the additional advantage to the #2 teams that these matches have no overtime, and a tie game is a victory to the higher seeded team.
Having a 12 or 16 team format would go a good ways towards developing hockey in current tier-2/3 countries, all of which are at least good enough to avoid double-digit blowouts against even the best opposition.
The biggest obstacle is of course the NHL, along with their unnecessarily long 82-game regular season and best-of-7 (instead of b/o-5) playoffs. (To say nothing of the NHL regular season being meaningless, and the playoff format being terrible... different topic).
IIHF rankings are useless.
In an ideal world, there would be annual best-on-best Skoda Cups with 12 or 16 teams every non-Olympic year. The Olympics should be 16 teams, single elimination format (round of 16 -> round of 8 -> round of 4 -> Finals); the tournament too compressed as is.
To make group stages more meaningful, have the #1 auto-advance, then have the #2 teams play a pre-quarterfinal vs the #3 teams. Best-ranked #2 gets to choose their opponent among the 3's, then the 2nd best, and so on. Maybe give the additional advantage to the #2 teams that these matches have no overtime, and a tie game is a victory to the higher seeded team.
Having a 12 or 16 team format would go a good ways towards developing hockey in current tier-2/3 countries, all of which are at least good enough to avoid double-digit blowouts against even the best opposition.
The biggest obstacle is of course the NHL, along with their unnecessarily long 82-game regular season and best-of-7 (instead of b/o-5) playoffs. (To say nothing of the NHL regular season being meaningless, and the playoff format being terrible... different topic).
I'd love to see a Quebec team in international tournaments. Scotland and Wales already do it in rugby (interestingly, North Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have a united national rugby team), and Scotland, Wales, and N. Ireland compete independently in soccer, so it's not as if there isn't precedent. A 3rd North American team would also be nice, and perhaps make North Americans less indifferent to international competition. And Canada has plenty depth to replace Quebecois players and still easily be the #1 contender. Despite some objections, it'd still be a very competitive roster, and the top-6 would become a top-7.
IIHF rankings are useless.
WarriorofTime
Registered User
- Jul 3, 2010
- 33,306
- 23,634
Uh, it's not popular because Quebec isn't a country.
