World Cup Boycott

[Urbanskog]

Playing the anthem every single game is a IIHF thing.

You think playing the anthem in international games is odd although the anthem(s) is/are played prior to every club-level game in North American leagues?

 

[jekoh]

Playing the anthem every single game is a IIHF thing.

Canada/USA anthem before every game thats it

Wait, are you saying they should play the "Canada/USA anthem" before a game between, say, Sweden and Russia?

 

[Xokkeu]

Wait, are you saying they should play the "Canada/USA anthem" before a game between, say, Sweden and Russia?

Traditionally they would yes

 

[Jopo]

Lol. That's about "international" with this gala...

After reading all arguments against the concept (and very few for it), I think this kind blunder in planning would be possible only by NHL.

Shameful indeed. Individual international players should be those ones who decline and object this shameful disagrace for their countries, their flags, and national identities. If not for nothing else then for ignoring take unnecessary risks to get injured in this kind fiasco.

And why? Exactly for defending real international hockey against NHL's nationalism.

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

Nearly 1/3 Canadians tuned into the World Championship
Finland had over 60% of the country tune into the final.
Russia had nearly 65 million citizens tune into the World Championship tournament.

Let's see how many thousands this cash grab gets across this World.

I'm sure the World Juniors in December/January will attract more attention and viewership in Canada then this cashgrab.

Canadians know and understand what REAL MEANINGFUL Hockey is from what I gather.

buttman should go walk down the streets of Moscow and ask Russians himself and see how insignificant he and his tournament is across the Hockey World.

NO

ONE

CARES

 

[Xokkeu]

Nearly 1/3 Canadians tuned into the World Championship
Finland had over 60% of the country tune into the final.
Russia had nearly 65 million citizens tune into the World Championship tournament.

Let's see how many thousands this cash grab gets across this World.

I'm sure the World Juniors in December/January will attract more attention and viewership in Canada then this cashgrab.

Canadians know and understand what REAL MEANINGFUL Hockey is from what I gather.

buttman should go walk down the streets of Moscow and ask Russians himself and see how insignificant he and his tournament is across the Hockey World.

NO

ONE

CARES

If I was Canadian I'd be enjoying the last few days of summer on a lake instead of watching this. But that's just me.

Europe numbers will be awful because it's going to be on at 2am-4am

 

[JackSlater]

Nearly 1/3 Canadians tuned into the World Championship
Finland had over 60% of the country tune into the final.
Russia had nearly 65 million citizens tune into the World Championship tournament.

Let's see how many thousands this cash grab gets across this World.

I'm sure the World Juniors in December/January will attract more attention and viewership in Canada then this cashgrab.

Canadians know and understand what REAL MEANINGFUL Hockey is from what I gather.

buttman should go walk down the streets of Moscow and ask Russians himself and see how insignificant he and his tournament is across the Hockey World.

NO

ONE

CARES

Far more Canadians will watch this joke tournament than watched the World Championships. The Canadian audience for the World Championships remains small. Still a joke tournament though.

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

Far more Canadians will watch this joke tournament than watched the World Championships. The Canadian audience for the World Championships remains small. Still a joke tournament though.

It won't come close to World Junior numbers.

15 million tune in when Canada is in the final.

People realize and know this tournament is meaningless. I expect very very, very low numbers. Especially considering the non-Hockey fan Canadian won't even bother to care like they do during the Olympics when everyone does. And there's a growing number of those in this country nowadays.

 

[JackSlater]

It won't come close to World Junior numbers.

15 million tune in when Canada is in the final.

People realize and know this tournament is meaningless. I expect very very, very low numbers. Especially considering the non-Hockey fan Canadian won't even bother to care like they do during the Olympics when everyone does. And there's a growing number of those in this country nowadays.

It likely won't match the WJC, but viewership will be high. No other hockey competition on TV, great players, convenient game times. Most people do realize how idiotic the gimmicks are, but it's incredibly easy to sell hockey in Canada.

 

[Macman]

It won't come close to World Junior numbers.

15 million tune in when Canada is in the final.

Not even close.

http://o.canada.com/news/7-1-million-canadians-watched-the-canada-russia-gold-medal-game

 

[JoeyBeans]

You think playing the anthem in international games is odd although the anthem(s) is/are played prior to every club-level game in North American leagues?

Most clubs will be done with it soon. Its 2016.

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

Not even close.

http://o.canada.com/news/7-1-million-canadians-watched-the-canada-russia-gold-medal-game

Very close. 13.4 million tuned in. As funny as it may sound, after the Olympics, the World Juniors is the biggest event in Canada.

http://www.tsn.ca/tsn-rds-draw-record-7-1-million-viewers-to-world-junior-gold-medal-game-1.176379

 

[Tuff Gong]

I shake my head at this gimmick of a tournament. Team Rest of Europe, and Team North American All Stars. How can anyone take this seriously?

 

[Theokritos]

Team North American All Stars.

Team North American Young Stars, actually. Or, if you prefer, All Starlets.

 

[Hanji]

An international event does not need the IIHF to run it. The frustrating thing is that this tournament has been run successfully in the past, with the NHL in charge. They messed up in pretty much the most basic way. An "international tournament" must have two things: 1. A tournament with matches 2. Those matches to be contested between national teams. This event is missing number 2, and thus is a failure before it even begins.

These days an international event does need to be run by the iihf. I recall years ago Czech posters claiming their federation admitted the NHL attempted to interfere with their 2004 world cup roster selection, to get the most NHLrs to play as possible. Perhaps some of the Czechs can verify this. The NHL cannot be trusted in these situations.

 

[JackSlater]

These days an international event does need to be run by the iihf. I recall years ago Czech posters claiming their federation admitted the NHL attempted to interfere with their 2004 world cup roster selection, to get the most NHLrs to play as possible. Perhaps some of the Czechs can verify this. The NHL cannot be trusted in these situations.

Whether the NHL attempted (attempts don't bother me nearly as much as actual interference, like this tournament) to interfere or not, that doesn't mean that the IIHF is required to run anything. It just means that the NHL, or some other entity, should do a good job.

 

[Jopo]

Everything have it's cost, but pure commercial way doesn't and cannot ever work when we speak about hockey in the international scenes, that are under continuous evolution. It's oo-key if NHL tycoons want their product, but it's not oo-key if they think they can just say how International concepts of tournaments there after will go. No ****ing way.

They forget the most important thing, the spirit of hockey, something that cannot be produced. It cannot be translated to NHL format straightforwardly. It cannot be paid by dollars. Their circus model for 'home audiences' simply can't represent the world of hockey as a whole.

Why those paid brains must obey their lords to a degree of stubidity?

Market it as it is, not best-on-best international tournament, just "NHL Stars on Ice" a'la expanded preseason All stars, in which all stars are not welcomed due gimmick the format itself.

They are incapable to even see through their own parody, despite their in-built cynicism.

 

[Jablkon]

Whether the NHL attempted (attempts don't bother me nearly as much as actual interference, like this tournament) to interfere or not, that doesn't mean that the IIHF is required to run anything. It just means that the NHL, or some other entity, should do a good job.

Tehy should be neutral. Let this on agents. Btw. there is an interview with our former NT coach Hadamcik who explained why he did not take Hudler to Sochi. He said he was considering him a lot but his agent Petr Svoboda bother him so often even allegedly menaced him with negative media campaign that he finally decided no take him.....Interesting inside.

Btw there are more suspicious things, like group settings etc. But it will be decided on ice and I dont belong to people who don't trust to NA referees so it should be OK - as an extraordinary event. But when we speak about replacing OG - these tendences shouldn't be there imo.

 

[JackSlater]

Tehy should be neutral. Let this on agents. Btw. there is an interview with our former NT coach Hadamcik who explained why he did not take Hudler to Sochi. He said he was considering him a lot but his agent Petr Svoboda bother him so often even allegedly menaced him with negative media campaign that he finally decided no take him.....Interesting inside.

Btw there are more suspicious things, like group settings etc. But it will be decided on ice and I dont belong to people who don't trust to NA referees so it should be OK - as an extraordinary event. But when we speak about replacing OG - these tendences shouldn't be there imo.

The NHL should be neutral. The NHL is doing a horrible job with this tournament, no question. My point what that there isn't an inherent need for the IIHF to be the organizer of a given tournament.

 

[Xokkeu]

The NHL should be neutral. The NHL is doing a horrible job with this tournament, no question. My point what that there isn't an inherent need for the IIHF to be the organizer of a given tournament.

The problem to me is the NHL is always going to be heavily biased towards its interests and so it's questionable if they'd ever do a good job.

 

[JackSlater]

The problem to me is the NHL is always going to be heavily biased towards its interests and so it's questionable if they'd ever do a good job.

The NHL has done a good job before. This 2016 edition is the only issue. Ideally the NHL wouldn't be the sole arbiter of what happens, but once again the point is only that the IIHF is not needed as organizer in order for a tournament to be run properly.

 

[Urbanskog]

The NHL has done a good job before. This 2016 edition is the only issue. Ideally the NHL wouldn't be the sole arbiter of what happens, but once again the point is only that the IIHF is not needed as organizer in order for a tournament to be run properly.

The NHL's tournament has never been run properly. It is always held in Canada, only a handful of countries get to participate and the ones that do are pressured to select players which are the most recognizable to the NHL cattle.

 

[tade]

The NHL's tournament has never been run properly. It is always held in Canada, only a handful of countries get to participate and the ones that do are pressured to select players which are the most recognizable to the NHL cattle.

Well, after all, it is their own tournament, they are not IIHF. They don't act like IIHF. I mean, who can determine whether it is run properly or not? They have their own standards. As long as the national teams are involved and not gimmick teams, then all is fine and tournament may be viewed as the international tournament involving the best countries and best players, and what's more important, then it will have relevance.

 

[JackSlater]

The NHL's tournament has never been run properly. It is always held in Canada, only a handful of countries get to participate and the ones that do are pressured to select players which are the most recognizable to the NHL cattle.

It's been fine until now, though not always ideal. The tournament has taken place in many countries other than Canada, but ideally it could be centralized outside of North America on alternating editions. Perhaps the NHL can finally move the tournament to a new continent after roughly 70 years, like the IIHF did with its own main tournament. The handful of countries is fine, as long as they are countries. Adding token bottom feeders isn't a necessity for an international tournament. One rumoured instance of "pressure" (but not tampering) is also not ideal, but until it is proven that the NHL has actually interfered in player selection (like the 2016 tournament) at each of the tournaments, then your claim that the tournament has always been run poorly is pretty empty.

Let none of this be misinterpreted as any sort of defence of the idiocy taking place in 2016.

 

[Lempo]

One rumoured instance of "pressure" (but not tampering) is also not ideal, but until it is proven that the NHL has actually interfered in player selection (like the 2016 tournament) at each of the tournaments, then your claim that the tournament has always been run poorly is pretty empty.

Well, technically not player selections (or maybe perhaps they are), but the management section of Team Finland does read like who's who on former Finnish NHL players. I have no idea how it has come to be, and Jere Lehtinen of course does have a viable excuse for his part, but considering that usually there are completely other guys in those roles for Finland in international circles I feel a question or two arising. Someone must have been taking some sort of initiative for that to happen.

Because to be blatantly honest, I'm not quite so sure Mikko Koivu & co exactly need these people and their experience from tourneys like this to guide them into the finesses of the North American hockey as the official marketing talk has it.

"Lehtinen headlines Finnish World Cup staff
Group also features Numminen, Selanne, Koivu and Timonen"
https://www.nhl.com/news/jere-lehtinen-headlines-finnish-2016-world-cup-staff/c-278617460