There has to be a tradeoff for the IIHF to make a World Cup mandatory. I realize the NHL/NHLPA could go it alone, but since there is no Cold War anymore, there isn't any specific incentive for any team besides Canada and the US to participate. The only other solution is to require the NHL to release all players who are invited to go for the World Championship. I'd rather lose a U20 for a couple weeks in December/January than during the playoffs.
Besides the Canadian Hockey League has this issue too. Their seasons continue during the World Juniors and have the added issue of the U17 World Hockey Challenge taking players too. If I remember right one WHL team a couple years ago lost 8 players including their starting goalie. Honestly, there are very few players who are in the NHL that are World Junior eligible and are wanted by their respective countries. Perhaps only rookies and minor leaguers would fall into this, thus saving the Oilers from loosing players for two or three years in a row. There could also be a rule that if your team has multiple players that are eligible they can withhold one.
Ultimately, for the World Cup to work, it needs the IIHF on board, so there has to be some concession in return to the IIHF by the NHL. The IIHF could threaten to declare the NHL (and its respective minor leagues) rebel leagues, if it wanted to play hardball. If they did that, it would mean anyone who plays one second in any of these leagues would be ineligible to play in any IIHF sanctioned league or tournament. By doing so, the flow of Europeans into the NHL would end and it would likely see at least a few top Canadian and American prospects going to Europe instead of the NHL. This would also see the ECHL and Central Leagues disappear, as the majority of their players bounce between a year there and a year in Europe. The IIHF holds considerable power that if it decided to exert it against the NHL, it could damage the league immensely. Food for thought before the NHL decides to head down the road to a World Cup.
