The World Cup of Hockey

It's hard to get up for the World Cup of Hockey the same way you would for the World Cup of Soccer or the World Baseball Classic or the Olympics or any other event held somewhat regularly.  This World Cup started 20 years ago, yet this is just the third one being held.  They went eight years between the first two, and Canada's been waiting 12 years to defend its title.

The World Cup of Hockey really seems to be held only when the NHL feels like it.  There's absolutely no regularity, which, again, makes the event a difficult one to follow.  The timing always seems way too convenient also.  The first one was in 1996, which was two years NHL players first played in the Olympics.  The next one was in 2004, and it ended just before Lockout 1.0 wiped out the entire season.  Now the NHL is thinking about NOT going to the Olympics in 2018.  Seems to me like the World Cup was revived as a potential replacement for the Olympics (provided they actually hold it somewhat regularly).

While the NHL's participation in the Olympics is a topic for another day, that doesn't change the fact the World Cup is here.  And we should be excited for it.  Because it's always fun to watch the best in the world compete for their country, especially since in sports like hockey that doesn't happen very often.

This year's World Cup is slightly different than the previous two.  The 1996 and 2004 editions were actually "World" Cups, with games taking place in Europe and North America.  This time, every game will be in Toronto as a part of the Maple Leafs' 100th anniversary celebration.  This change I like.  All of the games in one place makes it easier on everybody--the fans, the broadcasters and the players.  Eliminating the travel should result in a better quality tournament.  After all, in the Olympics there's no travel (except back and forth between arenas if they're using two), which probably explains why the Olympic tournaments are so good (of course, the Olympics taking place in the middle of the season has something to do with that also).

As for the teams, you've got the top six, along with Team Europe and Team North America.  I'm not overly keen on that idea.  I get why they want to have a Team Europe.  There are a number of good NHL players randomly scattered across the continent, and the NHLPA would rather see their own guys than a bunch of KHL players with a few NHLers mixed in.  Team North America is way too gimmicky, though.  It's the Canadian/American combined under-23 team.  Their worry was probably that guys like Johnny Gaudreau and Connor McDavid wouldn't make the regular Team USA and Team Canada, and they want to show off their young stars.  So, as a result, Team North America was born.

I think my biggest problem with Team Europe and Team North America is that Slovakia really got shafted here.  Slovakia is just as strong as the six nations that are participating.  They took part in the first two World Cups, and would probably put up a respectable showing if they were participating in this one.  My solution is to include Slovakia and hold a qualifying tournament for the eighth spot.  Or even increase it to 10 and have three qualifiers.

Anyway, those are plans for the 2026 World Cup of Hockey (just guessing the next time they'll actually hold the tournament based on the regularity of previous editions).  Right now, it's time for the 2016 tournament.  And the home team, which has won the last two Olympic gold medals (and three of the last four), is the overwhelming favourites.  As they should be.

But who plays Canada in the finals?  The smart money's on either Sweden or Finland.  Sweden won the silver in Sochi and has the only Olympic gold that Canada hasn't won this millennium.  It also isn't lost on me that most of the best players in the NHL that aren't Canadian are from Sweden.  Throw in Henrik Lundqvist, and you can see why I'm high on the Swedes.  As we've seen, a hot goalie can carry you, especially in a short tournament like this one.

Finland, meanwhile, looks poised for a breakout.  They're one of the most consistent teams in these major international tournaments, yet they've never taken the big prize.  I don't think they will here, either, but they're definitely a threat to be in the finals.  Of course, they'll have to knock off Russia just to get to the semifinals.  The Russians have Alex Ovechkin and are determined to make up for the disaster that was their hosting turn in Sochi.  Team North America is in for a struggle against those three.

Don't think Sweden, Finland and Russia weren't all placed together intentionally.  That way, they were able to set up both a guaranteed Canada-USA game, as well as making the Americans' road to the semifinals much easier.  Team Europe is going to be better than some people might think, though.  I can see them pulling off a surprise.  They won't advance, but they'll give all three teams in Group A a game.  That second spot behind Canada comes down to the United States and the Czech Republic (which evidently wants to be known as "Czechia" now; for some reason, I don't see that catching on).  But with Jonathan Quick in goal and a legion of American fans in attendance, I expect Team USA to win that game and advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, I have Sweden knocking off the USA and Canada beating Finland.  And, in a rematch of the 2014 Olympic gold medal game, the Canadians win again, defending their World Cup title from 12 years ago.