Seems like a wishful thinking more than a good argument. I mean, how does "NHL greatness" explain Russia's 20-0 trashing of France, Austria and Belarus, or Finland's destruction of Latvia 8-1. Finland and espescially Russia are mostly comprised of european-based players.
Like I said, the difference between the good and the not so good nations is much larger in hockey than it is in soccer for example. Make it a top 8 tournament again and there will be hardly any 8-1 destructions any more.