Chiarelli will GM the Young Stars (U23) team at the 2016 World Cup

[doulos]

Come on now, a 15-1 smashing of Slovenia is way more fun than watching two excellent teas player one another!

 

[McGoMcD]

Come on now, a 15-1 smashing of Slovenia is way more fun than watching two excellent teas player one another!

More entertaining but more meaningless as well. The All Star game should be amazing, yet most people think it is boring. Why? honestly answer why the All Star game sucks and you will understand why this tournament will suck.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

More entertaining but more meaningless as well. The All Star game should be amazing, yet most people think it is boring. Why? honestly answer why the All Star game sucks and you will understand why this tournament will suck.

The All-Star game sucks because nobody cares about the result, not even the fans.

With a tournament like this, the players and fans will actually give a damn.

 

[NHLFAN82]

More entertaining but more meaningless as well. The All Star game should be amazing, yet most people think it is boring. Why? honestly answer why the All Star game sucks and you will understand why this tournament will suck.

What did you think of the 2004 WC? Was it on the same level as an all-star game for you?

 

[McGoMcD]

The All-Star game sucks because nobody cares about the result, not even the fans.

With a tournament like this, the players and fans will actually give a damn.

So 23 year olds will care more than all those form the Western Conference. Why exactly?

 

[NHLFAN82]

So 23 year olds will care more than all those form the Western Conference. Why exactly?

So you think all of the games are going to be like the all-star game?

 

[McGoMcD]

So you think all of the games are going to be like the all-star game?

No, thats the point. the country vs country ones won't be

 

[GMofOilers]

So 23 year olds will care more than all those form the Western Conference. Why exactly?

If they dont care they will decline to play, really that simple.

 

[NHLFAN82]

No, thats the point. the country vs country ones won't be

Ok so we concede that the European and NA all star team games suck because the players don't try. For the sake of argument we will give you that. From an entertainment perspective, how is that any different than watching Canada vs. Austria? Both games will be boring. At least there is a chance that the Canada va. European All stars will be interesting.

 

[Samus44]

Fine, I will half agree with you. You are ignoring there will be other European Teams, so team Europe isn't team Europe, its team whats left. But lets get the real point, what are the team 23 and under representing. The shared history of all those 23 and under?

The NHL and the future. It's a bit stupid IMO too. Team Canada 2/Team NA (no age restriction) made more sense if they were going to do something like that IMO. The reality is something like 55% of the league is Canadian so it's always been kind of waste of talent for a best on best format and another team to represent that portion of the league given it's the NHL's tourney does make sense in some way. I think it'll be a big mistake to make pro players ineligible for their nation based on age if they go that route, but i don't mind the addition of more elite talent to the format.

The thing is this isn't the Olympics or the World Championships, the World Cup isn't an IIHF thing being governed by the international bodies of hockey and following an already established format for international hockey, it isn't a commonly recognized event amongst nations. The World Cup is a way for the NHL to leverage their best players and talent for the truest version of best on best hockey we can get. It's not like amalgamating the rest of Europe is disenfranchising a group of rabid and loyal fans, if anything it's giving the few there are something to really cheer for. They'll still have the World Championships. For me the World Cup is at this point a bonus, it isn't the Olympics but rather another opportunity for the top nations/players to compete best on best. This tournament only exists to pit the best against the best it's not steeped in a tradition of deciding national pride.

At the end of the day all the teams that could win are still just that and will be facing fierce competition from one another to be the worlds best group of players. With these two teams the NHL is managing to include some of the leagues best players who would for various reasons be excluded from previous international tournaments, and most of the added talent are players that are better than possibly half to 80% of the competitiors under a traditional format (e.g. Crosby in '06, Hall in '14, Kopitar, Josi, Vanek). So in summary i think Team Europe increases the amount of national representation, and i think the Under 23 team is kinda dumb but gives players who wouldn't get a chance to usually play an opportunity to shine and highlight the growth of the game while utilizing the incredible NA depth. I still expect Team Canada to do us proud and i'm just happy to get the see more top notch hockey while doing so.

 

[rboomercat90]

It isn't that competitive. Some teams have no chance of winning the World Cup.

I get it though, Hockey has less competitive teams, but still, world cups have to be world cups.

t

You're right it isn't that competitive. 32 teams compete and realistically only 5 or 6 at best have a legitimate chance to in. The rest are playing for National pride. Take away the national pride angle and what you have left is a glorified all-star game. Last I checked, nobody gave a damn about the all-star game. The fans don't care about it and the players play it at half speed.

 

[McGoMcD]

t

You're right it isn't that competitive. 32 teams compete and realistically only 5 or 6 at best have a legitimate chance to in. The rest are playing for National pride. Take away the national pride angle and what you have left is a glorified all-star game. Last I checked, nobody gave a damn about the all-star game. The fans don't care about it and the players play it at half speed.

Exactly. It will be a fun gimmik that will end up like a big all star game that no one cares about. Then you will see players try twice as hard during the Olympics. The Olympics will be all players care about and Bettman will be left holding the bag on a failed experiment.

 

[McGoMcD]

The NHL and the future. It's a bit stupid IMO too. Team Canada 2/Team NA (no age restriction) made more sense if they were going to do something like that IMO. The reality is something like 55% of the league is Canadian so it's always been kind of waste of talent for a best on best format and another team to represent that portion of the league given it's the NHL's tourney does make sense in some way. I think it'll be a big mistake to make pro players ineligible for their nation based on age if they go that route, but i don't mind the addition of more elite talent to the format.

The thing is this isn't the Olympics or the World Championships, the World Cup isn't an IIHF thing being governed by the international bodies of hockey and following an already established format for international hockey, it isn't a commonly recognized event amongst nations. The World Cup is a way for the NHL to leverage their best players and talent for the truest version of best on best hockey we can get. It's not like amalgamating the rest of Europe is disenfranchising a group of rabid and loyal fans, if anything it's giving the few there are something to really cheer for. They'll still have the World Championships. For me the World Cup is at this point a bonus, it isn't the Olympics but rather another opportunity for the top nations/players to compete best on best. This tournament only exists to pit the best against the best it's not steeped in a tradition of deciding national pride.

At the end of the day all the teams that could win are still just that and will be facing fierce competition from one another to be the worlds best group of players. With these two teams the NHL is managing to include some of the leagues best players who would for various reasons be excluded from previous international tournaments, and most of the added talent are players that are better than possibly half to 80% of the competitiors under a traditional format (e.g. Crosby in '06, Hall in '14, Kopitar, Josi, Vanek). So in summary i think Team Europe increases the amount of national representation, and i think the Under 23 team is kinda dumb but gives players who wouldn't get a chance to usually play an opportunity to shine and highlight the growth of the game while utilizing the incredible NA depth. I still expect Team Canada to do us proud and i'm just happy to get the see more top notch hockey while doing so.

Experimenting is ok, I guess. Just so obvious that nothing really gets people to watch more than nation vs nation. This will fail, it is Betman's attempt to replace the Olympics with a better version. In the end hockey fans will give a thumbs down to the glorified all star game.

 

[McThome]

The U23 thing is what is really stupid. Preventing two countries from picking their best teams makes the event meaningless and not best on best.

Slovakia is plenty good enough to compete on its own right. Frankly, A good argument could be made that Slovakia deserves to be there as much or more than the Czechs.

Slovakia should have a team and then the extra team to balance the pools could be a team EU type where you pick from all those countries not yet represented (Germany, Swiss, Slovenia, etc) and a person could field a half decent team.

 

[sepHF]

Why would any players even care about this tournament? It's essentially a glorified all star game.

Why would team "Euro Allstars" even want to try and risk injury? They arent even competing for their country.

Come on now, a 15-1 smashing of Slovenia is way more fun than watching two excellent teas player one another!

The Canada vs Latvia game in the last Olympics was one of the best games I have ever seen. and I'm not kidding.

The All-Star game sucks because nobody cares about the result, not even the fans.

With a tournament like this, the players and fans will actually give a damn.

Why would the players care?

I guess Canadian and American players maybe, but why will European players care? Their home countries wont give a crap about this tournament and they will be playing on an "allstar" team.

 

[djdub]

Experimenting is ok, I guess. Just so obvious that nothing really gets people to watch more than nation vs nation. This will fail, it is Betman's attempt to replace the Olympics with a better version. In the end hockey fans will give a thumbs down to the glorified all star game.

Do you honestly believe Betman is the sole person involved in making this decision? Well, he's not. It's evident your just one of those fans who has a hard on for hating on him. The guys done great things for hockey. Don't pretend he's some guy just trying to ruin hockey for us all.

You also realize the PA, the Players, voted yes for this tournament configuration?

Sure it's different, but why not give it a shot before you label it "another all star game" that no players will try in? Your assumptions and jumping to conclusions is a little out of control and might i say even a tad bit childish.

I'm all for hating on it if it sucks. But I think that will be evident and change will be made for the next one. But you know, we would need to see it play out before we can do that. Unless, of course, you've got a crystal ball.

I'm excited for it. Trying new things is good for the NHL. I don't think they are bringing in new fans when Canada wins out in its group with a goal differential of +35. Who's going to watch that?

 

[Replacement*]

Do you honestly believe Betman is the sole person involved in making this decision? Well, he's not. It's evident your just one of those fans who has a hard on for hating on him. The guys done great things for hockey. Don't pretend he's some guy just trying to ruin hockey for us all.

You also realize the PA, the Players, voted yes for this tournament configuration?

Sure it's different, but why not give it a shot before you label it "another all star game" that no players will try in? Your assumptions and jumping to conclusions is a little out of control and might i say even a tad bit childish.

I'm all for hating on it if it sucks. But I think that will be evident and change will be made for the next one. But you know, we would need to see it play out before we can do that. Unless, of course, you've got a crystal ball.

I'm excited for it. Trying new things is good for the NHL. I don't think they are bringing in new fans when Canada wins out in its group with a goal differential of +35. Who's going to watch that?

So by your take its somehow necessary to see a silly idea enacted before determining that its silly?

This is a lame format. Most people on most boards and media are saying that. Its contrived, stupid, arbitrary team formats nobody cares about. Team Europe is an abomination of a term that would be acceptable outside of the continent, Team U23, lol. Part of Team Canada, Part of Team USA.

For those old enough to remember one of the most frustrating things historically in international hockey is Canada and the US not being able to bring their best in either Olympics or hockey world championships. We had to send non pro teams and players to compete for decades. So never a level playing field.

Now once again we're getting ****ed over but this time by the NHL itself, lol, and not the International Ice Hockey Federation. For some inane reason, that is laughably stupid considering the NHL is a strictly NA league its reducing the chances that either Canada, or the US will win the tournament.

Yeah I can see this idiocy revisited as soon as Canada or the US stumble in this partitioned team format.

imagine if the soccer World cup had the same inept format and top teams like Germany had to divide their squads between U23 and over. They would not have won the WC, it would have made an immense difference to their lineup.

 

[djdub]

So by your take its somehow necessary to see a silly idea enacted before determining that its silly?

This is a lame format. Most people on most boards and media are saying that. Its contrived, stupid, arbitrary team formats nobody cares about. Team Europe is an abomination of a term that would be acceptable outside of the continent, Team U23, lol. Part of Team Canada, Part of Team USA.

For those old enough to remember one of the most frustrating things historically in international hockey is Canada and the US not being able to bring their best in either Olympics or hockey world championships. We had to send non pro teams and players to compete for decades. So never a level playing field.

Now once again we're getting ****ed over but this time by the NHL itself, lol, and not the International Ice Hockey Federation. For some inane reason, that is laughably stupid considering the NHL is a strictly NA league its reducing the chances that either Canada, or the US will win the tournament.

Yeah I can see this idiocy revisited as soon as Canada or the US stumble in this partitioned team format.

imagine if the soccer World cup had the same inept format and top teams like Germany had to divide their squads between U23 and over. They would not have won the WC, it would have made an immense difference to their lineup.

I'm saying you should give it a shot before having border line temper tantrums about the very idea. Not saying that to you specifically, but some posters that won't be named.

All I'm saying is I understand where the NHL is coming from. Does is seem "silly"? Absolutely, it's definitely not traditional that's for sure.

The NHL is barely a top 5 sport in the US. So again I ask, when Canada wins out in its group with a goal differential of +35. Who's going to watch that?

This format has most definitely gotten people "riled up", talking and created a buzz. Let's see if it delivers any entertainment, traditional or not. But in the end, that's all that it is, entertainment.

Hey, I'm not even sure I agree with it, but I'm excited to watch it.

 

[Zenos]

Question for those of you old enough to have watched it: how competitive was the Rendez Vous series from 87? Did a Canada/USA allstar team care?

Because that's probably the closest precedent we have to what's being proposed. And even then, I think the format of NHL allstars vs the red army had a dimension (soviet players weren't yet NHL regulars, cold war not over) that the Euro-Minnows and U23 team won't be able to match.

 

[1Gold Standard]

This was discussed in the international forum, I thought I may was well bring it up here, the Edmonton forum...in 4 years time Connor McDavid in all likelihood will be the best Canadian player, and arguably could very well be the best player in the world, but according to the tournament format rules he'll be unavailable to play for Team Canada. Think about that...Canada's best player won't be available for Team Canada as he'll still be a U23 player. The whole idea is just so stupid...if it's not worth doing more than once, then it's not worth attempting for the 1st time. This tournament is a big fail for me and I won't be watching a minute of it.

 

[doulos]

More entertaining but more meaningless as well. The All Star game should be amazing, yet most people think it is boring. Why? honestly answer why the All Star game sucks and you will understand why this tournament will suck.

You assume the ASG = WC. I don't. There's the difference. I guess we will see though. I am willing to give it a chance.

 

[McShogun99]

This was discussed in the international forum, I thought I may was well bring it up here, the Edmonton forum...in 4 years time Connor McDavid in all likelihood will be the best Canadian player, and arguably could very well be the best player in the world, but according to the tournament format rules he'll be unavailable to play for Team Canada. Think about that...Canada's best player won't be available for Team Canada as he'll still be a U23 player. The whole idea is just so stupid...if it's not worth doing more than once, then it's not worth attempting for the 1st time. This tournament is a big fail for me and I won't be watching a minute of it.

This tournament might not even be around in 4 years.

 

[NHLFAN82]

This was discussed in the international forum, I thought I may was well bring it up here, the Edmonton forum...in 4 years time Connor McDavid in all likelihood will be the best Canadian player, and arguably could very well be the best player in the world, but according to the tournament format rules he'll be unavailable to play for Team Canada. Think about that...Canada's best player won't be available for Team Canada as he'll still be a U23 player. The whole idea is just so stupid...if it's not worth doing more than once, then it's not worth attempting for the 1st time. This tournament is a big fail for me and I won't be watching a minute of it.

OK but nobody wants to answer - which set of games would you rather see:

WC 2016 Team Canada games
Team Canada vs. Team Czech Republic
Team Canada vs. Team USA
Team Canada vs. Team Europe

Sochi 2014 team Canada games
Canada vs. Norway
Canada vs. Austria
Canada vs. Finland

Canada vs. Austria is stupid.

 

[Beerfish]

This was discussed in the international forum, I thought I may was well bring it up here, the Edmonton forum...in 4 years time Connor McDavid in all likelihood will be the best Canadian player, and arguably could very well be the best player in the world, but according to the tournament format rules he'll be unavailable to play for Team Canada. Think about that...Canada's best player won't be available for Team Canada as he'll still be a U23 player. The whole idea is just so stupid...if it's not worth doing more than once, then it's not worth attempting for the 1st time. This tournament is a big fail for me and I won't be watching a minute of it.

I'll be watching but it is a big fail.

The claim is that it is an international tourney so people can cheer for their countries....except two teams are some frankenteams that have almost nothing to do with nations.

The claim is that it will highlight the best players in the world for your nation.....except that it is forcing you to not include the best young players for your country.

 

[AvOiL]

Isn't this a U24 team, and not a U23 team?

And shouldn't it have been U23? So that players like McDavid and Eichel aren't forced to play for this team twice?