"Growing the Sport" Will we ever learn?

[Mr Kanadensisk]

I am so sick and tired of hearing about how great it is that teams like Germany are stepping up, and growing the sport around the world.
Hockey is the best game on earth, but it has one major flaw, the TRAP!!!!

The Trap allows these much less talented teams to appear like they are competitive, and at times even win games.

I watched the Canada - Germany game today, what a piece of c*!p excuse for a hockey game. People must be high to think that newcomers to the sport are going to watch that and fall in love with the game.

The NHL would be better with only 16 teams, and these international tournaments should have no more than eight.

Let's face it, there are only 7 nations in contention to win the big tournaments (Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czech R., and Slovakia). There are only two reasons why these teams sometimes lose when they play the lesser hockey nations:
1: the trap
2: it's hard to take these games seriously, it's more like an exhibition game

Canadians, and hockey fans around the world seem to have this inferiority complex about expanding the sport. There is this obsession that we need to expand the NHL to parts of the US that have zero interest, and also we want to keep inviting more and more teams to these international tournaments.

Let's face it, hockey will never be popular in places that don't naturally have ice, and it will never be basketball or soccer.
I'm perfectly happy with where the sport is, we have lots of fans, and a great game.

When Germany, Switzerland, Belarus and Kazakhstan are ready to compete then please invite them. Until then please stop watering down the product by trying to make Hockey something it is not!


While I'm at it, stop making teams play for a bronze medal. I can see in a race where you give the top three finishers a medal. But making two teams that have already been eliminated play for third is excruciating.

Click to read more...

 

[BleedingOil]

Quit whining.

 

[Oilslick941611]

I'd Even venture as far as to say that there is only really 6 big teams. Slovakia has done nothing in the past few tournaments,and they get thrown in with the big 7 by Default because of the grat players they produced in the early and mid 90's. Slovakian hockey is in a sad and different state than it was 5-6 years ago.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Quit whining.

 

[Epsilon]

This couldn't be more mistimed. I watched this morning expecting the usual borefest when Germany plays Canada (2002 Olympics ring a bell?). Instead, even though the score was low, I saw an exciting, tight hockey game with a lot of close calls and good play.

 

[Oilslick941611]

This couldn't be more mistimed. I watched this morning expecting the usual borefest when Germany plays Canada (2002 Olympics ring a bell?). Instead, even though the score was low, I saw an exciting, tight hockey game with a lot of close calls and good play.

On the replay, i saw Germany barely holding on and getting bailed out by good goal tending (sound familiar?) Canada had good speed,and dominated down low. outside the 5 on 3 and that 2 on 1 Germany had, Germany was lucky the score was only 3-1. The German Goaltender played fantastic.

 

[coolestpelican]

man i think your totally off base, the Canada-Germany game was intense, i thought it was a very fast paced, highly skilled game, by both sides, though canada obviously had the best of it. As for expanding the game, thats a great idea, it brings more competion to the forefront and will be highly important in the future of hockey. As for only allowing the traditionally elite teams to compete, who gets to make such a decision, a would be a horrible thing to do, see Germany this year, coming off 2 wins heading into the game with Canada, where they played very well, but in the end came up with only one goal. How could anyone possibly restrict such a team's entering in the competion. And plus its tournaments like this one that gives experience and builds interest for those in germany and other places in similar positions. This is how they can build themselves to be competitive. Let alone the fact that this is the World Juniors, i think as many teams as possible should compete, it would be great to be able to have a large competition group similar to many sports have, say in the olympics.

anyway thats all from me

 

[PanniniClaus]

I am so sick and tired of hearing about how great it is that teams like Germany are stepping up, and growing the sport around the world.
Hockey is the best game on earth, but it has one major flaw, the TRAP!!!!

The Trap allows these much less talented teams to appear like they are competitive, and at times even win games.

I watched the Canada - Germany game today, what a piece of c*!p excuse for a hockey game. People must be high to think that newcomers to the sport are going to watch that and fall in love with the game.

The NHL would be better with only 16 teams, and these international tournaments should have no more than eight.

Let's face it, there are only 7 nations in contention to win the big tournaments (Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czech R., and Slovakia). There are only two reasons why these teams sometimes lose when they play the lesser hockey nations:
1: the trap
2: it's hard to take these games seriously, it's more like an exhibition game

Canadians, and hockey fans around the world seem to have this inferiority complex about expanding the sport. There is this obsession that we need to expand the NHL to parts of the US that have zero interest, and also we want to keep inviting more and more teams to these international tournaments.

Let's face it, hockey will never be popular in places that don't naturally have ice, and it will never be basketball or soccer.
I'm perfectly happy with where the sport is, we have lots of fans, and a great game.

When Germany, Switzerland, Belarus and Kazakhstan are ready to compete then please invite them. Until then please stop watering down the product by trying to make Hockey something it is not!


While I'm at it, stop making teams play for a bronze medal. I can see in a race where you give the top three finishers a medal. But making two teams that have already been eliminated play for third is excruciating.

You should watch the 2000 WJC between Russia and the Czech Republic. One of the worst games ever played at any level. Two teams that played the shallowest trap they could, the steer man was at the blueline. The Germans did not invent the trap. It is used at times in every hockey game played. This year the Germans are competitive, they play many facets of the game very well.
We are not asking anyone to watch the junior games and fall in love with the sport. Very few people see these junior game other than scouts or those in certain countries.
I am with you on the bronze medal game. Pure poison unless you have two teams that really want it.

 

[hexrae]

As hockey fans we can definately appreciate the games more than the casual viewer. In terms of intensity the '04 World Cup final between Canada and Finland was one of the better games I watched (I'm young so I wasn't there for '72 and '87). But to a non-hockey fan, it could have looked like a yawner 3-2 game between two countries they don't live in.

With that said...

Quit whining.

Who gives a **** if no one likes the sport, you do and that's all that matters.

 

[Red]

I don't think the Germany/Canada game was exciting, but I'm all in favor of growing the sport. It was a MUCH better game than ten years or so when a game like this would have a 9-0 score.

I think it shows it's worked for Switzerland, they seem to be producing quite a few skilled players recently and their WJC team has been consistently competitive for ten years now. I personally like the relegation system and wouldn't be opposed at all to the elite level being uped to 12 teams. Switzerland, Latvia, Germany have all shown that while they're not going to be winning gold medals, they ARE competitive. Anyone can win any game. To suggest we should get rid of them because they play a boring style is ridiculous.

 

[missinthejets]

The bottom line is that defence is still part of hockey, and if Germany can compete by playing to suck as much life out of the game as they can then they deserve to be there.

Now if you want to take defence out of the game then you're gonna end up with basketball on ice and that would be far more boring than watching the trap. Good teams will find a way to beat the trap simple as that.

 

[espo*]

This couldn't be more mistimed. I watched this morning expecting the usual borefest when Germany plays Canada (2002 Olympics ring a bell?). Instead, even though the score was low, I saw an exciting, tight hockey game with a lot of close calls and good play.

I've gotta agree with you here,it was a pretty good game yesterday.germany-Canada games are usually snooze fests with Germany just trying to choke the life out of you but eventhough they still played it close to the vest they created chances much better and used their skating in all 3 zones very well and it made for a decent game.i can't remember a better flowing game between Canada and Germany then what i saw yesterday.