If no World Cup of Hockey, how about a U-23 World Championship

[leafsfuture]

While I do agree seeing the best in the world go at it every two years may be a tad too much, how about having an U-23 event every 4 years between the Olympics.

This would be a showing of the best players in the world aged 18 - 22, in a tournament fashion. This would allow fans to see both established players, and future Olympians. It would keep the element of national pride that the WJC, but feature established players, making it more marketable to non-Canadians.

In terms of rosters, this would be mine for Canada:

Giroux – Stamkos -- Kane
Couture – Toews – Perron
Eberle – Duchene – Hall
Simmonds – Sutter – Benn
Tavares

Alzner – Doughty
Schenn – Myers
Pietrangelo – Hamonic
Ellis

Bernier
Mason

To compare, the American roster would be something like this:

Kane – Stepan – JVR
Wilson – Foligno – Muller
Okposo – Galiardi – Morin
Tangredi – Pacioretty – Morin
Schroeder

Johnson – Johnson
Shattenkirk – McBain
Fowler – Cole
Blum

Click to read more...

 

[Pyke*]

While I do agree seeing the best in the world go at it every two years may be a tad too much, how about having an U-23 event every 4 years between the Olympics.

This would be a showing of the best players in the world aged 18 - 22, in a tournament fashion. This would allow fans to see both established players, and future Olympians. It would keep the element of national pride that the WJC, but feature established players, making it more marketable to non-Canadians.

In terms of rosters, this would be mine for Canada:

Giroux – Stamkos -- Kane
Couture – Toews – Perron
Eberle – Duchene – Hall
Simmonds – Sutter – Benn
Tavares

Alzner – Doughty
Schenn – Myers
Pietrangelo – Hamonic
Ellis

Bernier
Mason

To compare, the American roster would be something like this:

Kane – Stepan – JVR
Wilson – Foligno – Muller
Okposo – Galiardi – Morin
Tangredi – Pacioretty – Morin
Schroeder

Johnson – Johnson
Shattenkirk – McBain
Fowler – Cole
Blum

NHL Teams won't release their players - for the same reasons as being anti-World Cup.

 

[FireBurningBin]

we would need to break during the season because most players are in the NHL or AHL

or have it in the summer

 

[Pyke*]

we would need to break during the season because most players are in the NHL or AHL

or have it in the summer

There still would be tremendous insurance issues - so teams aren't likely to look forward to seeing their superstars risk injury.

It's hard enough to get them to agree to the Olympics in 2014.

 

[leafsfuture]

Well ya, it would be in late August.

I think most players would go for it, and that GM's shouldnt have a problem with it, as it puts the young guns in good shape going into training camp

 

[The Kremelin Wall*]

Well ya, it would be in late August.

I think most players would go for it, and that GM's shouldnt have a problem with it, as it puts the young guns in good shape going into training camp

And then they get injured for an entire year and don't develop properly as a result. All during a non-contracted event. Lose-lose situation for the NHL teams, as a randomly created event will take 20+ years for anyone to be fanatical about it, or want to compete for it in the case of the players.

 

[dmacgreg37]

Would be an awesome tournament in terms of talent, but I can't imagine that the NHL would ever go for it.

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

Canada wins an U-23 tournament and it would not be close.

 

[Your old Jofa helmet]

It's still a minor event for anyone outside Canada

 

[MOGiLNY]

the U17, U18 and U20 tournaments are largely for scouts to do their thing and because Canada is crazy, they also make good money when hosting the U20 in Canada or around the border at least.

U23 would serve no purpose to the scouts as all the players will have been drafted at that point and it would become a tournament for the sake of having a tournament. Throw in the insurance and organizational issues as already mentioned, and it's probably not worth it.

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

the U17, U18 and U20 tournaments are largely for scouts to do their thing and because Canada is crazy.

LOL!

Can't fault you for being honest.

 

[danishh]

I'd rather have an amateur world championship. CHL players, College players, players from various other junior leagues around the world. Set a reasonable salary limit (as other than NCAA, all 'amateur' players receive money now), and see the best non-big league players duke it out.

 

[roto]

No. There are only few countries which can compete with Canada when there are no age restrictions. Why have a tournament where even fewer countries can have a competitive team? I see that kind of tournament even more pointless than U20.

 

[Hyperkookeez*]

Seems redundant to have a U23 championship. What would be the point...more bragging rights for Canada/USA?


Lame

 

[jekoh]

You did not really call Hamonic or Tangradi "marketable established players", did you?

 

[wjhl2009fan]

Well ya, it would be in late August.

I think most players would go for it, and that GM's shouldnt have a problem with it, as it puts the young guns in good shape going into training camp

I think it would be the other way around gms would not be to keen on this type of tournemant some players may not mind it but to say most would go for it i doubt it.The issue with having it in late aug is it comes way to clse to nhl camps and are gms going to want there players playing in a high tempo event right before camp unlikely.One thing they could do is have a tournemant for non drafted nhl plasyers in aug that would be the best thing.

 

[TheGooooch]

Canada wins an U-23 tournament and it would not be close.

never know what happens in a tournament.

I think the idea is ridiculous and the NHL wouldn't go for it, nor would the teams let their players go for this tournament.

 

[JVR]

I'd rather have an amateur world championship. CHL players, College players, players from various other junior leagues around the world. Set a reasonable salary limit (as other than NCAA, all 'amateur' players receive money now), and see the best non-big league players duke it out.

Yeah that would be great for Euro countries since they don't have college hockey and the junior leagues are in now way comparable to the CHL or Qmjhl...

 

[Howe Elbows 9]

Not likely to happen, but here's an attempt at two more rosters:

Pääjärvi - Berglund - Josefson
Hagelin (NCAA) - Backlund - Tedenby
Silfverberg (SEL) - Johansson - Nyqvist (NCAA)
Figren (AHL) - Möller - Ullström (AHL)
Krüger (SEL)

Hedman - Karlsson
Ekman-Larsson - Urbom
Erixon (SEL) - Rundblad (SEL)
Gustafsson (AHL)

Lindbäck
Enroth

Filatov - Anisimov - Dadonov
Grachev - Burmistrov - Zharkov
Vasyunov - Loktionov - Tikhonov
Mayorov - Kuznetsov (KHL) - Tarasenko (KHL)
Avtsin (AHL)

Kulikov - Voinov (AHL)
Nikitin - Goncharov (AHL)
Alexandrov (AHL) - Vishnevskiy
Klementyev

Varlamov
Bobrovsky

Italics imply no NHL experience to date.