Maybe you do, but the fact remains that the majority of North Aericans doesn´t.
However nor the Czech republic nor Slovakia would send a tea of players from their leagues as both have enough players in leagues like KHL or SEL, so the fact whether or not the best US/Canada juniors could or couldn´t compete against players from those leagues is not iportant to this discussion. But anyway, it makes it sound like you do not understand the difference between junior and senior level even though you claim you do. They would even have trouble with a team like Germany with players mainly from DEL, which is even weaker than the Czech Extraliga. This German team with a few additions can keep up in a game with the top teams with NHL talent, so what chance does a bunch of kids even though very talented have against them? Oh, yeah and btw it´s ipossible for Canada´s 22 and under best men to play in the Olympics without NHL participation, how many of Canada´s 18-22 talents are actually playing in the NHL already? It wouldn´t even be a top team.
Yes, because loosing by 3 goals is comparable to losing by 16,right? In such a game the score could easily have been very close up to the like 50th minute and the 6th, or even 5th as well goals could have been scored on an empoty net.
Even the biggest Canada homer and WJC fan can´t claim that the level that Latvia plays at the WJC is higher or more entertaining than the one it does at the Olympics.
Plus Latvia is better now than in 06, also thanks to Dinamo Riga, so is Kazakhstan due to Barys. Oh yea, and pointing out Italy, the only reason why they ever played at the tournament them being the hosts, it´s not like it wouldn´t get nasty with 20+ scores had they played their U20 team against the top U20 teams in the world.
OHL + WHL + QJMHL vs KHL
nice.