People are too damn snooty about this tournament. Bunch of guys throwing on a red and white jersey with a maple leaf on it and playing against other countries. What's not to like? Are we still caught up in this nonsense about only best-on-best 'proving' something?
Well, tournament hockey, even if it is 'best-on-best' doesn't really prove much, because tournament hockey is inherently flawed. In single-game elimination, a couple of small factors - referee discretion, a stomach bug, a broken stick, the placement of a TV camera - can change one game and that game might be the difference between playing for gold and finishing eighth. Sure, I will value Olympics higher than worlds because it does matter if our best is playing their best, but it's an exaggeration to say that CanADa iS bESt because our guys won the last best-on-best. It might be evidence in favour of that conclusion, but it doesn't fully prove anything.
What we've got tomorrow is a fun tournament featuring some very good-to-great players. Denigrating it because McDavid isn't there? Let it go.