Vancouver Canucks Roundtable: World Cup of Hockey Edition

Before the Vancouver Canucks hit the ice for the first time this season, six of their players will compete at the World Cup of Hockey.

The World Cup of Hockey experienced a rocky start with the introduction of gimmicky teams, ugly jerseys and jersey ads. But hockey-crazy as we are, we are all willing to look past that and go World Cup-crazy once the tournament kicks off. Especially with six Vancouver Canucks in the mix.

However, since I know a few people who don’t think that way, I asked our staff what they think.

First things first, what do you think about the World Cup of Hockey and how closely will you follow it?

Gerald Morton

Actually the line is “first things first, I’m the realest”, as if you didn’t know, Janik. By the way, how do you follow that super clever opening with “drop this and let the whole world feel it”? You couldn’t even get the first couplet to rhyme? Anyway, that’s a new record for fastest and silliest digression during a roundtable. I’ve never been prouder.

I’m excited about the World Cup of Hockey. Of course it’s arbitrary and there isn’t real tradition behind it. But, all tradition is invented, so who cares? As fans we can piggy-back on the time, energy and effort our respective countries have spent making us care about them. So, finding a rooting interest won’t be hard. Or, you can just enjoy the very best players in the world playing in a fun tournament without all the weight and potential heartache of caring too much.

Jeff Godley

Everyone seems to be hating on the World Cup, and I really don’t understand why. Usually one of two reasons are given for hating the WCH. The first is “it’s a cash grab for the NHL.” Of course it is, but the NHL getting more money is not a bad thing. With more revenue, maybe the salary cap goes up. The second is “the NHL is trying to pull out of the olympics.” So?

As a fan, the World Cup means I get to watch meaningful hockey one month earlier than normal. That’s a win in my books. Summer is tedious; I will be watching the World Cup from day one until the end.

Connor Cullen

As Gerald said, the World Cup is essentially the best versus the best. No matter the sporting event, that’s usually compelling entertainment. I’m happy to see hockey come back a month earlier. Given the questionable status of NHL players in the next Olympics, the World Cup is the next best thing for hockey fans. I’ll definitely follow the tournament closely.

Janik Beichler

As a German, I have a slightly different approach. In Europe, the season is over in April; so we actually care about the IIHF World Championship while North America is still crazy about the NHL playoffs. The IIHF tournament was played in May, and introducing another world cup just four months later seems plain stupid. The fact that Germany — and most other European nations — never had a chance to send their team to the tournament makes matters even worse. Furthermore, European leagues are already back playing during the WCH, so the whole thing is quite silly from my point of view.

Regarding the Olympic argument, I would much prefer the Olympic tournament over this. But all that said, I will definitely follow the tournament — after all, it’s the world’s best players competing in a fun tournament. So who even cares.

Next: Europe and NA

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The NHL introduced two international teams to play in a world cup. How stupid, right?

When you think of a world cup in any sport, you probably imagine a bunch of different countries playing against each other. Like in soccer, where you have 32 teams playing in eight groups, followed by a knock-out stage. Or at the IIHF World Championships, where it’s at least 16. What you don’t imagine is a Team Europe and an under-23 Team North America. Seriously, what’s up with you, NHL?

How do you like having a North American U23 team instead of having players like Connor McDavid play for their respective countries, and Team Europe instead of an additional European nation?

Gerald Morton

It’s an interesting wrinkle, from a league far too often scared of fun (c.f. John Scott fiasco). It gives everyone an underdog to root for which isn’t restricted to a single country. And underdogs are always fun. Plus, they could actually win. I don’t expect them to. But, they are young and will play with the reckless idiocy of youth, which might turn a meaningless preseason tournament into some actual hockey.

Jeff Godley

What do you do when you can only bring one album from your favourite band, but you can’t decide which? You go for the “best of” album!

Surely the goal is to get as many NHL players involved. In that case, it’s better to have Team N.A. and Team Europe than to try to squeeze in other European teams who are not well-represented in the NHL, like Germany or Slovakia. Since Canada and the U.S. are over-represented in the NHL, it makes sense to add an extra team that can draw from the large pool of North American talent. I think it’s a great idea.

Connor Cullen

Completely agree with you guys, here. Unfortunately, hockey is not as strong in some European countries and those countries are not well-represented in the NHL. That’s not to say quality players can’t come from outside the NHL, but the majority of the talent in the world is concentrated there. No point in having weaker teams that would be crushed by the likes of Canada, North America, USA, Sweden, Russia, and so on. From a competitive standpoint, the tournament is much better served deploying a team consisting of the best European players, handpicked from several different countries.

As for Team North America, I have to admit that team has me the most excited to watch the World Cup unfold. The sheer amount of skill on this team, regardless of their youth, will be endlessly intriguing. Plus, it’s not like these guys are going to be run over by the older, more experienced teams. Team N.A. is not really a dark horse if you think about it, not when they have the likes of McDavid, Monahan, Eichel, Saad, and many more lacing up. Some of Team N.A.’s players are young but have still played a couple full seasons in the NHL.

Janik Beichler

Again, I have a slightly different opinion based on my nationality. I don’t really care when Germany isn’t part of the tournament because that actually happens a lot, like when Germany didn’t qualify for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. But the fact that the NHL just makes stuff up to play an all-NHL tournament is kind of stupid. At least don’t call it “world cup” when that’s what you’re going to do.

Of course Team North America will be fun to watch, I most certainly agree with that. But Team North America shouldn’t be in a world cup. The same goes for Team Europe; and even though Germany has five players on the team, I definitely won’t be cheering for them.

Next: Canada vs. Vancouver

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The Vancouver Canucks are well represented in the World Cup of Hockey. But is that enough to cheer against your home country?

We are all Canucks fans. Some more are more hardcore than others, but we all qualify as fans. So, we obviously get excited when Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Loui Eriksson and Jacob Markstrom play on Team Sweden while Luca Sbisa and Jannik Hansen represent Team Europe. But yet, it’s hard to cheer against your home country.

With several Canucks players on Team Sweden and Team Europe, which team will you be cheering for when they play against Canada?

Gerald Morton

Canada. Not a tough choice. It might give me a secondary team to cheer for, especially Team Leftover. But, since sports are kinda dumb with a rooting interest I’ll root for the country I know the most about and have seen the most of.

Jeff Godley

Canada vs. Europe, I’m taking Canada. Sorry, Jannik Hansen.

Canada vs. Sweden I’m not so sure. This is a Hockey Canada event, so I should cheer for Canada. But it’s also an NHL event, in which case I should cheer for the Swedes. Tough call, I’ll probably have to flip a coin.

Connor Cullen

Despite all the love and respect I have for the Canucks players who made the various rosters in this tournament, my allegiance to Canada will not waver in the slightest. Now, Canada versus North America is a different story. That’s a tough one for me but I’d likely still go with the fully Canadian squad.

That being said, I wish nothing but the best to all the Canucks. I sincerely hope they perform well. Let’s get that chemistry between the Sedins and Eriksson working early so that they come into the season hot.

Janik Beichler

Canada.

Next: World Cup Meaning

A preseason tournament of this size could be beneficial, but it doesn’t have to be.

When you play an 82-game season and work out almost every day in between, a four-month break isn’t that long. Considering that some players play around 100 games a year and all of them use the summer months to prepare for the next season, it’s even less. Preseason used to be there to get players into shape, but today, players are actually expected to be in their best shape on day one of training camp. So how does the World Cup of Hockey interfere with preseason plans?

Do you think playing in the World Cup before the season is beneficial — especially for the Sedin twins and Loui Eriksson — or is it annoying extra work that could hurt players when it really matters?

Gerald Morton

There is a little potential benefit to having Eriksson and the Sedins work out their magic in realistic game scenarios instead of playing the second line of the Hershey Bears during exhibition games. And the little bit of extra work probably won’t impact Daniel or Henrik when it really matters, since that will be in three or four years and they’ll be retired or playing for Modo in Sweden.

Jeff Godley

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Unless an injury happens, I doubt there will be any adverse effects for players. Most of these players would be heading overseas in the middle of the NHL season if it were an Olympic year. Surely traveling to Toronto to play games that will get them primed for the season will be easier on the body than flying to Sochi or Pyeongchang in February.

Besides, there’s very little for these players to do with their NHL clubs at this time. They don’t need to win their roster spots, they won’t see preseason game action until late in the schedule. Even during preseason there’s no incentive to exert themselves. This could end up benefit a lot of NHL players by getting them primed for competition out of the gate.

From the Canucks’ perspective, the Sedins and Eriksson have already played together, so they probably wouldn’t need the World Cup to find chemistry. But they now have these two weeks to get a head start, so it can’t hurt. Jannik Hansen doesn’t seem to have a low gear, so he would be the same with or without the World Cup. Jacob Markstrom, though, should start at least one game in the round robin, even though Henrik Lundqvist is the obvious starter. Getting a high profile game should benefit him immensely.

I think the affect on the Canucks, if any, will only be positive.

Connor Cullen

There’s always the risk of players getting injured, no matter the scenario. As long as the players are enthusiastic and willing to participate, I see no problem with the World Cup preceding the season. What player hasn’t dreamed of throwing on his country’s jersey? Whatever happens will happen.

If anything, as Jeff said, the World Cup will get the star players primed for the beginning of the NHL season. Maybe it will make it easier for them to endure the tediousness of preseason games.

Janik Beichler

I agree with all of the above. But injuries are certainly an issue. Remember how John Tavares got injured at the Olympics in 2014 and was forced to sit out the rest of the NHL season? It might be even worse when something like that happens to start the year.

For the twins and Eriksson, I think playing together is certainly beneficial. But I kind of have the feeling that a gimmicky tournament like the WCH could be a little like the All-Star game, with everyone being extra careful. If that were the case, they might as well make this the last time.

Then again, everyone is proud to represent their country in an international tournament and the Team North America and Team Europe players probably want to prove they are no worse than the world’s top nations. So, I guess the All-Star effect is extremely unlikely and everyone will just benefit from playing in a serious game scenario before the NHL season starts.

Next: World Champions