The Olympic Hockey Tournament

Now that the Olympics are underway, it's hard to be enthralled with the hockey tournament, especially being a Canadian, hoping that the boys in red can recapture the gold medal after their disappointment in Turin four years ago. I'm going to do my best to watch every minute of every game, like most of us will and why not, this tournament only has the best players in the world, arguably... but is it the best tournament in the world? No, I don't think it is.

The gold medal in Olympic hockey is without a doubt important, but as a tournament for the best players in the world to play in, I don't think it lives up to the bill. When there is supposedly so much on the line, like the gold medal, I would really like to think it should be a harder tournament to play in and win for these guys. There is plenty of pride between all the players and teams that they are going to play hard for the small schedule that they have, but to me, there is a reason why you see a lot of North American players say that when they were growing up, they dreamed of winning the Stanley Cup. They only seem to throw in the gold medal into the conversation in Olympic years, which says to me, "promos." The Stanley Cup playoffs is a far more hardcore tournament than the Olympics, that really tests the mettle of players and the best players do succeed in the end.

But by no means do I have the Stanley Cup playoffs as my favourite tournament in the world. No, my favourite tournament in the world has to be the Under-20's, the World Juniors. The annual showcase of up & coming talent from the major hockey nations, that takes place after Christmas and through the New Year celebrations. It has the best developing players, in a development tournament, which gives the world and the pros a bunch of names to remember for years to come. There is just as much pride in the World Juniors in Canada, if not more, than the Olympics and I think the 2-week format for this tournament is a bit more grueling for these players, which is appropriate for both their age and for their development.

Nevertheless, I still like the Olympics, but I don't think you can convince me to make it my favourite tournament in the world.

share this: facebook