2017 World Championship Preview
The IIHF World Championships are always an interesting study of the hockey world as they pit the NHL playoffs against international hockey.
It leads to a constant debate about the tournament and just how important it is in the larger hockey world.
After all, the World Championships are always in the heart of the NHL playoffs and as a result, some of the best players in the world don’t participate.
Even the great players that are not in the playoffs sometimes take a pass at the tournament because they need time to recover after a full NHL season.
It leads to many people thinking of the tournament as coming up short when it comes to the best teams in the world.
The 2017 tournament has only gained more interest this year as they will travel to an unusual host city and are now in the shadow of the NHL’s attempt at an international tournament.
First, the IIHF has decided to allow two teams to share the hosting duties of the tournament with one of them a little more interesting than the other.
Cologne, Germany is not necessarily the most surprising pick for a host as the Germans have loved the game for years.
They may not have developed the type of system that keeps them as a constant contender but they are in the tournament more years than not.
The strange choice is the second host of the tournament, Paris, France, where hockey is far from the biggest sport.
France has been a growing hockey country as they have found themselves in the top tier for multiple years.
Now they will get the real test as France plays host to the World Championship for the first time ever.
The big question will be whether or not they will show up to the games to see this level of hockey or if it is just another event that will fall silent.
The IIHF has a strategy in naming Paris a host as they are seeing that the game is growing and they are taking advantage.
France is far from a powerhouse and they might find it hard to get very far in front of their home crowd but there is some interest in the game.
The IIHF is looking to grow the game throughout the world and they are clearly looking at France as a place where they might be able to grow the sport.
The evidence will be in the attendance and the talk around the city as the World Championship travels to a new spot where the IIHF is looking to help grow the sport.
They will need to do that even more as the years go on because the other big factor that makes this tournament strange is the shadow it will be played under.
That shadow was cast in September when the NHL officially brought back the World Cup of Hockey.
The entire purpose was to give the best players in the world a chance to compete to be the best country in the world.
Generally, the Olympics are considered that tournament but with the NHL seemingly refusing to let their players go in 2018 that tournament has become the best of the b-teams.
The World Championship is usually the next best thing and with it being held every year it is generally the standard for international championships.
A big issue with that is the fact that in the World Championship the best players are not all in one place and so it is hard to say that it is the best of the best.
The World Cup provides that as the best players in the world, most who are in the NHL, all participated in the tournament.
The NHL took time off to hold the World Cup and it is sure to take something out of the World Championships.
It has already done that as there have already been a few NHL players that will not be playing in the World Championships.
These players, including USA’s Auston Matthews, have had a long year in participating in the World cup in September and then a full NHL season.
It is another aspect that has taken some of the talent away from the tournament that is supposed to be the biggest international hockey tournament.
That is the consistent battle that the World Championship fights and the World Cup is just another factor in that battle.
In Europe it remains the biggest tournament in hockey but with the NHL bringing back the World Cup who knows what will happen.
When the best in the world don’t show up to the biggest tournament it lessens the importance of that tournament.
The IIHF will go back to it though and there will still be plenty of talent in a tournament that might not feature the best players but still features a good look into the strength of a country’s hockey system.
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