If Colorado Avalanche fans had any questions about how intense the World Cup of Hockey would be, they have their answer: extremely.
When the World Cup of Hockey was announced, count me among those who rolled their eyes so hard that they got stuck in the back of my head — it’s not Colorado Avalanche hockey, and it’s another international tournament that isn’t the Olympics? Please.
Add to that the gimmick squads of “Team Europe” and “Team North America (Under 23!)”, and I was taking pains to control my gag reflex. This was going to be a bunch of NHL stars playing low-intensity hockey, trying not to get injured before the regular season. Call it a glorified All-Star game. Besides, Canada was just going to win anyway.
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Egg and my face are now in alignment.
Just from what I’ve seen in the preliminary games, the hockey has been entertaining, elite, and, most surprisingly, very intense.
Nathan MacKinnon has lead Team North America to multiple trouncings of Team Europe. Matt Duchene and Team Canada have traded a pair of contests with Erik Johnson and Team USA. Most surprising, however, was Team Russia and Team Czech Republic dropping their ex-Soviet mitts after a suspect kick at Semyon Varlamov.
A fight… at an international tournament? You don’t see that happen at the IIHF World Championships much. The fact that the preliminary games are already this intense proves nobody is taking the World Cup lightly, and it’s likely to escalate once the actual tournament starts.
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For the Avs, this is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, the team’s biggest stars are put at a higher risk of injury. We’ve already seen a close call with Varlamov, and given the other physical play we’ve seen so far, injuries are going to occur.
On the other hand, though, this is just plain excellent hockey, definitely well-beyond the level of the IIHF World Championships, and possibly even more fun to watch than the Olympics. The reason I feel this way is the original reason I hated the idea of this tournament: Team North America.
From the surface, this team goes against everything a World Cup is about: proving which country is dominant in a given sport. Going against that makes it harder for the Nationalist in all of us to pick which team to root for.
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If I may offer a bold suggestion, though: forget your nationalism. Root for the underdog.
Team North America has been discounted from the get-go as too young and inexperienced to succeed in this tournament. Sure, they have speed and skill, but the more experienced defenses are sure to shut them down, right?
At least when it comes to facing Team Europe, the young squad proved that experience doesn’t mean squat.
Stacked with the number one overall picks of the last four years, North America is proving early on that they should not be taken lightly. Nathan MacKinnon boasted that he didn’t think there was a more skilled team in the tournament, and apparently, NHL 17 thinks so too.
One has to wonder why Team North America was ever called the underdog of this tournament, given their play so far.
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While I wish all Avs in the tournament the best of luck, I’m not rooting for a country; I’m rooting for the kids.