Quote:
Originally Posted by Samuelsson
Would like to see Hartford get a team back.
But I think, while diluting the pool in the short term, the long-run would be far better. More NHL jobs = more AHL jobs = more further and further down the line, which means more kids will get the opportunity to play hockey, which means (likely) we'll see mroe superstars. Not all superstars have been amazing since they started playing hockey at an early age. Some kinds grow into it, but might have quit before they realised.
Having more jobs only increases the likelihood that more kids will play the sport.
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I agree with this whole-heartedly. When teams like Anaheim and San Jose were brought in they drastically weakened the talent pool and iced horrible teams themselves for years, but now there are plenty of players for all 30 teams, and lots more that choose to play in Europe and the KHL because there aren't enough opportunities to play in this league. The NHL still has great parity and all 30 teams, save for 2 or 3 of them, are very competitive and can win any night.
There is now more NHL ready talent coming from Sweden and Finland, and even countries who were never on the radar before like Switzerland and Germany. Russia is producing probably the same amount as before, and for some reason Czech Republic and Slovakia (formerly Czechoslovakia) are producing far fewer NHL players. The U.S. however has taken a big leap in producing NHL talent, and that's because the game has grown in the U.S., especially California. As more generations grow up watching the game live and on T.V. they will become more interested in the sport and youth hockey will grow. As that grows more players are added to the pool, and eventually more NHL talent fills those rosters that were created.
Create a vacuum and it will be filled.