Quote:
Originally Posted by calgarygeologist
The Olympics would be just as good if the teams were filled with players from the Junior ranks, KHL (assuming that league would be okay with it), AHL and other European leagues.
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I don't know about that. The Olympic hockey tournament was kind of lame before the NHL players got involved. Those teams had a lot of guys who couldn't cut it in the NHL. It was not "best vs. best", which is usually the, umm, best.
Of course there were big moments like the Miracle On Ice and Forsberg torching Cory Hirsch, but it was more like the Spengler Cup than the World Cup.
When the Olympics were in Calgary, it was downright boring. Bryan Leetch and Jim Peplinski were the biggest names I remember. There were probably some big-name Soviets, who eventually won the gold medal, but the best players in the world were playing in the NHL while the tournament was on.