Quote:
Originally Posted by spuzzum
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/spo...beandmail.com&
https://www.nhl.com/news/olympic-fin...years/c-519476
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/spo...beandmail.com&
The numbers and statistics speak for themselves. 16.6 million Canadians waking up to watch the gold medal game in Sochi in the middle of the night. The World Cup of Hockey had 3.3 and 2.1 million viewers for the semi and final games in prime time.
I am still gutted the NHL is not going to Korea. It is the tournament the NHL beefed up every four years and was THE hockey tournament. When an entire country stops and spends three hours watching an ice hockey game, that tells you something.
Yes the World Cups of 30 years ago were magnificent and memorable, but the Olympics is what the NHL went with and the results and excitement are not even close. This last World Cup had very little meaning and the average hockey fan didn't even care.
|
But if the NHL abandons the Olympics over the next 20 years, the World Cup will be just as prestigious.
You have the added benefit of a tailor-made tournament just for hockey that fits in the the NHL schedule. There's no reason the hockey WC can't be what the World Cup is for soccer. It should be the ultimate tournament. Olympics should be for junior aged players.