Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Brew
There have been some lopsided games in men's ice hockey history but among top four teams in the world? I suppose it's possible, baseball didn't always have home run fences and football didn't always have the forward pass either.
I have no beef with women's hockey. I enjoy watching US and Canada play. My point is that a world championship tournament loses most of its credibility when two teams dominate to such an extent. No one is getting better through being crushed and not touching the puck for 60 minutes.
Is there any team sport that holds a world championship with this much imbalance?
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No, but they do get better by training and playing with Canadian and US players during the course of the year. We are seeing more 'foreign' players in the NCAA. It's hard to measure because the US and Canada are continually raising the bar too but if you compared the skill levels on some of these teams even 5 years ago to what they are today I think it would show all the teams are better.