Team North America has already Won the World Cup of Hockey
By Chris Mckee
The existence of Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey could lead to a major culture shift in the NHL moving forward.
The team consisting of the future stars of the National Hockey League aged 23 and under may not have the fire power to compete with their older — and more seasoned — counterparts throughout the entire World Cup of Hockey, but the players themselves on Team North America will come out of this tournament winning.
When I say the term “winning,” I’m referring more to the Charlie Sheen style of winning than Team North America actually hoisting the tournament trophy on October 1 at the Air Canada Centre.
Aside from a small handful of players who could’ve competed for roster spots for their respective countries (i.e Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel), the vast majority of the North American roster wouldn’t have had the opportunity to compete in a tournament of this magnitude and gain this much-needed experience. Giving these young stars the opportunity to adapt quickly to new teammates, take to new coaching ideals and techniques, and the ability to gel with the other young players will no doubt be beneficial to these players as well as the NHL as a whole long-term.
You wonder if the NHL is perhaps taking a page out of the NBA’s handbook by helping to foster an environment for these young stars where the games best players are all friendly with each other as opposed to creating rivals or enemies like the game has in the past.
Watching former No. 1 overall draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, McDavid, embracing fellow No. 1 overall draft pick Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs after assisting on Matthews goal against Russia was a refreshing site for hockey and a great showcase of things to come for the NHL.
Whenever you’re apart of a team that is something special, it forges a bond between those involved that can last a long time. It leads you to wonder if in the years to come we may see guys like Jonathan Drouin hugging and shaking hands with Morgan Rielly right before the puck drops in a game in January in the same manner as Karl Anthony-Towns would to DeMar DeRozen prior to tip-off.
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The existence of Team North America could lead to a major culture shift in the NHL moving forward and all signs point that it would be a positive step.
Having these young stars involved on such a grand platform cannot only help elevate their games to another level early in the careers but it will help put a face to the name of some of these young stars to hockey fans around the world. Or the NHL itself may refer to this opportunity as great “brand awareness” for the league and these young stars as whole.
The majority of the players on the national rosters of Canada, USA, Russia etc., already have a long list of accomplishments next to their names and you wonder where competing in this World Cup would rank in their minds.
Next: Auston Matthews Scores First Goal at World Cup of Hockey
Which is why the real winners of this revived version of the World Cup have been decided. It’s, without question, Team North America.