The trophy looks like a crooked flower vase—hardly any competition to the Stanley Cup or Olympic gold medals for prestigious hockey hardware. But, ready or not, the World Cup of Hockey is about to begin.
The competition, which was last held in 2004, is equivalent to the Canada Cup tournament that ran from 1976 to 1991. It functions like the Olympics, with the difference being the NHL and its players' association split the profits.
The best players in the world will gather in Toronto from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 to decide a new world champion, at least among the paid professionals.
Eight teams will compete, two of which are composed of players from different countries. Team North America is a side made up of players aged 23 and younger from the United States and Canada; Team Europe has a roster of European players from birth countries outside of the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden.
The Team North America and Team Europe rosters are concoctions to satisfy critics who bemoan the participation of countries that have a low probability of winning (Germany vs. Japan, anyone?) and those who say, "How could you leave so- ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Adrian Dater
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September 13th, 2016 by Adrian Dater Leave a reply »
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