CDSmith |
05-05-2013 11:27 AM |
I am. I realize some say this tournament is meaningless and that all the best players are in the playoffs, but that's just pure nonsense. There are actually plenty of top players whose teams didn't make the playoffs who were available to choose from for worlds. Anyone who says Stamkos, Ladd, the Staal brothers, Skinner, Eberle, Hall etc aren't marquis players who couldn't very well be playing in the Stanley Cup finals in the next few years is just fooling themselves.
That said, it was pretty surprising to hear about Sweden losing their opener to Switzerland, the US taking a two goal deficit in the first 3 minutes of their game against Austria (which they came back later to win 5-3). It's a pretty good tournament so far with several upsets and twists going on. Many of the usual "lesser" teams are showing better than ever before which is great to see.
The presence of the KHL and Swedish Elite League is obviously making a difference, as this tournament has become tougher to win than ever. And it's an influence that will in all likelihood make the Olympics tougher as well.
You bet I'm watching.
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