Was anyone else actually happy that Canada was eliminated from the World Championships last night?

1) No- if Canada is competing I want them to do well and to win. Period. Even if the roster is a de-facto C-team, the guys who made the trip are giving their all.

2) Worst idea ever...it would likely put an end to Olympic involvement as well since the IIHF would likely respond in kind.

3) Because the tournament generates revenue, the logical idea of not contesting it during Olympic years won't happen. Moving the tournament to the summer would further diminish the profile (since during even years you'd be competing with the European football (soccer) championships and the World Cup, which would reduce the European audience to nil.

Unfortunately there isn't an easy solution- I do think a workaround is to require players that are not injured to make themselves available (club team commitments notwithstanding) for one WC event every four years (between Olympic cycles). So if Crosby (who got all the attention) plays in the 2010 WC, he doesn't have to make himself available until the 2014-17 cycle.

So Shock and Awe is saying the sport of hockey itself holds no value? Yet he says this with a Flyers symbol as his picture? I don't see how he can compare the World Championships, where it's just whoever shows up, to the sport of hockey in general.

Anyhow, I'm not glad they were eliminated but I didn't care much about this years World Championships. It's always at its worst right after the Olympics. And I'm not sure what the IIHF could do to improve it besides making it an amateur tournament. Holding it later in the summer wouldn't work. Even fewer players would go if it were smack dab in the middle of their vacation.

But it doesn't really bother me. I've always thought the World Cup of Hockey should be held more regularly, every 4 years. Probably in the same year as the Summer Olympics. That way there would be best on best hockey every 2 years between that and the Winter Olympics. One on NHL ice, the other on international ice.

1. i guess but i dont think we'll stop hearing about it. if canada were to win without their best players the IIHF would really have to put its collective foot in its collective mouth, but since canada lost they might say that it was only because of a lack of participation.

2. i wouldnt. half the time people mention the tournament and i struggle only to RECALL that its actually going on. i couldnt tell you who is playing, and when it started. just wake me up when somebody wins.

3. i would watch it if it were played in the summer. it would be good off season training for the NHLers and it would give hockey fans something to watch. the ratings would be WAY higher if some tournament wasnt going on during the only tournament that truly matters in the hockey world, other than the olympics. also, they shouldnt have a world tournament in the same year they have a winter olympics tournament...its redundant and, since the worlds tournament is less important, theyre just asking to lose money.

good question.

TYLER - youre a tool

1) It wasn't fantastic but I'm not upset about it either. We lost to a good Russian team that wanted revenge for the Olympics.

2) No, that might interest me more because the European players tend to hold this tournament in higher regard.

3) I think the tournament does work, it just doesn't work in N. America. I still watch the games I can. The problem is time zones. I don't get to watch the games live and watching the replays is anti-climatic because I usually already know the outcome.

1) Not at all

2) Canada boycotted the tournament (and the Olympics) between 1970 and 1976, the tournament continued to grow in stature during that period (Sweden joined Canada in the boycott in 1975 and 1976)

3) There's not much that can be done about it. The tournament has been held historically at this time of year (April until the early 90s, May since then) because all the member countries have their playoffs over (The NHL is NOT an IIHF member, nor is it a member of Hockey Canada or USA Hockey). It's about the various member nations dealing with the tournament, and not the tournament dealing with the NHL. Hockey Canada and USA Hockey each have 1 vote. The various European federations outweigh that by quite a bit.

Nothing needs to be done to make me want to watch the World Championships, and that pretty much goes for all of Canada. Canada's WC usually are the highest rated programs when they are on. TSN and SportsNet lead off their sports broadcasts with the World Championships at this time of year over the NHL playoffs. In Canada, people care, and show they care by supporting the tournament by watching.

What can be done to make Americans want to watch it? Sadly, nothing. The 2004 World Cup of Hockey had pathetic ratings in the US, and that tournament features the best of the best with no conflicts and is shown in Prime Time. It also came on the heels of the US Silver medal in Salt Lake City. If they were to move the Worlds to a different time slot (early September is theoretically ideal) would that really change who shows up annually? One of the allures associated with the Canada Cup/World Cup/Olympics is that it is held infrequently. I think even Canadians would tire of seeing the best play the best year in and year out. If Americans couldn't hold on to Lake Placid's glory, or Salt Lake City's popularity two years later....are they really going to hold on to Vancouver's spike in popularity any differently?

I'm not a fan of making hockey a popular sport because people believe it has to be. Nor is the NHL trying to do that. Yes, the NHL is trying to increase it's popularity by making it less regionalized, but at the same time they realize that they will never be the NFL, or MLB, or the NBA. The league is quite content making money year after year, drawing a few extra fans each year, etc. But just as Americans show little interest in the World Baseball Classic, they'll continue to show little interest in the World Ice Hockey Championships. I'm okay with that, the sport has been dumbed down enough for TV.

1. Maybe because they won the Olympic medal

2. Having no team to root fore would make me not care about the outcome, first I root for the U.S. then Canada

3. Have it not be on during the Stanley cup so all the good players can be there and so I don't have to keep up with two hockey competitions

i think even though it is at a stupid time it gives some players who may have had a poor season a chance to finish off with a World Championship medal. yes not all the best players were there, but it won't have that on their medal or written down in the record books. they should keep it were it is, just not complain when the players who have played playoff hockey decide to take a break instead

1) Canada wasn't playing that well, so it doesn't bother me they are gone.

2) Doesn't matter that much if U.S. and Canada are in it as long as the games are interesting.

3) Other than lining up the games so they don't conflict with my work schedule, nothing :)

You can never make it so the U.S. is that interested - some U.S. NHL hockey teams will have the dates on playoff games change because the circus or 'dora the explorer' is in town. tells you where hockey rates in the states.

1. YES! And since Team USA is gone too, we shouldn't have to hear much more about the WC's here on YA.

2. You mean if they were boycotting to move the tournament away from the SCPs? Hell, I would love that.

3. The format seems OK to me. It's the timing that is bad. Make it in June. North American TV channels have more empty space to fill. Then I'll watch it.

I just don't think a team can really take pride in beating Canada when most of the best Canadian players aren't even on the team..