The IIHF Has Two Great Options For The 2022 Olympics And Two Terrible Options
The IIHF has come up with four options for the 2022 Olympics. Dr. Rene Fasel, the IIHF president, has given the IOC the four options for the Bejing Olympics in 2022. Of the four options, two stink and two are awesome.
Two Awesome Options
Use NHL Players
I think everyone wants to see NHL players back in the Olympics. The Olympics this year were great and all, but watching hockey wasn’t half as fun with the player pool they had. Granted, we got to see some young guns emerge in Ryan Donato and Troy Terry, but still, I think I speak for everyone when I say, the Olympics would have been 10x better with NHL players.
With all of the young talent, the NHL is foolish for not sending their best to play on the world’s biggest stage. It is a perfect opportunity to grow the game and get some good PR behind some of the NHL’s best. Of course, Gary Bettman could care less about that though. Especially with all the talent that USA Hockey has developed, they would be a force in 2022, which would captivate the country.
Use Under 23 players
Using players under the age of 23-years-old would be awesome for the Olympics. It would basically be the World Juniors, which everyone loves, on a way, way bigger stage. I think, like we saw this past season with Jordan Greenway, Troy Terry, and Ryan Donato, sending college players to the Olympics can be a success. It obviously helped all three players personal brands, they were probably the biggest names in amateur hockey this season because of it and they are coming into the NHL this season with a little clout. And the World Juniors were electric this year. Mittelstadt and Tkachuk put on a show. Definitely wouldn’t hate to see this at the Olympics.
Two Terrible Options
No Hockey
No hockey at the Olympics!? What the fuck!? On what planet is that a good idea? If the IIHF and IOC agree to no hockey at the 2022 Olympics I may just have to pull a ‘Brady 4’ and chain myself to floor in the lobby of the IOC headquarters in Switzerland.
I just can’t imagine how this would be a good idea? I mean I’d even take the player pool from the 2018 Olympics over that. I’d take senior league, 60+ hockey over nothing. What a fucking joke that would be.
Use same player pool as 2018
This is better than no hockey at all. But come on, like I said before, the Olympics weren’t half as fun this year. I mean, the young kids brought some life to the games, but let’s be real, they basically sucked and no one was talking about hockey. The Olympics are the world’s biggest stage, the least the IOC and IIHF can do is put a good product in front of it.
I’m sure they will find a way to screw this up. When it really isn’t that tough of a decision. Send the best players to play on the world’s biggest stage.