A lot of hockey fans have voiced their displeasure over the debate of the NHL to participate in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, but the NHL and its owners are ready to bring back the World Cup of Hockey without the self-proclaimed 'King' of hockey, Rene Fasel and the IIHF (Calgary Sun).
Bringing back the World Cup of Hockey will still include all of the world's best players (because all of the best players play in the NHL...of course).
As Eric Francis states in the article for the Calgary Sun, the NHL would be able to market the sport with a marquee event to begin the season (if they choose the fall, which they probably would).
Obviously hockey is always THE sport in Canada but with the addition of marquee events like the Winter Classic and the possibility of bringing back the World Cup of Hockey, the NHL is taking the right steps to being at the forefront of the American sports culture.
I still think the NHL could do a lot more in the states to market its future stars by televising more junior hockey games and to be specific the IIHF World Junior Championships. The average American hockey fan has a hard time following junior hockey as a majority of the future stars are playing in the Canadian major junior leagues. TV ratings for the NHL Draft would absolutely increase if fans were able to follow these kids other than what the die-hard hockey fan is able to find on the NHL-Network, B2 Networks, etc.
There is a lot of room for the NHL to grow within North America and internationally and big events like the outdoor games, World Cup of Hockey and the opportunity to participate in future Winter Olympics will help to grow the game around the world.
...Did you know...?
The USA-Canada gold medal hockey game was seen by more people worldwide than the last two Super Bowls with 114 million viewers around the world according to Yahoo! Sports' Nicholas Cotsonika's article on why NHL players belong in the Olympics. (Check it out!)
PS - #isitoctoberyet?!
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