As the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea are set to commence, there is a disappointing atmosphere surrounding the hockey portion of the tournament.
After a long battle between the National Hockey League, the National Hockey League Players Association, and the International Ice Hockey Federation, it was determined that professional hockey players based in North America would not be permitted to play in the games. This rule effects not only National Hockey League players, but American Hockey League Players as well.
The decision has left many hockey fans perturbed, especially due to the fact that hockey is the least popular of the four major American sports, and the Olympics are a prime stage to exhibit the intensity and valor of the sport.
Gary Bettman, the NHL’s commissioner, as well as many other high-ranking executives within the league’s hierarchy, have expressed concerns about scheduling and finances if the players were to take a two-week break in the middle of the season. However, in a statement released in April of 2017, the players do not agree with these concerns, but rather agree with the fans and see it as a missed chance to promote the game.
“The NHL may believe it is penalizing the IOC or the players, or both, for not giving the owners some meaningful concessions in order to induce them to agree to go to PyeongChang,” the NHLPA released. “Instead this impedes the growth of our great game by walking away from an opportunity to reach sports fans worldwide.”
Along with hockey being the lowest viewed major sport in the United States overall, Sports Business Daily’s Austin Karp noted that last season, television viewers had dropped significantly from the year prior.
The Olympics provided a chance to remedy some of these woes, but the NHL decided to hold back the players for their own personal reasons. The league, as evident by their campaigns to put NHL games in Finland, China, and other countries, has goals to make hockey a worldwide sensation. When looking at this among all of their other prior initiatives, the Olympic decision becomes even more perplexing.
As seen by their statement, their willingness to participate in these international programs, and numerous additional ventures, the players are completely willing to go overseas to help grow the game. Many players, especially 16-year-olds, 17-year-olds, and 18-year-olds, are beginning to see international hockey as a viable option to strengthen their hockey career and their general horizons as well.
Back in the 2015-2016 campaign, now Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews committed to playing high-tier hockey for Zurich SC in Switzerland. In the year before his draft, not playing in the Canadian Hockey League or the United States Hockey League was an unprecedented move. Matthews would go on to dominate the league and eventually go first overall, so clearly the move paid its dividends.
Eeli Tolvanen, selected 30th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, is taking a similar route with his career, albeit with Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. Tolvanen currently sits just shy of top-ten in the league in goals.
Both Matthews and Tolvanen exhibit the value that can be placed on international hockey. Not only does it assist in gaining new fans, it helps the players develop and become better, even if it were to be for just two weeks.
In the end, there is no going back on the NHL’s choice to hold players from attending the games in Korea. However, this example can be looked at in the future, to ensure the same mistakes do not happen again.
Kevin Kopf can be found on Twitter at @KMKTNF or via email at kevin.kopf@student.shu.edu.