As if late summer/early fall weren’t jam-packed with enough sports to watch, along comes the World Cup of Hockey, which we haven’t heard from since 2004.
Will the tournament grab more viewers than football or baseball? No one sees that happening, even in Chicago. Will it be more exciting than training camp updates and preseason games? One thousand percent yes.
Answers to these other 10 frequently asked questions about the tournament will have you sufficiently prepped when the World Cup begins Saturday.
What’s the tournament format?
There are two groups, and each team will play the other teams in its group once. Group A consists of Canada, the U.S., the Czech Republic and Team Europe. Group B consists of Sweden, Finland, Russia and Team North America. The top two teams in each group will advance to one-game semifinals, and those winners will face off in a best-of-three championship series. All games will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Team North America and Team Europe? What’s up with that?
Basically, there aren’t many teams outside the six others in this tournament that can compete with the best in the world, so organizers are experimenting. Team North America consists of players 23 and younger from the U.S. and Canada, while only players 24 and older will compete for the American and Canadian teams. Team Europe’s roster, meanwhile, is stocked with players from birth countries outside Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic.
So if Team North America or Team Europe wins, who gets to keep the trophy?
The trophy will be cut into as many pieces as necessary to represent the countries that contributed. Just kidding. Those details were unavailable. We figure they’ll have to share somehow, but it does seem awkward.
How many Hawks are involved?
Ten players in all: Jonathan Toews and Corey Crawford on Team Canada, Patrick Kane on Team USA, Marian Hossa on Team Europe, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Marcus Kruger on Team Sweden, Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin on Team Russia, Michal Kempny on Team Czech Republic and Ville Pokka on Team Finland.
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville also is participating; he’s an assistant for Team Canada.
How can I watch?
ESPN has the exclusive radio and TV rights in the U.S., and most games will appear on ESPN or ESPN2. Live access to the network’s coverage will be available through WatchESPN.
Will watching Team USA interfere with Bears or Cubs games?
The short answer is “somewhat.” The American team’s group play schedule is as follows:
vs. Europe, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2
vs. Canada, 7 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN
vs. Czech Republic, 7 p.m. Sept. 22, ESPN2
The first two games bump heads with the Cubs, though at the rate they’re going, they’ll have the NL Central Division crown wrapped up before the weekend.
If the U.S. takes second place in its group, which is likely, it will play at noon Sept. 25, and the Bears play at 7:30 p.m. that day. Should the U.S. win its group, its semifinal will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 24. So no overlap with the Bears. Whew!
You can view the full schedule here.
Will training camps be affected?
In the sense that full rosters will not be available right away, yes. Practices and preseason games will go on as scheduled. The final game of the championship series will be no later than Oct. 1, and players will rejoin their teams for the remainder of camp before the NHL regular season begins. The Blackhawks begin training camp Sept. 23 at Johnny’s Ice House West, and the team’s first preseason game is Sept. 28 vs. Pittsburgh.
Will the World Cup matchups feel like glorified All-Star Games?
Not a chance. Take the U.S. and Canada, for example. These teams often stand in each other’s way when it comes to international glory, and they weren’t afraid to play rough in an exhibition game Friday. Between the teams, ten penalties were called, including six for roughing, and USA forward Ryan Kesler was ejected for boarding Canada’s Shea Weber. And that was just a warmup contest.
“Without saying too much, I think there were a couple of borderline hits there where our guys were put in some awkward positions and there’s not much you can do there,” Toews said afterward. “The one on Weber was the right call there. We just have to try and protect ourselves and expect that the officials are going to do what they have to do. We have no problem with the chippiness and the physical play, [but] it doesn’t matter where you’re playing, I think you always have to respect the player when he has his back to you.”
Who will be the tournament’s breakout star?
Crawford is a good bet. The Hawks goaltender stopped all 10 shots he faced in Saturday’s exhibition matchup against the United States, and several were spectacular. Although he’s one of three goalies on Canada’s roster, Montreal’s Carey Price is coming off an injury, which could increase Crawford’s playing time.
“He gets that opportunity he knows if he goes out there and does what he knows he can, he’s going to make a name for himself too,” Toews said. “It’s great to see him play the way he did.”
While Crawford isn’t exactly an unknown in hockey circles, a solid performance in Toronto could lead to more national team call-ups for him.
Can anyone beat Canada?
Eh, not likely. As usual, the Canadians are loaded. And in this event, they’re huge betting favorites, at 10-11 according to Bovada. The Americans, meanwhile, are given the fourth-best odds at 13-2.
Tribune contributed.
@redeyesportschi | chsosa@redeyechicago.com
