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The inaugural World Cup of Hockey was
a joint venture between the National Hockey League and the National
Hockey League Players Association. Essentially it was the same old
Canada Cup tournament dusted off and given a new name
Eight countries instead of six
comprised the tournament. The nations were divided into two pools -
the North American pool and European pools. The North American pool
of course featured Canada and the United States, as well as Russia
and Slovakia. All these teams would play strictly in Canada and
parts of the US. The European pool was made up of Sweden, Finland,
the Czech Republic and Germany. Their games were played in
Stockholm, Helsinki, Garmisch and Prague. The playoff rounds would
all be played in North America due to financial advantages, with the
final game to be played in Montreal.
Teams would play a three game round
robin in their respective pools. First place finishers were rewarded
with a bye to the third round while 4th place finishers were
eliminated. Second and third place finishers would play a cross-over
one game quarterfinals with the winners advancing to a one-game semi-final
against the pool winners. The championship round itself
would remain a best of three.
The tournament was a huge success on
ice - as far as the National Hockey League and its commissioner Gary
Bettman were concerned. We saw some great hockey being played all
across the western world. Venues were filled to more than 90 per
cent capacity. And the Americans were not only in the final, but
would win the inaugural World Cup. This was great news as far as the
NHL was concerned, as they hoped interest in hockey would erupt
after the result. But it never really did.
The games themselves left a little
bit to be desired. Teams didn't hate each other like they had in the
past. The age-old rivalries such as Sweden-Finland, Czech Republic vs.
Slovakia, Canada vs. USA and everyone, especially Canada and the USA
vs. Russia, just didn't have the same mystique with the Cold War
over and most of the players being NHLPA union buddies.
For the most part the changes to the
old Canada Cup were necessary and good. And the hockey action was
special, as always!
In
The Book:
Game By Game Details with Complete
Boxscores
Complete Team by Team Rosters and Stats
Scoring Leaders and Goalie Leaders
Tournament Overviews and Summaries
Tournament Award Winners
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