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The World Juniors are entertainment for the vast majority of the world. But that’s not really why they’re held. It’s not about us. It’s about the 230-250 players who get a chance to represent their country and develop and hone their hockey skills by playing the best in the world.
To say that the tournament structure is flawed because we have to watch some teams get blown out is a poor argument. Because it’s not about what the viewers want. If the players want to be there, they’re going to play their hearts out, blowouts and all.
How do players get better? You learn the most in defeat. You learn the most when you play the best of the best. It makes teams and players better. That’s why this tournament is so great, because it affords players the opportunity to play and learn from the best.
The World Juniors are not about us. It might have turned into an “event”, but it wasn’t supposed to be one at the start. When we start referring to the tournament with how it affects viewers, we’ve lost sight of why the tournament was held this to begin with.
It’s selfish and it’s unfair to the players and staff who gave up, quite literally, almost everything to be playing this year. This tournament means the world to each & every single one of these players. It shouldn’t matter what we think. The only opinions that matter are theirs.
