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World Cup Of Hockey Exceeding Expectations, Bettman Pleased With Developments

The '16 World Cup of Hockey hosted perhaps its two most-anticipated preliminary games yesterday -- Canada-U.S. and Sweden-Finland -- and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the idea behind the revival of the tournament was to "remind people of what a great event this is." Appearing on Sportsnet's coverage of Canada's 4-2 win over the U.S., Bettman said, "After a decade of not having the World Cup, we wanted to bring it back big, bold and exciting. ... I think we've done that being here in Toronto with the legacy programs and the fan village and all the competitions and concerts and everything that we're doing." All tournament games this year are being played in Toronto's Air Canada Centre, and Bettman said league officials have talked about spreading the games to other cities in the future. However, he said, "We don’t think there are too many cities that could pull off 16 or 17 games in a two-week period. We knew, when you’re in Toronto, you could do it." Bettman added, "We’re going to evaluate and re-evaluate, think about what we can do to make this event even better going forward” ("Canada-U.S.," Sportsnet, 9/20). TSN's Pierre LeBrun noted there is "talk of maybe two cities hosting" games for future tournaments. TSN's Darren Dreger noted the next World Cup is slated for September '20, but "there could be a lockout that month" if either the NHL or the NHLPA "decides to opt out" of the current CBA in '19 ("Insider Trading," TSN, 9/20).

SO FAR, SO GOOD
: The NATIONAL POST's Cam Cole noted the World Cup is an "idea undeniably born of greed," but it "may well morph into something lasting and valuable." The event "needs to be great to survive the second-guessing," and the games need to be "played at such a high level that the advance criticism -- wrong time of year, cash grab ... turn out to be irrelevant, or just plain wrong." Cole: "So far, so good. In fact, so far, fabulous" (NATIONAL POST, 9/20). ESPN.com's Scott Burnside noted the tournament "must prove it deserves a place at hockey's international table," and "if it's done right, many believe there is a place for such a tournament." Burnside: "What began as a gimmick has morphed into a happening" (ESPN.com, 9/15). Sportsnet’s Ron MacLean noted the NHL “caught lightning in a bottle” with the creation of Team North America and Team Europe for this event. MacLean: “A lot of us thought maybe it is a gimmick and the whole thing might be a cash grab. None of us feel that way now.” Bettman noted Air Canada Centre was "berserk" for Monday night's Russia-North America game ("Canada-U.S., Sportsnet, 9/20).

DOLING OUT THE LOOT
: TSN's Bob McKenzie reports it likely will take "months to reconcile the financials" on the World Cup, but it appears $25-30M is "earmarked for the players." The goal now is to determine "which players are going to get that." McKenzie: "The PA has suggested to the players that are participating in the tournament, maybe you want to do a 50-50 split where the players that participated ... get 50% of the proceeds and the remaining 50% goes to the rest of the rank and membership in the NHL that didn’t play in the tournament." That distribution is "something that the PA is going to work through” (“Insider Trading,” TSN, 9/20).

MISSING A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: The GLOBE & MAIL's Eric Duhatschek notes Canada's defeat of the U.S. last night "moved Canada into the World Cup semi-final this coming weekend and eliminated the Americans." This event was "considered a significant opportunity" for ESPN and the NHL to "showcase the changes and improvements in the NHL product, since ESPN last broadcast hockey" prior to the '04-05 lockout. Duhatschek: "Instead, you can comfortably predict how the American pratfall will diminish ratings for an event that still has up to 12 days to run" (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/21). THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ken Campbell noted World Cup organizers placed Canada and the U.S. in the same group "thinking the two squads would get a pass to the semifinal, then meet in the tournament final." Canada "did its part," while the U.S. "failed miserably" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 9/20). 

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