When the NHL originally announced the concepts for Teams North America and Europe for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, many hockey fans seemed to dismiss the idea as nothing more than a gimmick.
The idea of putting a team of “Young Guns” together to showcase the level of talent among young players in the NHL, despite the fact they weren’t from the same country, is quite silly. Add in the fact that these elite talents were now ineligible to represent their own countries, and it certainly seemed like an unfavorable circumstance. Additionally, patching a team of European players together because their country wasn’t chosen to be represented at the World Cup was a bit strange.