The World Cup of Hockey might be no more -- for now -- but it's hard not to look at the league and see the ripple effects created by Team North America in 2016's event. It was a statement from the league's young players.
What Team North America showed the NHL and its fans is how hockey can look when you throw out traditional roster construction and simply build a speed- and skill-based team. Even the so-called grinders were guys who could put up numbers.
And the game is better today than it was heading into the 2016-17 season.