Could Canada Field Multiple International Hockey Teams?

While watching Canada White play Canada Black at the World U17 Hockey Challenge in Sarnia, Ontario earlier this week, I overheard a conversation between two NHL scouts. It all revolved around one question, should Canada field multiple teams at other International hockey competitions?

Hypothetically, Canada could easily roster multiple teams, however, currently in IIHF sanctioned events, that option isn’t allowed.

In other Olympic sports, or World Championship competitions, countries enter multiple teams. In bobsleigh, for example, there is a Canada 1, Canada 2, Canada 3. I use bobsleigh, because technically, it’s a team sport. Other events, such as skiing, there are multiple athletes from the same country, but it is on an individual level.

Still, in other sports, the same country can win multiple medals in the same sport. So why not hockey?

At the World U17 Hockey Challenge, Hockey Canada evenly divides the talent so no team is intentionally stronger than the others, or at least that’s how it’s designed.

If they chose to make only multiple entries however, and put the best players on Team 1, and the rest on Team 2 and 3, Canada would stand a darn good chance at multiple medals.

This could be said at the Olympic level as well, where incredible NHL talent (re: Claude Giroux, Eric Staal, etc) are left off Canada’s roster, when they are far and away better than most players on other international rosters.

If international competition is meant to pose the best against the best, why not let countries enter multiple teams. If they can qualify, it only makes sense.

In the women’s game, everyone would benefit by adding a few more deep teams of talent from the USA and Canada, continuing the development of the game. And in both the men’s and women’s game, it would mean seeing all of the worlds best players, not only a portion.

It’s really a win-win situation. I don’t think it should be done at the expense of holding down other Nation’s trying to develop elite programs, but it also should be considered to not punish a country already owning an elite program.

While Canada hasn’t opened the World U17 Hockey Challenge in dominant fashion, it is undoubtedly along with the USA, who could also field multiple teams at the event, one of the deepest nations in the world in terms of hockey talent.

The bigger, sanctioned events should look to Hockey Canada’s model at this event and see opportunity to grow the game, and showcase the world’s elite talent.

So could Canada field multiple hockey teams at an International event? Of course they could. Will they? Not until the rules change, but I think it’s time this discussion leaves the realm of “what ifs” and becomes a serious conversation.