Over the past couple of weeks the first ever World Cup of Hockey has been taking place. Now, it is nothing like the World Cup of soccer yet, let's just get that straight, but there is no saying it cannot get there. The tournament does not have a lot of teams, 8 to be exact, but it did not lack any excitement. Like anything that happens for the first time, it has been full of possibilities, surprises, and shocking moments and that hasn't been more true for the USA hockey team.
The United States hockey team went into their first ever World Cup with high hopes. You can make the case that they were the favorites to win it all. Playing close to home with a team full of NHL superstars, it is hard not to think the team was going to go somewhere in the tournament. But sometimes, high hopes turn into extreme disappointment. That is what happened to the USA hockey team.
The superstars from the best professional league in hockey lost all three games in their group and were knocked out of the tournament with their 2nd game loss to rival Canada. The team also lost to Team Europe, a team made up of players from different countries in Europe who did not have a team playing in the tournament already, and Czech Republic. Those two are teams that were definitely worse than the United States. The team played bad and did not play to the level that they should have and that is what cost them. But, you can also make the case that it was due to distractions.
The first of those, in my opinion, would be their goalie situation. Sometimes, when you do not know who your goalie it, it could hurt you as a team and worry about who you have back in the net. You have not been able to practice with him much, so you do not know what he likes in net. Maybe his preferences are different than the goalie they are used to having behind them and with the limited time they had to adjust, the late decision on goalie, I think, hurt. I think Tortorella made a bad decision, not choosing his goalie until closer tot he tournament. If he chose him earlier, it would have given the goalie more practice in net with his defensemen and vice versa. That, in my opinion, played a huge role in their disappointing form during the World Cup.
Another distraction I have heard recently has been that the coach's decision to tell his players they weren't allowed to protest during the national anthem played a big role. I personally do not agree, but I can see where they are coming from. I understand where he is coming from, but bringing that into the team and mentioning that shortly before the team took the ice in Toronto may not have been a great idea and added something to the players minds. Sometimes something as little as that can affect a player's mentality.
All in all, the team was a disappointment. They should have been better. All you can ask for is a much better performance next time they take the ice because if it is anything like this time, no one will be happy.
