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To tell the truth: the World Cup didn't just provide a last hurrah for the NHL—it proved some of the game's most widely known assumptions to be false

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Kara Yorio

The 2004 World Cup of Hockey gave fans a going-away party with some great hockey. Going into the tournament, it was obvious this would be the last time NHL players would compete at an elite level for a while. When the two weeks were over, there were memories--and there were a few tenets that had been revealed as myths:

Vincent Lecavalier is an incomplete player

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Team Canada coach Pat Quinn said Vincent Lecavalier was left off the original Canadian roster because management was worried Lecavalier would be a defensive liability. The roster was announced during the Stanley Cup playoffs, and if Quinn was telling the truth, the Canadian scouts should have looked more closely at Lecavalier's play. His game never has been more complete, and he was working flawlessly in Lightning coach John Tortorella's system when Team Canada snubbed him. Lecavalier handled the slight well publicly and focused on the playoffs. Eventually, Lecavalier was named to the team to replace the injured Steve Yzerman.

In the tournament, Lecavalier played exceptionally well at both ends of the ice, providing more than just scoring. Game after game, in a lineup that included Joe Sakic, Mario Lemieux and/arome Iginla, Lecavalier consistently was Canada's best forward. Linemate Ryan Smyth praised Lecavalier's physical game, which helped keep opponents from containing Lecavalier's playmaking and finishing.

Lecavalier finished the tournament with two goals and five assists and was named the World Cup's most valuable player. Not bad for a guy Team Canada management thought would be a liability.

Finland can't win a big game

Hockey is the biggest sport in Finland, according to Team Finland's players, and its legion of fans have suffered one heartbreak after another. Think Red Sox. The Finnish team has been known for taking big leads in big games and losing.

"For these guys, it's mentally tough," says Olli Jokinen of the players who have been through one collapse after another.

But Finland got a new coach, Raimo Summanen, and a new attitude. The players didn't pout over ice time as they did in the past.

"We're all pulling on the same rope," Jokinen said before playing Canada in the final. "It's a big change for us."

Finland didn't beat Canada, but its semifinal win against the United States was the biggest victory in Finnish hockey history. In the final against Canada, the Finns didn't collapse. The team fought hard, coming back twice to tie the score and pressuring until the very end. In this tournament, they earned elite status.

Before this World Cup, Finland's biggest accomplishment was winning the 1995 world championship. But the Finnish players and coach said that tournament didn't include the game's greatest players and didn't rival the competition the Olympics and World Cup provided. It didn't equal the semifinal victory.

Finland defeated Team USA with a dedicated, disciplined, tough-to-play (and sometimes tough-to-watch) defensive style. Against Canada, the Finns played more aggressively and showed they could skate with the best.

When it was over, captain Saku Koivu stood in the locker room and said his teammates were disappointed but over time would recognize they had a lot to be proud of. Indeed, they do. For themselves and their fans, they shook the label of "chokers" even without beating Canada.

Team USA doesn't have an elite goaltender

Robert Esche finished the World Cup 1-3, but those numbers do not tell the story of Esche's tournament. Anyone who watched the United States' first two round-robin games knows the Americans were blown out of the building and were spared embarrassment only by Esche's calm play under pressure and one spectacular save after another. He got the job done as best he could with the lineup in front of him. His teammates had confidence in him, and USA Hockey should know he's the guy from this point forward.

And Esche is not alone. Rick DiPietro played well in his one game, helping the aging U.S. defense with his ability to play the puck. DiPietro needs more off-ice maturity before Team USA can rest its hopes on him. But it doesn't need to--Esche can get the job done. He proved that. The United States no doubt will enter the next international tournament with some questions, but not one will be raised about goaltending.

Regional stereotypes are accurate

Europeans are soft. North Americans are all strength with no skill. Europeans dive. North Americans play dirty. Those kinds of statements and the xenophobia behind the many criticisms now must be put aside. The European teams fought hard for every puck, and Finland's finalists were as feisty and tough as they come. Americans and Canadians alike dived to get hooking and tripping calls, and yet there were no speeches afterward decrying the state of the game.

It remains true that Europeans learn and play one style of the game and North Americans learn and play another. There always will be differences in the ways they approach the game, which is what makes it fun to watch, but nothing is exclusive to one nation or continent anymore. Europe might produce more skilled one-on-one players, but that does not mean North America is without such talent. North 2America might give hockey its biggest and best tough guys in front of the net, but Europeans aren't automatically knocked off the puck, either. It certainly has been shown before, but this tournament proved that as each year passes, the two continents are coming closer and closer together in style and strategy.

To tell the truth: the World Cup didn't just provide a last hurrah for the NHL—it proved some of the game's most widely known assumptions to be false

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Kara Yorio

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