Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid used the excitement surrounding the World Baseball Classic to reaffirm his desire to see National Hockey League (NHL) players compete in international competitions.
• Also read: The Bruins are in danger of beating the Canadians’ 60-win season in 1976-1977
• Also read: The best ice cream in the NHL is at the Bell Center
At a press conference on Wednesday, the star player was asked what he thought of the event, which ended in Japan’s victory over the United States on Tuesday night.
“I think it’s really cool,” McDavid said. We’ve been asking for that in ice hockey for a long time, right? The best against the best. Look, everyone’s talking about baseball and the confrontation between them [Shohei] Ohtani and [Mike] Trout. That’s what hockey has been missing for a decade.
The NHL has not allowed its skaters to compete in the Olympics since the 2014 edition in Sochi. At the time, McDavid was 17 and still playing junior hockey.
The International Ice Hockey Federation organizes a World Championship each year, but it is held during the Bettman Circuit playoffs.
In 2016, the NHL hosted a World Championship in Toronto. The event brought together Canada, United States, Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, Russia, a European selection and a team that brought together the best North American players aged 23 and under. McDavid was the last team on this list.
The NHL has been flirting with the idea of hosting a new World Cup for some time. The month of February 2024 was brought forward last August, but the project was publicly abandoned three months later.