In 2016, the NHL announced that it would be bringing the World Cup of Hockey back from the dead.
It was pretty boring.
The World Cup of Hockey had been played twice before, and both times it seemed to serve a purpose. In 1996, the World Cup was a replacement for the Canada Cup, revamped following the fall of the Soviet Union. Plus, it was a precursor to the 1998 Olympics, the first in which NHL players would be allowed to participate.
The 2004 World Cup was the final taste of hockey fans got before the NHL lockout robbed us of an entire season.
Both times, the World Cup was played with passion and vigor. With the NHL looking to make a few extra bucks and sell a few more jerseys, they dusted off the World Cup with a few new twists. This time around, there would be a Team Europe, comprised of the best players from seven European countries with too few NHL players to matter to Gary Bettman. Rounding out the field would be Team North America, a collection of the best players from the United States and Canada under the age of 23.
Nationalistic pride? Nowhere to be found. American marketing? Unfortunate, given the snubbing of prominent players like Phil Kessel, head coach John Tortorella’s horrible season in Columbus, Patrick Kane’s sexual assault allegations…
Jersey designs? Awful. How bad were they? Peep the video in the summary to find out. Today, we’re looking at the jersey of Team North America.
Adidas was given the reins to come up with a design for the team from scratch. It did not work.
Was there anything cool about the tournament? Well, check out the longform video, “World Cup Rebirth,” to find out!
