Team Europe was a mystery heading into the World Cup of Hockey. No one knew how the group of players representing eight different countries would perform at the tournament against more established groups and players who have skated with one another for years. Would the group have any pride considering the team was created out of nothing?
The answer was a resounding yes and Anze Kopitar is the best proof.
I don't think I can explain with how much PRIDE I wore this jersey…. @TeamEUR_WCH #nopastandnofuture pic.twitter.com/CFH0O3IoLu
— Anze Kopitar (@AnzeKopitar) September 30, 2016
That’s a pretty fascinating comment. Kopitar had an immense sense of pride in a jersey which didn’t mean anything just a few weeks ago. His hashtag of #NoPastAndNoFuture reflects the team’s extremely short past and murky future.
Team Europe and Team North America were supposed to be experiments created simply to fill out the tournament. They ended up being the two best stories in the tournament. The league intends to invite more countries in the future, eliminating Team Europe and Team North America, but that might be a mistake considering how much fun these two squads were.
Based on the resounding successes of both teams, how can the NHL cut them out for the tournament’s next installment?
