I am from Regina, from Ruth M. Buck and Winston Knoll

I am from the prairies

And the violently cold winters

I am from the poutine, the soft melted cheese

And thick steamy gravy,

From Carrie and Warren and Preston

I am from evo six and g35

From Travelling and pizza

I am from basketball

I’m from Iceland, vinarterta and Russia

From the laughter, the friends and the cheap slurpees

I am from Otto and Sophie

I am Austin

Mrs. Kuntz

English A30

9 April 2017

                                                                         Olympic Games Participation

After months of negotiating with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), world hockey’s governing body, the NHL announced that its players would not be participating in the Pyeongchang Games. The NHL is opposed to a 17-day break in the National Hockey League (NHL) schedule to accommodate the matches. The league should not be able to stop players from traveling and representing their countries. Players in the NHL should be allowed to compete in the 2018 olympics.

I think it is irrational that the National Hockey League is stopping the best players in the world compete in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Gary Bettman, commissioner of the league says that he will not temporarily shut down NHL play for the olympic games. Shutting down will cost the league millions of dollars. After Canadian and New York Islanders star John Tavares was injured at the 2014 Olympics and missed the rest of the regular season, team owners and executives realized they were putting their assets at risk.

It is selfish of commissioner Bettman to use his executive power, to prevent players from representing their nations. The NHL is the players and fans league. The hockey fans around the world are angry that they cannot watch their country’s best players compete because they play professionally. The players may not dream of winning the stanley cup, they grow up dreaming that they will compete for their country, winning a gold medal. They are aware of what is at stake; olympic participation means a pay cut, and risk of injury, but that does not matter to them.

The NHL are wanting to grow the game to more people around the world. They also want to change their style of play because NHL hockey is becoming less exciting. The Olympics are the perfect opportunity to increase professional hockey’s exposure. These international tournaments have provided some of the best hockey we have seen in recent years and it is exactly the type of hockey that the league is moving towards; fast paced, all skill and no fighting. Hockey’s exposure can lead to more fans, those fans will start watching the most professional hockey league in the world, which will make the NHL money.

This game is the hockey players passion. It should be about playing the game they love for the country they were born in, and that is what the Olympics is about. Unlike the NHL, the olympics is not a business. Heritage is a big part of the game, and it shouldn’t be about taking away the best hockey players on the planet from the largest international stage. The NHL needs to do a better job of putting their players first, and making them a priority. Every hockey fan across the globe, players, club owners and NHL fans, and many others want to see the sport evolve and watch the best hockey there is.