When the revival of the World Cup of Hockey was first announced, it was expected that Canada would be the team to beat, and that’s precisely what has tranpired through the preliminary and semi-final rounds, as the team went undefeated on its way to the start of the best-of-three final.
Team Europe, on the other hand, was criticized from the moment their inclusion in the tournament was mentioned, and the team that was selected from a selection of small countries in Europe didn’t do much to quell fears of the team being a weak entrant into a best-on-best tournament.