More than 30 percent of NHL players to appear in a game this season were born outside of North America. No pro sport offers such a rich diversity of nationalities and no pro league is in better position to take advantage of its natural resources to expand its presence on the world stage.
No league has failed more miserably.
Except failing implies trying, and if there is one thing Sixth Avenue has made clear since canceling its way to a hard cap in 2005, it is that the league has little interest in attempting to carve out a place on the world stage.