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The IIHF Looking for Payback |
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What a stir Szymon Szemberg caused today with his article on the IIHF website regarding “Saying No to your country.” Of course because the article took specific aim at Canadian hero Sidney Crosby, the Canadian radio media was all over this like ants on a sweet-tart, but I didn’t get around to reading it until after 5:30 pm when I was leaving work.
Wow. Talk about stirring up some controversy. Granted, I imagine some of what this gentleman penned was tongue in cheek. Certainly the IIHF didn’t really get “I promised to fold napkins for my cousin’s wedding.” as an excuse from a prominent NHLer, but some of what he has to say seems irrational.
I am pretty certain Sidney Crosby, and all the others for that matter, are not thumbing their nose at their countries. That is just a foolish notion. Does Mr Szemberg realize how long the NHL season is? Those players who are working in the NHL play 82 games and travel for eight straight months. I do believe that the season in some European countries is far less.
Our NHLers get banged up every game and don’t say too much, especially those in the playoffs. Yet he dismisses those injuries as not being a good enough excuse. “I am injured (… but had my team advanced to the next round of the playoffs I woul d have played.)” Damn straight!
He tries to make a case as to what these players “owe” their country and what the national federation has bestowed on them. While I applaud the developments such programs as the NTDP (National Team Development Program) in Ann Arbor have made to USA Hockey and it’s participants, I can’t believe that such programs should hold the participants indebted in perpetuity. Players should be allowed to say “NO” without feeling guilty! Just as they have a right to say YES! It’s a CHOICE, not a demand!
I wrote about the pride players feel when being called upon by their country, but I also wrote about the pitfalls that go with it. Should players truly risk injury and their livelihoods on a World Championship in May after they have played for eight months? Should players at the end of their contracts take the risk of career ending injury? I think not.
Sorry IIHF, but no matter what, a player’s first responsibility is to his family and his employer. The writer went through a list of players who said “No” for various reasons and those who said “Yes” and painted them as villains and patriots. Pathetic.
Particularly egregious for me as an Islander fan is his mention of “…the only Swiss superstar, defenceman Mark Streit…” whom he seems to believe is ’lazy’ for offering up an excuse of being tired. The writer points out that Mr. Streit hasn’t played a single playoff game and played his last regular season game on April 11th. How can he be tired? How?
Well, Sir, had you watched any of the Islanders regular season you may have seen that Mark Streit played a staggering amount of minutes every game. And then of course there was that two week stint as Captain of the Swiss National team in Vancouver smack in the middle of the NHL season in February.
And there is the other sticky point. The author makes note that these high priced stars can say “yes” to the Olympics but “NO” to the World Championship and makes it an affront to their country for their own idea of financial viability.
You want the best of the best to participate? Don’t have a World Championship only a few months after the Olympics. Forego it Olympic years. Or don’t make it almost three weeks long at the end of a grueling season. And lastly, don’t complain if you have no idea how it feels to be in their shoes.
If this is how the IIHF is going to “promote” the players of the game we love so much -- maybe I’ll rethink following at all hours games I can’t watch on a website that is miserable for a tournament that has yet to be embraced by the states. The Stanley Cup playoffs, the Calder Cup playoffs and the Memorial Cup is all being played at the same time. You’re not the only game in town, whether it’s GLOBAL or not!
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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