The IIHF World Championships are often looked at as a lesser international tournament that doesn’t rise anywhere close to the same quality and prestige of the Winter Olympic tourneys when it comes to the sport of hockey, or even to events like the World Cup and highly entertaining 4 Nations Faceoff that the NHL has concocted over the years. It’s looked at more as the tournament for NHL players not in the Stanley Cup playoffs, young up-and-coming prospects and for guys that tread the line between AHL star players and established NHL roster guys. But it can still be an extremely useful experience for the players involved and ultimately provides a proving and development ground for young players still looking to cement their reputations at the highest levels of hockey. And even this season the World Championships have players like Sidney Crosby, Mack Celebrini, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk suiting up for their countries, so it’s a high level of hockey.Read More