McKenzie on rumored World Cup tournament format: 'It's lame'

TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie isn't exactly a fan of the proposed new format for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

The format, as McKenzie described it when he  joined TSN Radio Tuesday afternoon, would feature the six "traditional hockey powers" and another two teams with no national affiliation: one with players from other European countries, and one with players under 23 years of age from any country.

"They'd come up with a Ryder Cup of nations, there was talk of a young stars under 23 without a nationality attached to it. It's lame ... let's not gimmick this thing up."

The Ryder Cup occurs every two years on the PGA Tour and features two teams: the USA and Europe. The Ryder Cup-style team would feature European players like Anze Kopitar who are elite but are not from Canada, the U.S., Sweden, Finland, Russia, or the Czech Republic.

McKenzie mentioned he hadn't been sure that the NHL's involvement in the Olympics would create great hockey, but now he's not convinced the proposed World Cup format can live up to the Olympics.

"I'm not sure now any national tournament that isn't the Olympics is going to have the same pizzazz, but if you come in with a United Nations team with blue helmets and an under-23 team ... come on."