Count "The Great One" among those unsure about the inclusion of North America and Europe in the field of eight teams competing at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.
North America will be made up of the best 23-and-under players from Canada and the United States, and Europe will be built around 23 players from European nations outside the top four (Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic).
Wayne Gretzky, who has fond memories of representing his home country at the Canada Cup and the inaugural World Cup, wonders about the merits of putting on a jersey fabricated specifically for this tournament.
"I just wonder if there was a 19-year-old that's good enough to play for his particular country, should he not have that option?" Gretzky told Dan Rosen of NHL.com, referring more to the North American squad. "You want to play for your country, you know."
At the same time, the European team gives players whose countries wouldn't be there a chance to play on the big stage.
"I'm excited for a guy like (Anze) Kopitar (from Slovenia), who gets to participate when he might not have had that opportunity in an event of this magnitude," Gretzky said. "So I think from that point of view it's a chance to show off our great players and show people how good they really are."
He added that the young stars won't be pushovers, and he'll be rooting for Connor McDavid and Co. to medal in the tournament.
Because everyone loves a good underdog story, right?
