On the Fly, theScore's wildly successful NHL roundtable series, continues with another - and perhaps final! - World Cup installment. With its end in sight, we're reflecting on what we loved and hated about the tourney.
Love: Select teams
Craig Hagerman: What began as a gimmick appears to have been an overwhelming success.
Many pegged Team North America and Team Europe to be the weaker clubs entering the tournament, but that was quickly put to rest. North America proved it was arguably the most skilled team outside of Canada, and left fans in awe and wanting more while showing off the future of the game.
Europe, meanwhile, proved two underwhelming exhibition games meant nothing, as they rose from underdogs to finalists and served to remind the hockey world there's far more talent across the pond than only what's found in Russia and the Nordic nations.
Canada's likely to finish things up Thursday, but there's no doubt the select teams made the tournament more exciting.
Hate: No North America-Canada matchup
Navin Vaswani: How. How do you put this tournament together and not guarantee a Canada vs. North America matchup. Why. How!
The kids were always going to be the tournament's most intriguing team, and Canada the best, and a matchup between the two was one we deserved. Connor McDavid against Sidney Crosby! It could've happened in the semifinal, but Finland decided to sleepwalk through the tourney and ruined everything.
But the point is: it shouldn't have been up to the Finns to make it happen. North America did what it could, playing three entertaining games and winning two, but if this format doesn't return, if the select teams are one-and-done, the World Cup will be remembered more for what could have been: Canada versus The Kids.
We saw - and were delighted - by North America versus Sweden. Now imagine 3-on-3 overtime against the Canadians.
In the end, even a pre-tournament game would've done.
Hate: Haters
Sean O'Leary: The World Cup was nitpicked and criticized consistently leading up to its return, and the negativity didn't stop once the tournament began.
The format, uniforms, and even the participating teams caught flak, but above all else, the first best-on-best competition in more than two years was criticized as being a "cash grab."
Well, in case you're just learning, the entire premise of pro sports is to generate revenue, so bashing a league for experimenting with a refurbished idea is hardly a worthwhile argument.
A Canada-Europe final is a little anticlimactic, sure, and omitting the quarterfinal round can be called a mistake, but this tournament captivated all of us at some point, one way or another. So unless you'd rather tune into a preseason game, quit complaining.
Love: Sid the God
Justin Cuthbert: It doesn't matter where you stand on Sid; the NHL is far better off when the best player on the planet is performing like it.
Returning from a season where he went from lost to reliving championship glory, Sidney Crosby has sustained his momentum, displaying the unmatched quality from last season's title run at the NHL's curtain-raising international competition.
From the pre-tournament to the best-of-three final, he's been spectacular, and largely responsible for bringing Canada to within a win of another major title - and another trophy exchange with Gary Bettman.
Crosby has three goals and a World Cup-leading nine points, centering easily the tournament's most dominant line, a unit that's accounted for 45 percent of Canada's total offense.
We all took the time to revel in the future at this World Cup. Just don't forget to enjoy the present.
Hate: September pain
Josh Gold-Smith: We hated seeing the many injuries sustained at the tournament, particularly the ones suffered by impact players.
Tyler Seguin broke his foot; Aaron Ekblad got either a concussion or a stiff neck, depending who you ask; Matt Murray broke his hand; Marian Gaborik is going to need two months to recover from a foot injury.
Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund was also diagnosed with a concussion, while three of the four Dallas Stars players selected to World Cup rosters sustained some sort of ailment.
Injuries are inevitable, and there's really no better time to hold the tourney, but NHL clubs have to be thrilled it's nearing an end.
