Do you have anything to back up the claim that Olympic participation boosts US viewership of the NHL?

Not really. There are very few top 18-19 year olds in the AHL, largely due to the fact that there are rules in place requiring them to be returned to their CHL teams if they don’t remain in the NHL. This doesn’t apply to Europeans so you see the occasional young European in the AHL.

None of those players would be eligible to play without the NHL permitting participation, unless future CBAs change that.

Yep, the seedings were altered to accommodate the Canada-US game. The defending gold and silver medalists have not been in the same group for any previous tournament using this format as far as I can tell.

Are you blind or just stupid?

Shit like this when scrums are in front of a bench isn’t that uncommon, and certainly happened all the time back in the enforcer eras. The spear crosses a line, but to act like the likes of Barnaby didn’t do things from the bench or anywhere else in the building for the purpose of getting under his opponents skin is…

13 goals and 35 assists as an 18 year old rookie, good for 6th in rookie scoring, sure screams no talent huh?

Matthew is definitely a pain in the ass and crosses the line regularly, but I don’t think it’s fair to say he doesn’t stand up for himself. He doesn’t shy away from much and dropped the gloves 3 times last year, which given the much reduced degree of fighting is a fair amount for a rookie.

It happens frequently because *gasp* professional sports are played at such a pace that it is virtually impossible for a human to track everything that occurs in real time with any degree of accuracy.

Penalty given for a supposed hand ball that hit the defender in the body, and even if it had hit the hand or arm it was fully against his body. One of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in a match of this level of importance.

Which coincidentally has likely just happened to Northern Ireland

Tell that to Northern Ireland, who have likely had their world cup hopes snuffed out by a pathetically bad call that could have been reversed on review in a matter of seconds.

Shoving someone aside? The fuck video did you watch?

Being a “better” athlete is not the same as being a better rugby player

Taking them at 20 or 21 isn’t going to lead to a team that competes with the powers. Maybe you rise up to competing with the second tier teams, but that’s about it. Competing with the elite will only happen when rugby stakes enough of a foothold that elite athletes focus on it early in their development. Repurposing…

Now that it’s morning and you’re presumably sober you may want to re-watch and reevaluate your position

LOL, looks like we have ourselves an angry elf.

Oh is someone getting upset that the claims they’ve pulled out of their ass are getting called out? You’re making shit up and generally running your mouth like a fool, if you want to be taken seriously perhaps lead with something that shows you have a factual basis for your position.

All claims which have been thoroughly debunked

That is both false and not supportive of your initial claim. the Oil Kings took that crown last season with an average attendance of 9461, which is also not a 5 figure number.