Five thoughts on Canada winning gold

This guy!!!

1) I have never seen a team thrown together for an international tournament play so well defensively. Canada only allowed three goals in six games and shut out the Americans in the semifinal, and the Swedes in the final. 

2) While Canada dominated Sweden, I feel a little disappointed that Canada didn't get to play the Swedish with all of their best players. Sweden was missing their captain Henrik Zetterberg, Henrik Sedin, Johan Franzen and Nicklas Backstrom. 

3) Speaking of Backstrom, I was in shock when the Score app on my iPhone informed me, minutes before the game, that Backstrom was to miss the gold medal final because of migraines. I was even more shocked when late in the game, the app reported that Backstrom had tested positive for a banned substance. 

Apparently, Backstrom's failed drug test results  came from higher than allowable levels of pseudoephedrine in his urine sample. This was caused by Backstrom's use of an allergy medication.

The Swedish team seems to be very angry about this and judging by the initial reports they may have a right to be.

4) Objectively, international sized ice is worse than North American sized ice. Anyone who was under the misconception that more space means more offence should fully understand the opposite is true after watching hockey at the Sochi Olympics. International ice means less play down the centre of the rink, more play along the boards, a lot of ineffective cycling of the puck in the offensive zone, overly effective defensive systems and low scores. While there was some great hockey in Sochi, it could have been a lot better.

5) For Canadian hockey, this was a glorious Olympic tournament with both the men and women winning gold. For the sport of hockey, this tournament may have been a setback.

While Canada won the men's and women's tournaments, there is little potential growth for hockey in a country that opens its bars in the early morning to watch the gold medal final. It can also be argued that there is little room for growth in Finland who won the bronze medal. 

After getting their hopes up, the Americans were disappointed by the Canadians in the semifinals in a low scoring game, and ultimately embarrassed by the Finns in the bronze medal game. The Russians, who were under a lot of pressure from the home fans, were also embarrassed by the Finns. The Swedes did not have a chance to compete with their full roster, and as a result the gold medal game was a dud. There is also a list stars like John Tavares and Zetterberg who got injured in Sochi and might miss the rest of the season in the NHL. Also, Backstrom's failed drug test may create tension between the NHL and the IOC. None of these things bode well for future NHL participation in the Winter Olympics.

There is some hope. There is room for hockey to grow in Slovenia and Latvia who both exceeded expectations. Also, the women's final was so good that hopefully it can appeal to sports fans outside of just Canada.