Augen said:
Teeqoz said: Eh... Dominance in any sport by any country is rarely good for the sport. Look at cross-country skiing. Completely dominated by Norwegian athletes, and it's detrimental to the sport as a whole, on an international arena. While Hockey is bigger than cross-country, I'm still not convinced the sport is better off being dominated by a few countries. |
For a century at has been largely dominated by the Canadians and the Soviets/Russians with the Swedes, Americans, and Finns being also being competitive. Hockey will always struggle to grow beyond countries that have the climate that are conducive to the sport.
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Cost is also a factor, as it's quite expensive to play. As far as today goes, you can easily add Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Slovakia. Belarus, Germany, Latvia, Norway, and France are competative in general as well. France has come a long way in recent years. Your point stands though.