Thinking About Countries...

As a Canadian hockey fan I always become somewhat torn when thinking about other countries rising as a hockey nation. Sure I like to imagine what it would be like if China was right up there with the hockey powers of Canada, Russia, U.S.A, etc... But on the flip side, doesn't that take away from the hockey dominance Canada already has? Sharing the slices of the pie with more countries, well....takes away from our pie! We like our slice of pie just the way it is here in Canada! But I'm not knocking anybody here, if a country can have success- and they've earned it- then by God let them. So then what's my point? Well my point is that it's a very hard thing to think about when thinking about other countries in hockey. So the solution I've come up with is this: don't think about it, or you're going to confuse readers. So I'm not. I'll let you.

Article tidbits from around the web:
-"In a nation with more than a billion people, if even a small percentage of Chinese youths concentrated in the northeast of the country seriously take up the game, there will eventually be a large pool of talent. But for Chinese hockey to grow in the future, it can't be allowed to die in the present. During the last year, the NHL's San Jose Sharks have been working to make sure there's a viable Chinese team in the seven-team Asia League of Ice Hockey (ALIH)." From NHL.com
-Hockey in Ireland: "Recently, the Irish Ice Hockey Association announced the launch of the country’s first all-island domestic hockey league -- a five-team circuit that will play each Saturday from Sept. 15 until next April. Given the success of the Division III Worlds and the enthusiastic support that a Northern Irish club -- the Belfast Giants -- has received from fans on both sides of the political divide, the Irish Ice Hockey League stands a good chance to succeed, given proper planning and organization." From Allducks.com
-Aussies developing: "Ice Hockey Australia (Australian Ice Hockey Federation Incorporated) has six state member ice hockey associations and is the recognised governing body for ice hockey in Australia. IHA is affiliated with the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), and Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), and is an active member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)." from http://www.iha.org.au
-Hockey in South Africa: http://www.icehockey.co.za/
-Hockey in Japan: "Japan Ice Hockey League comprised six teams.
Each team plays the others six times for a 40-game schedule,
after which the top 4 teams qualify for the playoffs.
Semifinals and finals are palyed in a best-of-5 format." from http://www2q.biglobe.ne.jp/~toru/hockey/jihl.html


And if you're not intrigued and scared at the same time about this then congratulations! You don't need to live with the dilemma I face...or don't face.