While we in Canada are basking in the glow of another gold medal at the world junior hockey championship, I want to go back to Saturday’s semifinal, in which Russia beat Sweden in 3-on-3 overtime.
I was reminded of a conversation I had with a former National Hockey League coach when the NHL adopted 3-on-3 in extra time. He said, and I quote, “Coaches will find a way to make that boring.” That lack of excitement trickled down to the junior tournament too. Russia actually skated the puck out of the Swedish zone, then re-entered before scoring the winner on
Saturday.
Last season, former NHL GM Brian Burke had an idea that I think is brilliant: A shot clock. If a team doesn’t attempt a shot at the opposing net in a certain amount of time, the offensive team has to give up the puck.
One of the reasons 3-on-3 came to be was to create excitement. That wasn’t the case on Saturday, and isn’t in a lot of 3-on-3 hockey. A shot clock would fix that.