World Hockey Summit

The World Hockey Summit was an international ice hockey conference held in Toronto from August 23 to 26, 2010. It was arranged by the International Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, the National Hockey League (NHL), the Canadian Hockey League and Molson Coors as the title sponsor. The theme of the summit was "global teamwork promoting the growth of the game," and it focused on helping players develop their skills.

The summit aimed to make changes in hockey to improve the sport. However, the Toronto Star noted that not much had changed since the Open Ice Summit in 1999. One big topic was whether children were still playing hockey just because they loved the game. The discussions were mainly for people who work with national hockey teams and hockey leaders. They talked about how the NHL relates to leagues in Europe and ice hockey at the Olympic Games. They also looked at the future of junior ice hockey, women's ice hockey, and international men's events like the Ice Hockey World Championships.

Planning

The idea for the World Hockey Summit started when leaders from the International Ice Hockey Federation talked about sharing hockey knowledge during the planning of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The summit took place from August 23 to August 26 in Toronto. It was organized by groups like the IIHF, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, the National Hockey League, the Canadian Hockey League, and Molson Coors. The main idea was to help grow the sport of hockey around the world, especially focusing on developing players. People like coaches, league leaders, and business people could join, either in person or online. Bob Nicholson led the summit, and tickets cost C$450 but were open to anyone.

Schedule

World Hockey Summit schedule:

Sessions

Hot stove league

The first discussion focused on the relationship between Russia’s ice hockey league and the NHL. Russia wanted better financial terms when its players joined the NHL. The NHL also wanted this relationship improved because there was no agreement at the time.

Another discussion involved agents who help find talented European players for North American junior teams. A Toronto Maple Leafs leader also talked about the role of parents in choosing agents for young players.

Player skills development

This part talked about keeping players safe. There were discussions about when it’s right to allow body checking in youth hockey and the risks of head injuries. Experts suggested waiting until players are older before allowing body checking to keep them safer while they develop skills.

René Fasel Q&A

The leader of international ice hockey talked about NHL plans in Europe and the Olympics. He wanted to keep NHL players in the Olympics because it helps promote the sport, even though the NHL hadn’t decided about participating in the next Winter Olympics.

Junior hockey development

European countries were worried about young players leaving for North America before they were ready. They wanted to improve their own hockey systems so players would stay.

2010 Winter Olympics

The summit looked back at the men’s hockey tournament at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Topics included money issues, TV viewership, and whether to use smaller or larger ice surfaces.

Gary Bettman Q&A

The NHL’s leader talked about NHL participation in the Olympics. He said no decision had been made about the 2014 Winter Olympics and listed several issues that needed solving.

Agenda for international events

Ideas were shared about planning future international hockey events, including the World Cup of Hockey and possible new competitions. A former Swiss coach suggested better planning to help grow the game globally.

Future of women's ice hockey

The strong performance of Canada and the United States in women’s hockey was discussed. There were concerns about keeping the sport in the Olympics because of the talent gap. Ideas were shared about how to grow the sport worldwide.

Growing participation in hockey

The summit ended with talks on how to get more young people involved in hockey. Concerns were raised about the cost and other sports attracting young players.

Reception

Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star thought that not much had changed to improve Canadian ice hockey since a similar meeting in 1999. He pointed out that the idea of playing hockey just for fun was still being talked about.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports believed there was too much talk about money in the game. He felt the speakers did not talk in a way that was interesting or helpful. He thought the meeting missed a chance to talk about using TV and video games to grow the sport and reach new people from different backgrounds.

The Waterloo Region Record noticed that college ice hockey from the United States, run by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, was not part of the World Hockey Summit. It suggested this might be because of competition for players between the United States college teams and the Canadian Hockey League.

The organizers, including Hockey Canada, hoped the summit would help leaders from around the world connect and make future changes to improve hockey.