Bruce Peter

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[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

Kyrgyzstan are 2-0 after 2 games at their IIHF debut tournament. THEY ARE AN UNDEFEATED INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY TEAM. #Canadanow2ndbest

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

Looks like the Krygyz international born in 1962 didn't make the final cut for the team. :( But 45 year old ('68) Sultanbek Tokoyev did!

[Tarasikodissa Rousombladadiotes @gurj_jaswal]

@puckworlds @hockeyesque Reports indicating Macao beat India 12-0, & Kyrgyzstan beat Singapore 6-3 http://t.co/YI07Ea2IZY #HockeyIsGlobal

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@StephanCooper30 And the Swiss just plain don't like the rest of Europe. 2 Swiss in Sweden, 0 elsewhere. Either go for NHL or stay put.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@wilsonecho91 *presents*

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@wilsonecho91 Absolutely. Canada just prevents a massive roadblock!

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@Z_A_Kline At least in the 80s and 90s we had AHL teams out East, too!

*crickets*

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@wilsonecho91 Well, there are fewer hockey powers than soccer powers. USA does decently in soccer, too.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

Does any other sport, anywhere in the world have this kind of phenomenon?

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

There are over 1000 high level pro hockey players that are Canadian, and yet there are only 11 high level pro hockey clubs in Canada itself.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@Z_A_Kline @felixpotvin I don't have any idea, but you don't get the kind of local super-teams & higher caliber of play early as a result.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@felixpotvin As in, a decent amount of hockey rich areas have hockey in their school's athletics program.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@felixpotvin I bet a lot of US players quit playing competitively once they're done with it as a school sport. Canada's focus is to pros.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

@felixpotvin I getcha. I think it's partly the focus of the systems: in the US it's still a school sport.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

This is despite the fact that only about 150 or so Canadian born hockey players get paid to play the game in a top league in Canada itself.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

So when are the USA going to catch Canada by shear matters of population? Well... right now Canada has > 2:1 pro player advatange on USA.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

All figures on the nationalities by league are compiled thanks to the excellent @eliteprospects breakdowns.

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

Canada has more pros in top European pro circuits than Germany, which is where one of those notable Euro leagues is located (237 to 218).

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

If you need an illustration of just how many high level Canadian male players there are, consider this... (1/2)

[Bruce Peter @puckworlds]

There just is no way you can have a world ranking without Canada on top. I agree you need int'l matches, but there are enough out there.