The USA are on the outside looking in of the World's top five men's hockey countries, according to the IIHF.
On Friday morning, the IIHF released its annual world hockey rankings and the Americans ranked sixth overall in the men's category. According to the IIHF, the rankings are based on the results from the Winter Olympics (including Qualifications) and World Hockey Championships of the last four years. They are then used to determine the seeding of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Women's team, however, took care of business with the number one ranking.
There are obviously different elements that need to be taken into account. 1) NHL players did not participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics (or qualification events since) and 2) some of the world's best players have competed in the Stanley Cup playoffs while the World Cup has been played in the spring. Still, it's surprising to see the Americans rank so low given all the star power from the country. The Americans have not won gold at the World Hockey Championship since 1960. The Women's team on the other hand has won the past five.
With the rankings set, the IIHF also released an early look at the groupings for the 2022 Games. The Americans and Canadians are set to square off in both categories... Things should be interesting!
You have to think this will spark a serious fire in the Americans heading into the next series of events. Time will tell if they can change their ranking for 2021.
(H/T IIHF)
