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Actually, the 1980 Winter Olympics proved that the traditional North American system didn't work very well in international hockey. That's why NCAA players -- who played under rules that were similar to IIHF rules for international play -- were able to win. And Herb Brooks brought a collegiate hockey mindset to his coaching, while he was pretty average at best later in his career as an NHL coach. He also built that 1980 team around his strategy of going to Lake Placid with a squad that would be superior to the Soviets in one respect that Canadian and U.S. teams were never able to achieve: they would be in better physical condition, and able to wear down the Soviets late in a game.

Critically, it is the Russian players who had to adjust to NHL more physical brand of hockey. Western hockey proved to be superior as a system.

Wayne Gretzky would disagree with you. And if you look at the NHL today, you'll see that it much more closely resembles the Soviet style of hockey in the 1970s than the North American style of that era. I would argue that the Europeans won out by forcing change in the NHL game, not vice versa.

As Ken Dryden wrote in one of his great books after he retired from the Montreal Canadiens ... Canada may have won the 1972 Summit Series over the Soviets, but the series really exposed a lot of flaws in the Canadian style of play.

“but you can’t pass a puck three meters to another player on the ice.”

Again, totally disproved by the 1980 game and we have competed against the Russians very well in International competition. All of the most elite talent in the International Junior Hockey Championship pretty convincingly proves that Americans can not only complete the pass, but beat the Russians. We won the championship last year.

“And if you look at the NHL today...”

Not even close. Some of the Russians and Swedes that come over here and go back home to play in their leagues each draft. Western Hockey is simply getting better and more skilled, especially in the United States. It’s a development story.

But the NHL is still very physical, completely opposite of what Russian and Euro Hockey was. Euro hockey was all open ice. The physical NHL hockey and the dump the puck style has been adapted by the Russians. Now you have a blend of both, but if you are not physical you won’t win the Stanley Cup.