As I write this blog post, I am perched in the downstairs lounge of my building, watching Olympic hockey.  This is a pleasure that can only be indulged every four years.  Watching the world come together and engage in friendly, or not-so-friendly, competition is an amazing thing, not only in hockey.  And normally with the Olympics, you can be assured that when you are watching these events, you are watching the best of the best in the sport.

That’s how the Olympics work, right?  Only the best?  and Every country sends the absolute best talent they have? Well, that is how it should be.  But this year in hockey, this is not the case.

This year the best players in the world, those who compete in the National Hockey League, will be sitting out of the Games.  This is because the NHL decided that it wasn’t worth the cost that it takes to send the players to Pyeong Chang.  This is due to both a disagreement between the NHL and the United States Olympic Committee about who pays the insurance for these players while oversees, and the cost of putting the NHL schedule on a three week Olympic break in the middle of the season.

While these reasons may make sense from an economic standpoint, what it means for the players is something that should not be respected by anyone who appreciates either hockey or the Olympic spirit.  This decision was made without discussion with the NHL Player’s Association, and something that the players were not at all okay with.  While no one actually took the penalty and went to play with their county, there were a few who had originally threatened these actions, including high-profile player Alexander Ovechkin, the Russian captain of the Washington Capitals.

I think this action is ridiculous.  The Olympics are an event that I and so many others around the world cherish, and they only happen every four years.  Being an Olympian is something that anyone at a high level in their sort dreams of.  Even when talking about lower level competition, many hockey players say that putting on the sweater for their country gives them an unmatched feeling of pride and honor.  The Olympics would only heighten the significance of representing your country.

No one who is at the highest level of their sport should be stopped from having the opportunity to be an Olympian.  For some players, one Olympic cycle is all the time they have at the prime of their game.  By the time the next Olympics comes around four years from now, they will no longer be at the level needed to be competitive for the team.  Because make no mistake, the Player’s Association has made it clear that sitting out of the games will not happen again, even if that means another contract lockout.  And then there are those young players who have not yet had the chance to go to the Games but are their countries stars who were stripped of the chance to prove themselves on the international stage.

Don’t get me wrong, the level of skill in these Olympics is still high.  But it brings me so much sadness when I think about how great these Games could be if we were actually watching the best athletes in the world.

(By the way, the US beat Slovakia 2-1.)