The entire ice hockey world, and not least Finland, which has a golden generation, had been looking forward to an Olympic tournament with NHL players.
But then the corona pandemic gained new momentum and the NHL made the decision not to send its players to China.
It is criticized by the Finnish Lions' national team captain, Jukka Jalonen.
- The NHL hardly cares about hockey's reputation.
It really shines through.
They are only interested in their own league in North America.
If it continues like this, the position of ice hockey will at least not improve, he says.
He opens to move ice hockey to the Summer Olympics.
- All other major disciplines have found a format where the best players can meet regularly.
Hope that ice hockey could make such a decision, may it be about the Summer Olympics, he says.
The fact that the NHL players will not come naturally hits Canada and the USA hard, but Jalonen still does not want to admit that Finland's chances will be greater without the stars.
- I really do not intend to reason as if we would now have a better chance of success.
I really would have liked to go there with the NHL players.
CLIP: Swedish national team captain Johan Garpenlöv about the NHL's decision
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Johan Garpenlöv.
Photo: Bildbyrån