World Hockey Summit comes to Toronto August 23-26

The city of Toronto will welcome the world to a comprehensive four-day event starting tomorrow night that promises to generate attention, new ideas and debate on how to improve hockey at all levels and in every hockey-playing nation.  The Molson Canadian World Hockey Summit will take place from Monday, August 23, 2010 until Thursday, August 26, 2010 at various locations in downtown Toronto.  The official Summit goal is ”to dissect the current state of hockey and collaboratively identify and address key concerns and issues facing the game today”.  To that end, key figures from most of the world’s significant global hockey organizations will come to Toronto and contribute their insights and perspectives to interactive discussions and formal panel sessions.

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From the NHL, commissioner Gary Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly, GMs Brian Burke, Darcy Regier, Ken Holland, Steve Yzerman, coaches Peter Laviolette, Bob Boughner and players Jamie Langenbrunner and Daniel Alfredsson, are all scheduled to attend.  KHL president Alexander Medvedev, KHL chairman of the board Vyacheslav Fetisov and IIHF president Rene Fasel headline the list of panellists from Europe, a group that will also include representatives of Swedish, Finnish, Czech and Slovakian national hockey associations.  Members of USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, the CHL and NHLPA will also be among the featured speakers and panellists.

On Monday evening, the World Hockey Summit will open at the Hockey Hall of Fame with four “Hot Stove Sessions” tackling some of the challenges facing the business of hockey.  The first topic, Contracts and Transfers, will examine contentious issues surrounding contracts and player movement, especially between the NHL and KHL.  Second, Agents’ Role in Working with Young Players will focus on the reservations and perception that European hockey associations have about their junior players being transferred to the CHL through the work of agents.  Third, State of the Game will look at whether the time is right for hockey to be introduced to non-traditional countries.  Finally, the fourth session, Comparison of the North American and International Game, plans to study the differences between the NHL-sized rink and international-sized rink and whether one size emphasizes certain skills or promotes a more exciting game.

From Tuesday through Thursday, in-depth presentations and discussions will focus on six key topics: player skill development, junior development, an evaluation of hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, establishment of a long-term global event agenda, women’s hockey and growing participation in hockey.

For cerebral hockey fans, this event will surely be considered a potential landmark, and a great lead-in to the upcoming hockey season.  Just last week, the NHL held the Research, Development and Orientation camp in Toronto to brainstorm and test proposed rule changes that may make the game more exciting and enjoyable for players and fans.  Likewise, by bringing the most influential decision-makers in hockey from around the globe to Toronto for the World Hockey Summit, one hopes that this week, they will establish a foundation for new protocols, innovations and improved communication within countries and across borders, to enhance the excitement of hockey for all stakeholders for many years to come.