Quote:
Originally Posted by vtmx
If it would be possible, I'd make it impossible for Canadian players to gain American citizenship or vice versa. Or, I'd make it impossible for European players playing in the NHL to gain the citizenship of the country they are playing in.
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That would be weird and unrealistic, considering a lot of players playing in North America *do* end up acquiring American or Canadian citizenship. Admittedly, this usually happens very early in a player's career (because they moved to North America before becoming draft-eligible), but it is a lot more common than you might think considering that it is much easier to live and work in the United States as a citizen.
The only problem I'll agree with is that it is extremely rare for them to even try to get the IIHF to allow them to switch their international allegiance (the only one I can think of is Petr Nedved, and he switched from Canada to the Czech Republic). The likelihood of a marquee player, especially one that has won major tournaments with their birth country, switching allegiance mid-career is extremely unlikely, but I don't think that it should be made completely impossible. There's some weird characters in the hockey world.
Definitely agree with you on adding more playable leagues, though!