IIHF Proposing 3 on 3 hockey at the Olympics

[Goalie29]

 

The concept was first put forward back in the 2017/18 season and there was a successful exhibition event at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne. That went so well that the IOC invited the IIHF to develop a competition format for the 2024 Youth Games in Korea. By this time, 3x3 was also part of the ICE26 Strategic Plan to help expand and develop the game. Even back in 2021, when work started on drawing up that plan, there was a vision to bring 3x3 hockey to the Olympics in 2030.

Following a successful competition in Korea in 2024, several other events helped to refine the format. The 3x3 competition game manual is in the final approval phase and the remaining weeks before the IOC deadline will be spent producing the strongest possible bid.

The 3x3 proposal for the IOC dispenses with the cross-ice format seen at the Youth Olympic Games. Instead, the action takes place on a dedicated ice pad and the new discipline is called 3x3 on small ice. This reinforce the idea that 3x3 is a new discipline within an existing sport: the boards, the benches and suchlike are set up in the same way as a traditional Olympic rink; the only difference is the size of the ice pad. At the IIHF’s Women’s 3x3 series in Brazil in November, teams will compete on a 26x18m surface, compared with the traditional 60x30m Olympic ice.

The existing 5x5 hockey tournaments are already among the highlights of every Olympic Winter Games, so what’s the attraction of adding 3x3 to the mix? Crucially, it offers more opportunities for hockey players – particularly from smaller MNAs – to be involved with the Olympics. The 3x3 game can thrive among a smaller player pool and does not require full-size ice. At all levels, it’s easier and more affordable to put teams on the ice, levelling the playing field and reducing the gap between established hockey powers and fast-developing newcomers to the sport. 

 

I didn't post the whole article, but enough that you get the idea.

 

Personally, I am all for it.  So many sports have multiple disciplines, why not hockey?  Watching the 3on3 basketball at the Paris Olympics made me think this could be a viable addition to the Winter Olympics. 

[Jess]

As a separate attraction, I love the idea and it would be tons of fun. I wouldn't want to remove the classic 5v5 tournament though.

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

As an additional event, I would say yes! But 5-on-5 must still be the main hockey event.

[Kevin Biestra]

Hey why not.  Canada could ice a killer B team for 3 on 3 I am sure.

[MillersWrister]

No thanks. Why try and make it like the NHL all star game? Hockey is supposed to be tough and hard..5 on 5 makes it tough and hard

[IBatch]

35 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said:

Hey why not.  Canada could ice a killer B team for 3 on 3 I am sure.

Sure will be fun to see if the cuts from the hockey superpowers, will decide to go and do this.   Who's the 14th-22nd Canadian forward and 8-12th D?   Best on best of the 2nd liners and 4-5th defenseman.    Will some guys decide to forego the 5 x 5 for a shot at the gold 3 x 3?  I'd hypothesize that some of the young skilled guys that get passed on for Brendan Morrow types, would be happy to take what they can get. 

 

And you bet, both Canada and the US would be able to send some solid teams.  

Edited November 5 by IBatch

[DeltaSwede]

Yeah no thanks. 

[Gurn]

I don't watch 3 on 3 NHL games, and wouldn't watch it in the Oly's either.

[Sativika]

Honestly, 3 on 3, 5 on 5, I'd be down. Definitely leave the 5 on 5 game alone. However, I think their proposal for a smaller ice surface for 3 on 3 is too small. Maybe just 20% smaller.

 

Concerning the NHL in Olympic years, they gotta nix the All Star stuff altogether and treat the Olympics as the special event. In the event that 3 on 3 is added plus the usual 5 on 5, it would be just too much for the players involved.

[Goalie29]

2 hours ago, Gurn said:

I don't watch 3 on 3 NHL games, and wouldn't watch it in the Oly's either.

 

I don't watch most sports (other than hockey) outside of the Olympics, but once it is the Olympics, I'm all in.

[Kevin Biestra]

18 hours ago, IBatch said:

Sure will be fun to see if the cuts from the hockey superpowers, will decide to go and do this.   Who's the 14th-22nd Canadian forward and 8-12th D?   Best on best of the 2nd liners and 4-5th defenseman.    Will some guys decide to forego the 5 x 5 for a shot at the gold 3 x 3?  I'd hypothesize that some of the young skilled guys that get passed on for Brendan Morrow types, would be happy to take what they can get. 

 

And you bet, both Canada and the US would be able to send some solid teams.  

 

Morrow was a pretty solid scorer.  I tend to think of that as the "Rob Zamuner" roster spot.  But thinking of some of the names that missed the cut for the main squad over the years...hell that was why Martin St. Louis threw his fit with Yzerman and demanded to leave the Lightning for the last leg of his career.  I think Messier got all grumpy when he didn't make the team near the end of his career too.

[Kevin Biestra]

Too bad (or maybe it's better) that hockey isn't like track or swimming where you can just do as many events as you can qualify for, for the most part.  I doubt may guys could manage a full 5-on-5 game and 3-on-3 game in the same day or even a substantial stretch of one or the other for many days in a row.

 

Anyway hopefully we would try to win this thing (and the players would care too) as opposed to the lineups we send to things like the Spengler Cup, which ought to be pursued a little more vigorously.  I would anyway if I were involved somehow.  No disrespect to the players who try to win the Spengler for us...their efforts are appreciated and impressive, but it is usually a lineup that would have its hands full against an AHL team.

 

On the other hand...maybe it wouldn't work out well if we sent a powerhouse squad to the Spengler every single year and nobody else ever won.  I think that was why baseball was taken out of the Olympics if I recall correctly.

 

Edited November 7 by Kevin Biestra