GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Even after a sixth-place showing at the recent IIHF World Junior Championship, Canada isn't losing its grip. It is and will be, for the foreseeable future, the worldwide leader in hockey.
That's just a fact, says Jack Johnson, a Michigan native who has represented the United States in the Olympics, World Cup, World Championship and World Juniors.
"Canada still sets the bar in terms of the amount of kids playing and development," Johnson was telling me. "Whether it's the Olympics or World Cup, Canada is usually the team that's the favorites going in there."
But it does have competition.
"Other countries have caught up a little bit. Hockey has grown tremendously in the United States and it's better in popularity than when I was growing up and it's making strides in the right direction."
With the NHL and the players union backing away from the World Cup of Hockey in 2020, and possibly international competition altogether as there's yet to be a commitment to the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, it's a lost opportunity to further grow the game in the U.S.
Imagine a young American team that could have consisted of Auston Matthews, Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Eichel, Brock Boeser, Jack Hughes, Seth Jones and the Tkachuk brothers, among others?
Hard to say if they'd be favorites, but they'd certainly be entertaining. While USA Hockey has had its share of international success post-Lake Placid, including the '96 World Cup and medaling in seven of the last 10 World Junior tournaments, the aforementioned collection of talent -- all 25 or younger -- could have been richly competitive on the world stage for quite a few cycles.
Regardless of Wednesday's announcement by Gary Bettman and the NHL, the game will go on in the U.S. and elsewhere. The progress that the sport has made in this country at all levels over the past 30 years is remarkable and shows no sign of slowing.
Johnson is one of nine Americans on the Penguins. Last season, U.S.-born players comprised 27.3 percent of the league, according to quanthockey.com. Thirty years ago, Canadian-born players made up 76.3 percent of the NHL. Last season, that number was 45.3. In 2017-18, 29 states were represented in the NHL and though traditional areas like Minnesota (17.3 percent), Michigan (14.5) and Massachusetts (9.2) still dominate, even that is changing. Here in Arizona, it isn't just the home of Austin Lemieux and the 17th-ranked ASU Sun Devils, it's the state that produced Matthews, the fourth American to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft.
To really see the growth in the game, look no further than the Penguins' current road trip that has taken them to Southern and Northern California and will conclude this weekend with games in Arizona and Las Vegas. Nope, nobody's skating on frozen ponds here. Thirty years ago, that would have been laughable.
"Hockey is huge in California now," said Chad Ruhwedel, a San Diego native. "There's a lot of youth players and rinks available to people in California and they’re catching up, frankly. There's some states, obviously, that are more known as hockey hotbeds, but California is catching up and it’s good for the game."
While Ruhwedel and the Penguins were conducting their morning skate Tuesday at San Jose's SAP Center, the Sharks were skating four miles down the road at their practice facility. Solar4America Ice is a massive, 170,000-square foot complex with four sheets, unheard of even in Pittsburgh. Until this month, it had been the largest ice facility in the western U.S. That's when the Ducks topped it with their own new 270,000-foot facility in Irvine, Calif., Great Park Ice, which boasts four rinks, including a 2,500-seat arena.
Matt Cullen, who grew up skating on ponds in his native Minnesota, says the traditional geographical lines have been blurred, thanks in part to better coaching and development.
"There’s no more secrets anymore, everyone’s kind of doing similar stuff so you’re seeing a lot more balance throughout the world," he said. "USA Hockey has done a really good job of making it fun and making it accessible and a reality for a lot of kids that otherwise wouldn’t have that opportunity and there's a lot more ice available. If you’re willing to put in the work, there’s an opportunity regardless of where you live."
• The Penguins had a scheduled off day on Wednesday. They will return to practice Thursday at 4:15 p.m. Eastern at Gila River Arena, where they'll face the Coyotes on Friday night.