Agree on all fronts. I keep forgetting about Spain but at the same time, we could say the same about Japan... the reality is that if one team cannot place in top ten, then should they have two teams ? Perhaps. The maths sometimes just don't work out.. but in general, it does
If P/C come back, other than the Italians skating at home games, I could see a bunch of senior teams call it a career... including Chock and Bates, Piper and Paul and FBS. With Hawayek-Baker also dealing with concussions complications... The worlds following the Olympics could be a brand new crop... I would suspect P/C and the Italians may not go to worlds that year ... So who is left ? Fear Gibson, LaLa, the younger American teams, the Czech, Lopareva-Brissaud... it will be very interesting for sure.