"There's people who don’t know who Connor McDavid is": John Buccigross rallies for best-on-best tournaments to ensure hockey's international growth

During a "Spittin' Chiclets" podCast, John Bucigross stated that for people around the world to know who Connor McDavid is, the NHL should hold a best-on-best tournament to help the growth of hockey on an international stage.

Since the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, the NHL has not participated in a "best-on-best" tournament comprised of national teams.

Meanwhile, some of the best players in the NHL, including Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, and Jack Eichel yet to represent their countries in a best-on-best tournament.

Here's what John Bucigross said on McDavid and best-on-best tournament:

"We need to have the best of the best. You know, when you talked about the watered-down regular season, I got that. That's why we need more best-on-best. We need the Olympics. We need a World Cup. Was that dude who played for France last year in the World Cup? What was his name, Mbappe?"

Bucigross added:

"Yeah, I'd never heard of them; until I watched that final, I'd never heard of them, and I saw me on my radar a little bit on the soccer field. I've never heard of that guy, but I watched the final because it was Lionel Messi.

"It was a World Cup final, and now I know who this guy is. There's people who don't know who Connor McDavid is because they haven't watched him in the Olympics. We need to have the best on best, you know when you talk."

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Connor McDavid desires to have best-on-best hockey tournaments

Earlier in March this year, the sporting world was treated to the instant success of the World Baseball Classic championship matchup between Japan and the United States.

World Baseball Classic Championship: United States v Japan

Baseball fans witnessed the participation of their favorite players in a best-on-best tournament with a confrontation between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in the final. Both players faced each other with two outs in the ninth inning.

It was Ohtani who earned the MVP of the tournament and helped Japan beat the defending champions, the USA, 3-2.

The instant hit of the World Baseball Classic ignited a debate among hockey fans who had not witnessed their favorite in a best-on-best tournament. It's because hockey hasn't had it since the 2016 Hockey World Cup, which was packed with young'uns Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews, among others.

When asked about the World Baseball Classic, Connor McDavid expressed a desire for a similar best-on-best hockey tournament:

“I thought it was really cool,” McDavid told Sportsnet. “It’s what we’ve been asking for in hockey for a long time, right, best-on-best?”

"Look, everyone is talking about baseball, ‘Did you see Ohtani vs. Trout?’ and that’s what hockey’s been missing for almost a decade now,” McDavid added. “That’s what we’ve been asking for.”

As per reports, the NHL is planning to host a best-on-best tournament in 2025 which would feature five nations.