State of Play for the World's 32 Best Ice Hockey Nations  

Welcome to EP Rinkside's 32-team international hockey & Olympic countdown. We've titled it "The Game is Global" because, well, ice hockey is a global sport, and the objective of this series is to look at the state of play for the sport of ice hockey in the game's top 32 nations, all in a convenient and fun countdown to the Olympics.

Why 32 nations? Well, there are 32 NHL teams and it is right around No. 32 in the world that we find a natural gap in quality. With the return of true best on best international competition for the first time since September 2016, there is no better time than the present.

This series will cover a number of areas, providing you with stats, analysis and insights covering each nation's basic hockey profile, d