In January, rapper/actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz announced the creation of B1G3, a 3-on-3 basketball league featuring retired NBA players. In June, the International Olympic committee announced that 3-on-3 basketball made the final cut for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The addition of 3-on-3 basketball to the sporting world’s mainstream somewhat piggybacked off the NHL’s decision in 2015 to move to a 3-on-3 format for overtime in the regular season. Since then, several junior and college leagues have adopted 3-on-3 overtime play.

Three-on-three hockey is a fast-paced and entertaining style of play that lends itself to highlight-reel goals, spectacular saves and fans on the edge of their seats. 

With all of that in mind and with a nod to the spectacular success of the 4-on-4 Da Beauty League, what if we created a 3-on-3  offseason league with current NHL players playing for their home American state, Canadian province or European country? We could call it The HOCK3Y League (prounounced Hockey 3). What American state, Canadian province or European nation would prevail in such an event? How would the self-proclaimed State of Hockey do in HOCK3Y?

Minnesotans are a provincial bunch, happy to celebrate when “one of us” succeeds on the local, national or international stage. In HOCK3Y, that provincialism would be commonplace as states, provinces and countries would laud their top homegrown talent playing for their local club.

In an effort to determine what a community-based 3-on-3 hockey league would look like, I declared myself Supreme General Manager and created 28 teams, made up primarily of current NHL players (with a few minor league/European pros mixed in to complete rosters). Every state/province/country with enough NHL players to field a lineup of six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies was awarded a franchise. Every province and all but three states (Iowa, North Dakota, Oklahoma) and two countries (Croatia, Latvia) that had a player in the NHL last season got a roster spot in HOCK3Y.

States, provinces or countries that did not have enough NHL players to form a HOCK3Y were granted a regional franchise with four in the U.S. (East, Midwest, South, West), one in Canada (East) and one in Europe. 

Those 28 teams were divided into three divisions – American, Canadian and European. With only a few exceptions, players’ birthplaces were used to determine what area they should represent (e.g. Jake Guentzel was named to the Minnesota team despite being born in Nebraska). 

For the purposes of this imagined league, I established preseason rankings, based on a team’s top-end talent, depth and goaltending strength. Those rankings, by division, are below.

One look at the rosters below and it’s clear – parity would be a hallmark of HOCK3Y. Sure, places like Ontario, Sweden and Minnesota have a high number of top-shelf players, but when your team is made up of just 11 players, the playing field is leveled.

Now, Connecticut, with a total of 10 NHL players in 2016-17, can compete with the likes of Sweden (91 NHL players), thanks to the homegrown talents of Max Pacioretty, Cam Atkinson and Jonathan Quick. Likewise, with a starting lineup of Devan Dubnyk, Matt Dumba, Ryan Getzlaf and Brayden Schenn, Saskatchewan (34 NHL players) may be able to stand toe-to-toe with a team from Ontario (207 NHL players).

And what about Minnesota? The State of Hockey had 44 players make the NHL last season, highlighted by 50-point scorers Blake Wheeler, Derek Stepan, Anders Lee and Dustin Byfuglien, so success would be expected by the home state faithful. But could Switzerland (15 NHL players), blueliners Roman Josi and Mark Streit, and top-scoring forward Nino Niederreiter, upend one of the teams from the North Star State?

In HOCK3Y, anything is possible ... except a team from Mississippi, the Yukon or Portugal.

() indicate player spent majoriy of 2016-17 season in AHL/ECHL/NCAA/etc.

() indicate player spent majority of 2016-17 season in AHL/ECHL/NCAA/etc.

() indicate player spent majoriy of 2016-17 season in AHL/ECHL/NCAA/etc.