Yes, this is the unfortunate reality with any ranked online game. People juts HAVE to be #1. Many of them don't even seem to enjoy the game?
I also worry about people playing goalie and defense. Is everyone going to want to be a hot dogging center? Hopefully good defense gets rewarded as much as scoring, even if you don't put up points.
Still, it should be fun, even if we don't get to play quality people all the time. It will certainly not be dull online