“It’s going to be the biggest game of my career.”
That’s what Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk told a reporter when asked about the USA-Canada game, scheduled for 8 p.m. in Montreal tomorrow.
That’s an indictment of the state of the Ottawa Senators since Tkachuk entered the league in 2018 (no playoff appearances yet). But it’s also an incredible testament to what the NHL has managed to pull off with this international mini-tournament. One of the league’s stars, the captain of an NHL team, sees an event that is the stand-in for the All-Star game as a highlight of his career so far.
International best-on-best, or All-Star Game?
Indeed, comparing this event to the usual All-Star weekend ceremonies is comical. Would you rather watch Nikita Kucherov, wearing a beanie, completing a hockey-themed obstacle course at half-speed during the All-Star Skills comp? Or would you rather watch Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid on a power play together in a best-on-best international tournament?
Under any circumstances, at any time, it’s the latter. We could end the story there. 4 Nations good, All-Star Game boring. I must confess, I was excited for the tournament, but wasn’t sure how intense it would be. Would players view the short duration, mid-season timing, and small playing fields as negatives? Would they skate and hit quite as hard as they would in the World Cup of Hockey, for example?
I was hooked after Nathan MacKinnon went on a fast break moments into the Canada-Sweden game. This is going to be awesome to watch.
Why it matters even more
There are a few more wrinkles that the NHL could not have foreseen when scheduling the tournament that blast the importance of the upcoming game into the stratosphere. I’m talking, of course, about the fraught political relations between the two countries. We all know what’s been going on, so I won’t dive into it. But I do want to focus on how Canadian hockey fans have reacted: they’re riled up. They’ve booed the American anthem in every Canadian NHL arena in recent days, to mixed reactions online.
Hockey is a source of immense national pride for Canadians. Ask any fan where they were when Sid scored the golden goal 15 years ago, and most can remember with crystal clarity where they were. I can, and I was 9. It’s the sport we hang our hats on. It’s the sport we’re best at. It’s also, evidently, a forum where we can unite and show our national pride.
Now, let’s drop a best-on-best Team USA, captained by Leafs star Auston Matthews, into a genuinely venomous Bell Centre, on what is essentially Hockey Night in Canada, and see what happens.
The climate will undoubtably galvanize both sides. Most players have stayed away from any questions related to the politics of it all (understandable), but some have mentioned disliking the fans booing the anthems (also understandable). Add the fact that we haven’t seen a best-on-best matchup between these rivals since 2016 (Canada won), and you get guaranteed chaos. This is, at a minimum, the biggest game since last year’s Stanley Cup Finals. Indeed, there’s a legit case to be made that it’s the biggest hockey game in years. It’s a guaranteed box-office hit that will be discussed among fans long into the future.
I, for one, can’t wait.
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