Flames return to practice with eyes on 4 Nations Face-Off final
Published
Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary said that Canadian and American players aren’t chirping each other yet ahead of their countries facing one another in the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday, but figures it’s only a matter of time until the banter begins.
“We just got back,” he said after Flames practice on Tuesday, their first group skate since Feb. 8.
“It might start up over the next day-and-a-half here waiting for the final. We might have to put something on the line.”
Zary and his teammates have tuned in to the tournament, the first international best-on-best ice hockey event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Swede Rasmus Andersson was the lone Flames representative at the event.
“That’s something that’s really cool, when you see your country and those guys going at it,” Zary said.
“It brings a lot of excitement to the game.”
Head coach Ryan Huska has been watching with his son, who was emotional during Canada’s opening night overtime win over Sweden.
“He was chirping the TV because Crosby wasn’t on the ice,” Huska said with a chuckle.
“He’s like, ‘Dad, he’s going to score. Why don’t they have him out there?’ That’s what it was like. It’s fun for all of us to watch these guys play.”
Huska said that Craig Conroy, the Flames’ American-born general manager, is “as much Canadian as you’re going to find.” The two won’t have any friendly wagers ahead of the title game.
“He still may have some American roots in him, but he’s been here for a long time,” Huska said.
“I know he considers this his home.”
Blueliner Kevin Bahl said he’s tuned in to almost every game.
“The US-Canada game was unbelievable,” he said.
“Every game’s been unbelievable…every Canada game, I’m pretty much watching.”
Zary said he took notice of the start to the Canada-US round robin game where there were three fights in the opening shift.
“Maybe the first eight seconds,” he said, when asked if he was watching those games from a different perspective.
“I think I watched that from a different lens…you play against those guys and obviously with [teammate Rasmus Andersson] who’s there, you’re watching it from two different lenses. Seeing what they do, obviously you have some of the best players in the world, MacKinnon and Crosby and McDavid…just watching those guys and seeing what they do is always cool.”
Huska and his players felt that the tournament is helping grow the sport and create new hockey fans.
“I think it’s been awesome hockey,” Huska said.
“From the three-on-three overtime in that first game, the speed and the pace that the game’s being played at, the physicality, it’s been fantastic to watch. I think it’s such a homerun for the NHL right now. It’s bringing a lot of attention to our game, which it deserves.”
Bahl said that the NHL is benefitting from showcasing itself at a time when other major sports leagues are quiet.
“The last time we saw something like this was 10 years ago,” he said.
“It’s pretty exciting to see that skill and speed and it’s just been unbelievable hockey to watch…everyone’s on break except our guys [who] are out there and putting the game on display for the world, which is awesome. I don’t think any other sport is doing that right now.”
Flames lines
Huberdeau-Kadri-Coronato
Zary-Backlund-Coleman
Farabee-Frost-Sharangovich
Lomberg-Rooney-Pospisil
Bahl-Miromanov (placeholder for Andersson)
Hanley-Weegar
Bean-Pachal
Barrie
Wolf
Vladar