Flames take sides ahead of 4 Nations final
Published
CALGARY– During Blake Coleman’s media scrum after Calgary Flames practice on Thursday, fellow American Dustin Wolf strolled by and loudly chanted, “USA! USA! USA!”
Canada and the U.S. meet in the 4 Nations Face-Off final tonight, and the Flames will be watching as a group. They were trash-talking one another on Thursday morning, and the Texas-born Coleman wasn’t shy about his patriotism.
“The tournament in general is really good for the game of hockey. You got the president chiming in,” Coleman said. “You got a lot of different athletes around the world really talking about it…I'm excited to watch a good hockey game, and obviously I got some U.S. pride in me, so hopefully they can get a win.”
Coleman and blueliner MacKenzie Weegar, an Ottawa native, were chirping one another during Thursday’s 40-minute session.
“We're yelling at each other, chasing [one another] down the ice, chanting, ‘USA,’” Coleman said. “He's got a Canadian [tattoo]…we're both proud and we'll have fun with it.”
“It’s divided in there,” Weegar said on Wednesday of a normally tight-knit Flames locker room. “After Thursday…we might have to have a team dinner or something, get some things back together.”
Weegar playfully said that emotions might be high when they get together this evening.
“It’ll be a loud room for sure,” he said. “A lot of cheering. Maybe we’ll just drop the gloves and fight each other at the start of the game. We’ll set the tone watching the game. It’s fun. Good on those guys in that Four Nations playing as hard as they are. It’s been great for the game and it’s been fun watching that.”
Captain Mikael Backlund, who has represented Sweden internationally in the past but wasn't involved in this year's tournament, said he’ll remain an unbiased observer.
“I’m neutral,” he said. “I haven’t really been involved too much [in the chirps] but overheard a few bets and stuff, and guys were excited about it. Should be a good game.”
Flames head coach Ryan Huska said earlier this week that he and American-born general manager Craig Conroy won’t have any side wagers, but he vouched for his boss’ loyalty to the country he has now called home for decades.
“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.”
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Huska confirmed after practice that defenceman Tyson Barrie, who missed Wednesday and Thursday’s sessions, had been placed on waivers. Barrie had suited up for just 13 games this season and recently had a conditioning stint in the AHL.
The Flames have been trying to find the right mix of blueliners behind Rasmus Andersson and Weegar all season, and recalled rookie rearguards Ilya Solovyov and Yan Kuznetsov earlier this week.
Huska wouldn’t elaborate on the decision to potentially move on from Barrie but said that he’s been a good teammate and presence over his stint with the club.
“He’s a real good individual, and he's a great teammate around the room,” the coach said.
Flames lines
Huberdeau-Kadri-Coronato
Zary-Backlund-Coleman
Farabee-Frost-Sharangovich
Lomberg-Rooney-Pospisil
Bahl-Miromanov
Hanley-Weegar
Bean-Pachal
Kuznetsov-Solovyov
Wolf
Vladar