Team Canada's head coach has a message for Connor McDavid
Photo credit: Sportsnet
The highly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off is right around the corner, and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is embracing the opportunity to represent Team Canada on the world's biggest stage. As the boys wrapped up their first team practice in Montreal this morning, Connor McDavid spoke to the opportunity in an interview.
According to the NHL, despite the immense talent Canada has at its disposal, certainly up front at forward, getting it all to come together in a short span of time isn't something that they can assume will automatically happen.
A lot of work has been done behind the scenes, and the power play for Canada was exploiting every opportunity they have to develop further connections by working late after Monday's practice.
«I think everybody just assumes it's gonna work. That's not necessarily the case,» McDavid said. «You know, it takes a lot of work. I think obviously you saw a little bit of the power play come together today. We were working at it after practice, so it takes a lot of work and it's gotta come together real fast. But we'll make it work.»
-Connor McDavid
-Connor McDavid
Additionally, Connor McDavid will be playing on a line with Mitch Marner and Sam Reinhart, where the Oilers captain addressed his feeling towards his new comrades.
«Obviously two amazing players,» McDavid said. «Reinhart scores lots of goals. He has a great shot and is so smart. Mitch, obviously a playmaker, kind of plays up high in the zone, so definitely a good mix. It's fun to be out there with him for sure.»
Team Canada head coach John Cooper also had some big words about the talent on his newly assembled roster.
«You got speed, you got brains, and you got guys that can shoot it in the net, Cooper said of McDavid's line. «You hand me a line like that, I'll take my chances. The one thing is I remember back in the World Cup in 2016, I may be mistaken, but we had two and a half weeks or a three-week training camp. We were playing exhibition games in all sorts of different cities... but in this one, we had to jump right in.
John Cooper
John Cooper
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