Canada’s World Cup achievements of the last few years are not drilled through the bar counter and in a cocktail, writes Timo Kunnari from Riga.
Canada is participating in the World Cup with an athletic team. PDO
Canada has played three games in the Riga group and won them all. The team has scored 13 goals and conceded three in three matches.
In addition to the competition host Latvia, Slovenia and Slovakia have experienced the harshness of the country. A good and athletic start from the team.
Throughout the years, the Canadian team has been talking about how the team will come to Europe after the NHL season mainly for a boys’ trip and to “have fun” in these “tough international games.”
Sometimes those things have been true. Today, they seem more like clichés and reminiscences of the old than actual fact.
Certain beliefs are known to live deep in hockey circles as well.
In the last three World Cup tournaments, Canada has won one championship and grabbed two silver medals. The home country of hockey has won three of the last seven tournaments. Not those achievements through the bar counter and drilling in the cake.
This Canadian team was booed before the tournament in Finland as well as in Canada. There are not many big stars in the team.
But the fact is that Canadian ice hockey has such a wide and tough level that the country could assemble 5–6 such teams, which, if properly positioned and committed, could seriously fight for the ice hockey world championship.
Canada has fans on the ground in Riga. And certainly also in the follow-up games in Tampere. PDO
This team seems to be moving with the right attitude. The undersigned was eating at a steak restaurant in the center of Riga on Saturday. There were a couple of tables of Canadian team players and on top of that a table full of team executives.
The Centrs district was buzzing and Latvians started a hot Saturday night with food, drink and good music.
So did the Canadians, until a person belonging to the team management visited the players’ tables around 9 pm to announce something. Just ten minutes later, all the Canadians left the restaurant for their AC Marriott hotel, which is located next to the restaurant.
When the “homecoming team” was led by assistant GM Shane Doan, who had played 1540 NHL games, not a single guy dared to stay in the restaurant.
At the same time, other team players returned to the hotel from different directions. So the team had been given a time to come home, or there was an evening party in the program, or both.
It seemed that Riga’s Saturday night was beating, at least last weekend, without Canadian disc millionaires. Hardly anyone sneaked into the bar later either, because the team played the next day at 12:20 and beat Slovenia 5–2.
Canada is the biggest favorite to become world champion.