Milan Lucic will surely leave his mark on this World Cup.
Milan Lucic at his workplace in front of the goal. The Flames forward can be a nasty player for the opposition when needed. AOP / USA TODAY Sports
The most famous player on Canada’s World Cup team may well be forward Milan Lucic. At the age of 34, the Calgary Flames player of Serbian background is participating in his first World Cup tournament.
– I only now had the opportunity to come to this tournament. In the past, I have played in the NHL playoffs or I have had a newborn child, so there has not been an opportunity to participate before, the player said in Riga.
– But luckily now I got the chance to experience this great tournament. I am excited to play for the Canadian national team.
The most experienced
The scrappy forward has already played 1173 NHL regular season games. The man belongs to the most experienced guard in the entire World Cup.
584 points have been born from the stage of the colossus who shoots points from the left, but the most striking thing about the statistics is the ice time of his NHL career: 1299 minutes. It’s easy to predict that a platform weighing well over a hundred kilos will have difficulties with the European referee line.
– Honestly, I don’t really know what to expect. Here you play against a different team every night, it’s a bit like its own season.
– Every match is important. We need points. Then after the first series, we’ll see where we go.
Gold in mind
Canada kicks off late Friday night against Latvia. The second host team of the tournament is backed by fanatical Latvian fans.
There is guaranteed to be an atmosphere in Riga Areena on Friday evening.
– It will be an exciting game, there will certainly be a lot of energy. The atmosphere is probably like the seventh playoff game.
Lucic was asked how to find focus for the World Cup games when the NHL playoffs remained a dream.
– Of course, Canada’s goal is to win gold here. But we’ll go one match at a time. That’s the most important thing for us.
Stanley Cup winner
Lucic played for the Boston Bruins for eight seasons and was on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup in the 2010-2011 season.
The other NHL clubs in the man’s career have been the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers.
At the age of 15, Lucic was diagnosed with Scheuermann’s disease, which means he has a hunchback. It has not been an obstacle to the birth of a great sports career.
Vanvouverilainen’s most effective season Oil 2010–11, Sillo’s man scored no less than 62 power points.