When Canada last won the world championship in ice hockey, I read an article where it said that Canada had turned a new leaf in its approach to the world championships. In all the hegemony, the Canadians were saying that they no longer viewed the games as a guys holiday, with a chance to play some hockey in between and that every player there was playing to make their country proud.
The same could not be said of some of the Canadian players at the 2012 team. Three days into the games and what has Canada done? Played a sluggish game against Slovakia and then lost to the USA in overtime. Before the Slovakia game it was reported that Canada cancelled its morning skate and a short while after it emerged that the Canadian players had been sampling the wares at Henry’s Pub in Helsinki.
After the USA game reports emerged that the Canadians were parting until 3am at Circus in Helsinki. There were a few tweets that suggested that there would’ve been fisticuffs involved at the end of the night as well, but no official word on the fight have emerged.
(EDIT 11:14BST 08/05/12) There have been further updates on what has supposedly been said and I thought that I’d update the story. Getzlaf reportedly shook his fist and said “You don’t want any of this” and reportedly said that he would “knock everyone out in three minutes.” It would appear that the initial reports of the scuffle weren’t as bad as first thought, but there was some shouting. Some outlets have also reported that Getzlaf also shouted he was the captain of the Anaheim Ducks. Maybe not the smartest thing to shout at the heat of the moment, given that Finns follow the Ducks closely because of one Teemu Selanne. The original text that appeared in this blog can now be read at the bottom of the story.
IF the Canadians keep going like they are they will be one of the biggest disappointments of the games. There are two players on that roster that have looked like they actually want to be there and play for their country and that’s Jeff Skinner and John Tavares. All the Getzlaf’s, Corey Perry’s and the like are in summer holiday mode. Getzlaf even admitted that he did not play or get on the ice for a month before the tournament. Is this the type of player you want wearing the C for your team? Is this a good example of leadership? The only thing Getzlaf is capable of leading at the moment is the off ice activities for Canada. I think he picked out a few favourite joints to hang out in during the NHL opener in Helsinki.
I tweeted last night saying that Ducks should seek to trade Getzlaf. He is on the final year of his contract, but I don’t think the Ducks should commit their long term future to a player who is good when he wants to be. Getzlaf can be a great player when he wants to be, but most of the time he looks like he doesn’t want to be.
As for Canada for the rest of the tournament? You can never count them out, that’s for sure, but will all the off ice activities and enjoying a roadie with the boys lead to the teams’ demise and out of the medal games. It’s OK to party to get the game out of your system, but when you are playing for your country, make sure that you do it in the off season, not the night before the game.
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Original excerpt from above:
More details have emerged from the Canadian players’ night out on town. There was a bit of a scuffle at the bar when Ryan Getzlaf took exception to a group of Finnish men at the bar. There had been some back and forth verbalisation before slight pushing and shoving. Getzlaf reportedly shoke hist fist vigorously and said “Don’t make me use this, I will strike you all down.” The bouncers broke up the blossoming brawl, and moved the players out of the club, but there was more shouting outside.
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