Through the first three days of the World Cup of Hockey, the concern that players would be going through the motions, not playing at top speed or with a high level of emotion has been completely unfounded.
In fact, the opposite is been true. Countries with long-standing rivalries like Finland and Sweden have shown that it doesn’t matter whether a game is an exhibition contest or not, they’re going to play full out. That was even more apparent on Friday, with Team USA and Team Canada battling like it was a first round Stanley Cup Playoff game.
And people said exhibition games are boring. Ryan Kesler slamming Shea Weber into the boards. What a savage pic.twitter.com/DZxKyci9t7
— Abdiel Duarte (@_Amtrak27) September 10, 2016
What has to be a concern for teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs (who have eight players participating in the tournament) is the level of competition is so fierce that injuries have begun to pile up.
Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen was prevented from playing in the tournament after suffering an upper body injury in an Olympic qualifying contest last week, but is expected to be ready for the start of training camp on September 22nd, but if those in competition get hurt (depending on the severity of the injury), they could miss the start of the regular season.
Needless to say, most NHL general managers will be crossing their fingers and saying their prayers that someone integral to their team’s success does not suffer the same fate as John Tavares did in the Olympics
Leafs Update
Team Czech Republic
Roman Polak : GP-2, G-0, A-2, PTS-2, +/- +2, SOG-0 Milan Michalek : GP-2, G-0, A-1, PTS-1 +/- 0 SOG-4
Team Russia Nikita Zaitsev : GP-2, G-0, A-0, PTS-0, +/- -1, SOG-2
Team Finland
Leo Komarov : GP-2, G-0, A-0, PTS-0, +/- 0, SOG-2
Team Sweden
Jhonas Enroth : GP-1, Shots-13, Saves-10, Save % - .769
Team USA
James van Riemsdyk : GP-1, G-0, A-0, PTS-0, +/- 1, SOG-1(in progress)
Team North America
Morgan Rielly ; GP-1, G-0, A-0, PTS-0, +/- 0, SOG-1 Auston Matthews : GP-1, G-0, A-0, PTS-0, +/- +1, SOG-2
Remembering Ace Bailey, Mark Bavis and all those who were lost during the tragic events of 9/11 #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/tr6kwHXPrz
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) September 11, 2016
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