Asked to explain how much he knew about the Thanksgiving tradition, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Alexey Marchenko tried his best.
“I know that it came from the (native) Indian people, right?… Marchenko began.
Well, yeah … sort of.
“The guys (pilgrims) came (over from Europe), shot them down a little bit and then took their holiday.…
Uh . . . . no.
Apparently, they are teaching American history in the Russian school system via Bugs Bunny cartoons. But Detroit’s European players like Marchenko can be forgiven for their ignorance of Thanksgiving, because where they come from, there is no such holiday.
“No, no we don’t have anything like that,… forward Teemu Pulkkinen explained. “We don’t have it back home in Finland but the last two years, we’ve been doing team things in Grand Rapids, staying together with the guys, so it’s a lot of fun.…
Marchenko has actually come to embrace the holiday, experiencing it for the first time last year while he was also with Detroit’s AHL farm club in Grand Rapids.
“Last year, my wife’s Pilates coach invited us inside her house, so it was nice to see how it looks inside the house, like with a real American family, how they spend a Thanksgiving Day,… Marchenko said. “It was really nice to see and bring the whole family so that we were together with them. Good food, good atmosphere.…
He took an instant liking to the array of delectable treats available to devour.
“The turkey was good, but I think it all depends on how you cook it,… Marchenko said. “If you have a bad cook, it will not be tasty.
“I like the sweet potato. That was good, too. I tried it first time and it was real tasty.…
Some of the more veteran Wings from Europe have become Americanized when it comes to Thanksgiving.
“I’m spending it with friends who I met here over the years,… said forward Tomas Tatar, who is from Slovakia. “I pick up lots of friends over the course of (being here) in the U.S., so I enjoy spending time with them.
“It’s great, get together, good food and just enjoy the time with somebody who is close to you.
“Turkey is good food. The food in the U.S. is delicious. This is a holiday so I’m really looking forward to it.…
Tatar has even grown to enjoy that other staple of Thanksgiving, football.
“Actually, over the years I got into football, too,… Tatar said. “We are playing these pools here for fun and that’s what got me into it a little bit, to watch who is playing whom. It’s fun for me, too.…
And goodness gracious, Tatar even admitted a fondness for Detroit’s gridiron heroes.
“Of course,… Tatar said of the NFL Lions. “They’re a Detroit team so I am cheering for them.
“They didn’t have a good start but I feel they’re coming back. They’re a good-looking team so they can do some damage.…
Marchenko, on the other hand, limits his football watching.
“The Super Bowl I would watch it and maybe some playoff games,… Marchenko said. “In every sport, the biggest game of the year is always great to see. Even if you’re not really into it, you can see the really good players.
“If you are watching the Super Bowl you can see who is really good.…
In other words, it’s unlikely that Marchenko will ever watch a Lions game.
Fancy That Detroit coach Jeff Blashill took a playful dig at some of the analytics “experts… who populate social media over some advice he received from one of them regarding the Wings’ faceoff stats.
“One surface analytics guy sent me something where we are about 49 per cent (on faceoffs) and that we’d have a better chance to win if we were 53 per cent, so we’re still researching that,… Blashill said.
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