Don't Let This Moment Miss You
One day in the future, the memory of Connor McDavid being left unchecked in front of Connor Hellebuyck in sudden death overtime will be an indelible mark on what it means to be Canadian.
You may think that's hyperbolic, but I would argue that the gravity of the moment we find ourselves in has forced it to be so.
Everything is Political
For many of us hockey is an escape. Entertainment that allows us an outlet for our emotions, and a collective experience with those who have similar rooting interests. At the club level, it can be very easy to ignore how political sports are, but in national competition the truth of it is apparent.
Unfortunately, legacy hockey media has consistently failed to meet the moment. The conversation has consistently been about the level of play, intensity, and the attention on the 4 Nations Face-Off, but our industry has been loath to address WHY a tournament that very few people cared about a few weeks ago is suddenly capturing the hearts and minds of Canadians. How did a tournament that was mainly interesting for the chance to see McDavid, Crosby, and MacKinnon together for the first time become so important?
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Canada's neighbour, largest trading partner, and historic ally has descended into fascism. From a nazi salute at the inauguration, to pilfering government funds to enrich themselves, to threatening our sovereignty, the United States is no longer a friend.
The truth is Canada is in a tough situation. Many of us are working more hours than ever for less money, while life gets progressively more expensive. Housing is so unaffordable that when you break the numbers down, it's tough to understand how it was allowed to get this bad.
At the same time, we're reckoning with the realities of climate change, and struggling mightily to confront the horrors of colonialism in the founding and continuing policies of our country.
"Like this version of Team Canada, we are not perfect. We have flaws, insecurities, weaknesses, but together we are more than the sum of our parts." -Andrew Berkshire
The narrative coming out of the USA and Canadian conservative politicians is that Canada is broken. For many of us, that probably rings true. Unemployment rates for young. working class Canadians are extremely high, homeless rates are skyrocketing, and our politicians offer no solutions.
Trump likely believed he was throwing gasoline on a fire when he began his propaganda campaign to annex Canada as the 51st state, seizing a moment against a Prime Minister without a leg to stand on as Justin Trudeau reached the end of his political capital. That wasn't the result.
Canadians Needed to See They Can Win
International sports are war games. More games than war, but the nationalistic ferver that these kids of competition incite is not a coincidence. There’s a reason why militaristic, imperialist countries care so much about them. Dominance in sport is an argument that your country is better.
It's why the USA puts so much capital into sports, same with Russia, China, etc. It's why Nazi Germany hosted the Olympics in 1936, and why the USA will host in 2028. Sports are an incredibly effective propaganda tool.
However that doesn't mean that sports are evil, or that propaganda can't be used to achieve great things, and make no mistake that Mitch Marner finding McDavid in overtime will be used for propaganda.
Canada is a state in crisis at the moment, both locally and thanks to the new American Nazis calling themselves MAGA threatening us from without. Despite the fact that we're a developed, wealthy country, we feel vulnerable. We needed to be reminded that we can face adversity, and win.
Hockey Night in Canada's Ron MacLean phrased the moment as "McDavid vs Goliath, and we know who had the sling", an incredibly apropos turn of phrase after MacLean missed the moment completely in the previous game between the two countries, remarking that it felt 'personal'.
It's Not Personal, It's Collective
Canadians do not hate Americans. We don't want to be American, but we don't hate them. I don't know any Canadians who see individual Americans as anything but friends. What is happening in Canada right now is the opposite of personal, it is collective.
That feeling we had last week when Canada hosted the USA in Montréal, relentlessly booing the American anthem before belting out 'Oh Canada' in two official languages, that was collectivism. That feeling rising inside you as the tension left your body when McDavid whipped a wrist shot to the far corner over Hellebuyck's glove hand was your shared passion with millions of people, and it went so far beyond hockey.
The US National Development Program has been rocking for years, and this may have been the best American team ever put together, whereas Canada went into the tournament with serious question marks, especially in goal.
As a group of individuals, the USA may have had a stronger group overall, but just like in society, a team accomplishes more than individuals. Clearly, the American team wanted to win, but there's a big difference between wanting to win for dominance reasons, and wanting to win for survival. Remember, sports are war games.
Through the two games between Canada and the US, high danger scoring chances at even strength were 27-16 in favour of Canada. To put that rate of controlling the high danger area of 63 per cent in context, the best team in the NHL this season (Edmonton) in this area controls 56.6 per cent of high danger chances at 5-vs-5, while the worst (Chicago) controls 42 per cent.
I don't think anyone would argue that the gap between these two teams is greater than the gap between the best and worst teams in the NHL, but motivation matters.
Americans were mad their anthem was booed, Canadiens were focused because our entire way of life is under threat. These are not the same, and this is why insurgencies consistently give empires fits despite having none of the resources.
Lightning in a Bottle
The 4 Nations Face-Off is a made up tournament that doesn't really matter in hockey terms. It's not a true best-on-best, the format is weird, but the timing of it has made it a clarifying moment.
We look back at the 1972 Summit Series as Canadian hockey fans like it is the most important international hockey tournament in history, yet it was also a made up tournament with a weird format. Not only that, but it was considered an exhibition series.
What made the Summit Series historic wasn't the quality of hockey, especially in the first half. The political implications combined with facing adversity early built a groundswell of interest. Had this tournament lasted longer, we would likely see something similar.
Older generations may disagree, but history will show this win as equally historic, and every effort should be made to keep our focus from faltering here.
While those who are in it for themselves destroy their credibility and legacies, Canada should grasp this moment as an inflection point. We are undoubtedly heading into tough times, and a hockey win isn't going to change that.
What it can do though, is ignite us. If we're going to face adversity, we can face it together. Like this version of Team Canada, we are not perfect. We have flaws, insecurities, weaknesses, but together we are more than the sum of our parts.
Together we are the True North, Strong and Free.
