Canada vs. Russia is one of the most well-known hockey rivalries around, but it feels like it’s not as aggressive as it once was. Well, that’s what it felt like at least.
As it looks more and more like NHL players won’t be attendance at the 2018 Olympics, we’re getting a look at what the non-NHL roster may look like at tournaments like the 2017 Sochi Hockey Open and the Tournament of Nikolai Puchkov. And well, if these are a sample of the rosters at the Olympics, it may not be the best of the best, but it’ll definitely be feisty.
As one of the Canadian players skates to the bench, he appears to knock over a Russian player without the puck. It doesn’t look like a particularly hard collision, but one of the Russian players takes exception. He then skates over to the Canadian bench and returns the favour.
Involved in all the action are several players that are notable as well.
Leafs prospect Yegor Korshkov was number 64, the big forward taken in the second round of last year’s draft. The two main players in the brawl appear to be Canadian Maxim Noreau (A former defenceman of the Minnesota Wild) and Russian Ilya Lyubushkin (A current KHL defenceman).
We’re not used to seeing fighting at the international level in hockey, but we’re sure with players looking to prove their worth on the international level, things will get a little more feisty this time around.
