Hagel on Canada/USA matchup: 'We play for the flag, not the cameras'

4 days ago  /  NHL Trade Rumors  /  Read Time: 1 minute 35 seconds

Canada and USA will drop the puck on the rematch the hockey world is waiting for, as the two best-on-best teams will faceoff in the 4 Nations Face-Off final. After a wild opening nine seconds in Thursday's round-robin game, Canadian forward Brandon Hagel had some interesting comments heading into the final.Hagel, who was asked to fight by Matthew Tkachuk off the opening faceoff of last week's game stated he wouldn't ever back down from Tkachuk, a rival of his Tampa Bay Lightning, but then proceeded to mention he feels there's an alternative motive for USA's antics in their first game. "I think we're out there playing for the flag, not the cameras," Hagel answered, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "That's a part of Canada that we have in there. We don't need to initiate anything. We don't have any group chats going on. We're going out there playing our game and then giving it everything and doing it for our country. We don't need to initiate everything. We're just going to play as hard as we can and do it for the flag on the chest." Hagel replied, "Five hundred?!" when asked how many times he's watched his fight with Tkachuk, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox. Hagel also mentioned how he wasn't sure if their first game would have an 'all-star' type of vibe, which he was a bit concerned about because he wasn't going to be letting up, and was an intense as ever prior to puck drop.Brandon Hagel on #4Nations: "I was thinking to myself laying in bed the night before the (first) game, 'If this is going to be like an all-star type of thing then I'm going to be so out of place because I'm putting my head through a wall tomorrow.' That was my mentality."— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 18, 2025Hagel has been an effective forward for Canada, using his strong forechecking abilities and finishing his checks. He spent last game with Lightning teammate Anthony Cirelli and Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner on Canada's third line. It's worth mentioning that Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and J.T Miller all had a group chat going before the game and confirmed to each other they were going to drop the gloves in the opening minute. For the Tkachuk brothers, they were following in their Dad Keith's footsteps, as 'Big Walt' drop the gloves in the opening minute of the 1996 World Cup with Canadian forward Claude Lemieux. Canada vs. USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship, Thursday night from Boston. For what it's worth, any team who has dressed in the 'home' dressing room has lost the game. The Americans are slated to dress in the home room on Thursday.Photo credit: © Eric Bolte-Imagn Images  ...

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