Team Canada Forward Brandon Hagel Takes A Shot At Team USA and Both Tkachuks Ahead of Final Game
Team Canada's Brandon Hagel took a shot at Team USA over their decision to initiate three fights at the beginning of their last matchup in a recent interview.
The first 4 Nations Face-Off game between Canada and the United States was nothing short of historical.
The rivalry between the two nations took another turn when Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, and J.T. Miller all decided to drop the gloves in their first shifts of the game.
After the game, in a press conference, the Tkachuk brothers confirmed that they had planned to drop the gloves before the start of the game in an attempt to show their frustration with their national anthem being booed at the Bell Centre.
Players from Team Canada held media availabilities ahead of Thursday night's rematch against Team USA, including Brandon Hagel.
Hagel was the one forced to drop the gloves against Matthew Tkachuk. He ended up sending him to the floor and finally provided his take on Tkachuk's actions, taking shots at the U.S. at the same time.
He talked about how Canada doesn't need to initiate fights and isn't playing for the cameras but for his country.
Here's what he said:
We don't need to initiate anything. We don't have any group chats going on.
We're going out there, playing our game, giving it everything, and doing it for our country. We don't need to initiate anything.
We're just going to play as hard as we can and do it for the flag on our chest.»
Hagel showed great leadership and attitude in his comments. The pressure will now be on the Americans after Canada openly stated they would play to win, not to send a message to the U.S. by playing a dirty style of hockey.
![Feb 12, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada defenseman Drew Doughty (89) looks on against Team Sweden in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/529645.webp "Feb 12, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada defenseman Drew Doughty (89) looks on against Team Sweden in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
![Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) plays the puck and Team United States defenseman Charlie McAvoy (25) defends in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/529619.webp "Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) plays the puck and Team United States defenseman Charlie McAvoy (25) defends in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images")
