Behind the training camp that laid the foundation for Canada’s 4 Nations stars
It was the goal Canadian fans have waited nearly a decade for: MacKinnon from Crosby and McDavid. But while it might have been their first game together, their connection began last summer at a star-studded training camp, writes Sportsnet’s Myles Dichter.
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It was the goal Canadian fans have waited nearly a decade for: Nathan MacKinnon, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.
That it happened less than one minute into Canada’s opening game at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a 4-3 overtime win against Sweden on Wednesday, was perhaps a reward for that patience.
But it wasn’t the first time the trio has connected on a goal.
Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon and Mitch Marner were all part of a group of about 25 players — also including Americans Matthew Tkachuk and Noah Hanifin — who trained at a camp under strength and conditioning coach Andy O’Brien last summer in Vail, Colo.
That’s where the quartet got to know each other on and off the ice, bonding and spending time together with the knowledge in the back of their minds that they might end up as teammates for Canada.
By virtue of overseeing the operation, O’Brien became one of the first people ever to see all that star power coalesce.
“It was really crazy,” O’Brien recalled. “I was blown away and amazed by what I was seeing when I saw those guys play together.”
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Also blown away by the skill on display was Calgary Flames defenceman Tyson Barrie, who suddenly found himself defending a two-on-one with McDavid and MacKinnon bearing down on him.
“He was being funny in the way Tyson Barrie typically does, but I think he ended up being completely traumatized by that two-on-one and probably needed therapy after that,” O’Brien joked.
O’Brien, 47, has worked with NHL players for nearly 20 years across roles with the Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, a player agency and in private sessions.
He currently works with the Panthers helping to oversee training while also continuing his personal consulting business.
In the past, the star power among his clientele has led to tough questions: if Crosby, McDavid and MacKinnon all show up to a skate, how do you ensure the teams are fair?
It has also led to some easy answers: just call Cale Makar, who was unable to attend the Vail camp, and have him team up with his Avalanche teammate.
That would, of course, leave Crosby and McDavid as teammates on the other side.
“When I watched Sid and Connor, I was really, really surprised. I felt a little bit like it was Wayne and Mario in 1987. You started to see things come out of both players that you wouldn’t expect just based on what you see in the regular season,” O’Brien said.
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4 Nations Face-Off on Sportsnet
The inaugural edition of the 4 Nations Face-Off is here with the top players from Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States going head-to-head in the highly anticipated best-on-best event. Watch all the games on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
O’Brien said he could see a renewed focus among the players knowing that international best-on-best hockey was set to make its first appearance since the 2016 World Cup.
“With the 4 Nations coming up, you could tell the players really wanted to feel each other out, and they were anticipating different lines,” he said.
The four forwards are now spread across Canada’s top two lines, with Mark Stone joining MacKinnon and Crosby while Sam Reinhart rides shotgun with Marner and McDavid.
O’Brien said he didn’t necessarily see it playing out that way, even though the prevailing theory was that Crosby and MacKinnon — who share a hometown of Cole Harbour, N.S. — would join forces.
“Sid is definitely a give-and-go type player. He sort of plays below the dots really well, hangs on to pucks. … And Nate is a player who’s just all adrenaline and really just at you. And he needs to possess the puck and carry it and get speed and really attack,” O’Brien said.
“And so I think it’s not that they can’t play together. Certainly they’re really elite, skilled and smart players that are capable of it. It’s just, is that really the most effective strategy? Are you allowing both of those players to really maximize their impact in the game if you put them together?”
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For one night, at least, Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper’s line combinations worked out. Crosby was named player of the game after recording three assists, including on Marner’s OT winner.
Cooper said prior to the game that his decision to pair Crosby with MacKinnon had to do with chemistry.
“Anywhere I’ve been in the last 48 hours, those two guys have been together. They’re constantly talking hockey with each other and they’re constantly ribbing each other. … It’s almost like there’s a little brother and a big brother,” Cooper said.
It’s a similar observation to one that O’Brien made as he watched the group of some of the NHL’s best players interact away from the rink.
“I think the common thread that really pulls these guys together is hockey. They love the game, love the sport, passionate about it, can talk hockey, can talk about other players’ history of hockey, love talking about their equipment, how they train, what types of things they do on the ice,” O’Brien said.
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At one point in Vail — which is at 9,000 feet of altitude — O’Brien put his group through a 75-minute off-ice workout followed by a high-tempo 90-minute skate.
Yet the stars weren’t done there.
“The players were gassed, but they would stay on the ice for almost an hour after that practice working on things,” he said.
It is perhaps that commitment to conditioning that allowed Crosby to not only skate, but show out for Canada despite missing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ past two games with an upper-body injury.
O’Brien was first introduced to Crosby when he was 13 and has worked with him since.
“He’s been through this so many times. Being in the league for 20 years now, he’s had a lot of different injuries and so he’s had the experience of understanding how to get the opinions that he needs and talk to the doctors and listen to his body,” he said.
Now, Canada prepares for a Saturday night showdown against the U.S. in Montreal.
And even O’Brien, who’s enjoyed the privilege of seeing Canada’s stars in action previously, said opening night made him giddy.
“It’s just incredible hockey and it’s an amazing pace. I just had so much anticipation … and it definitely didn’t disappoint.”
