Just a few hours ago, America and Canada went head-to-head in what might just be the biggest game of Zach Werenski’s career. But before we even get into that—let’s talk about sportsmanship. It’s the backbone of any athlete’s mindset, right? Well… maybe not SO much when it comes to the USA vs. Canada. Hockey is already an icy battlefield, and things can get extra heated despite the freezing rink. That was exactly the case at the Bell Centre in Montréal when Team USA took on Finland a few days ago. Now, you’d think playing in a Canadian rink would come with at least a little hospitality, but no—things took a messy turn before the puck even hit the ice.
Honoring national anthems is a staple across all sports, and hockey is no exception. But at this match? Team USA didn’t exactly get a warm welcome. Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson took to X to spill the tea, saying, “The PA announcer asked everyone to respect the anthems. It went quiet for a moment, and some dude yelled, ‘F— that!’ and the rink proceeded to boo the American anthem.” Yikes. That’s not just unsportsmanlike—that’s straight-up disrespectful. And guess what? It happened again. Now, Zach Werenski is stepping up with his final word on Canada’s anthem booing, and let’s just say, he’s not sugarcoating it.
Zach Werenski didn’t hold back when talking about the wave of boos that, at this point, feel like a recurring theme. In the post-game conference, he shrugged it off, saying, “Yeah, we knew it was going to happen.” After what went down last game—and the fact that this has “been happening in the NHL before this”—the team saw it coming from a mile away. But that can’t make it any easier to swallow. “We obviously don’t like it. We’re proud Americans. But it is what it is.”
Still, rather than letting the crowd get under their skin, Team USA took it all in stride. Werenski explained, “We kind of had an idea. We used it as motivation the best we could, and yeah, found a way to get a win.” The boos? Not a shocker. The energy? Unmatched. And at the end of the day, they walked away with the W, proving that no amount of heckling can knock them off their game.
This story is developing…
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