Like lost children, we wandered the halls of the Budapest Marriott Hotel on a Monday afternoon around 6:45 p.m., because no one in the world could give us any information about the Canadian hockey team’s arrival by train from Vienna at Keleti railway station, despite some team members showing up for a limited press event within ten minutes. Finally, a burly young man, who turned out to be a reporter for nhl.com, revealed that he had just received a phone call: Wiener Walzer was half an hour late.
We were not on the eve of any spectacle: on Tuesday at 7 p.m., the Hungarian national team, which returned to the elite league that day in Bolzano, will host Canada as part of Hoketavas. The 28-time world champions will stop in our capital on their way to the World Cup in the Czech Republic starting on Friday, and will play against Vilmos Gallo in the MVM Dome.
The match will be a farewell match for Don McAdam, the successful captain who will leave at the end of his contract (although it is acceptable to play with this symbolic structure after Galo, one of the regular starters of the Hungarian national team, (a mockery of the head coach after the embarrassing defeat suffered by Romania in Bolzano), however, it is likely that regardless of the result, the record attendance for a hockey match in this country, 14,756 spectators, may be broken.
Hockey Canada, current world champions, is the head coach. Andre Tourigny In addition to four star players, Colton Paraycott, Andrew Mangiapanette, and Maclean Celebrinette And Connor Bedard He brought us to the press conference.
Parayko, who was the first to enter the room, could be considered a midfielder based on his height, as his height of 198 cm and weight of at least 110 kg made his position likely.
Parayko reflected on the 2017 World Cup when he was named to the tournament’s All-Star team despite losing the final on penalties to Sweden. The St. Louis Blues star also reflected on the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals when he won the franchise’s first title. Unlike many of his teammates, Parayko also graduated with a business degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2016.
I can't play hockey for the rest of my life, I have to work at some point, and it doesn't hurt to have a diploma handy in my pocket.
The 30-year-old Beck also added that looking out the window of the Marriott Hall, he can enjoy a panoramic view of Buda Castle and the Danube bridges, the likes of which he has seen few in his life.
Andrew Mangiapane He's a left winger for the Calgary Flames and a fellow nhl.com native who's also from Calgary. When asked by our newspaper, the 28-year-old forward revealed that Jarome Iginla was his childhood idol, and the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic champion began his professional career with the Flames.
I'm excited, and really looking forward to Tuesday night's game! I know this is a handball hall we'll be playing in, but we'll do our best to call it a hockey hall from now on!
The striker, who is much shorter than Barico, said.
Andre Tourigny The coach explained at length how the world has moved on and that Canadian professionals now cannot be sure of facing other national teams. Even though they were also world champions last year, for the 28th time, under Turini.
“It is a special honor for me that after last year, I have been invited to manage the national team at the World Cup again this year, and I am especially proud to wear a maple leaf jacket,” said the head coach of the NHL Coyotes, who are based in Salt Lake City, Arizona, as he placed his hand on his heart where the maple leaf logo is emblazoned. “We have to do our best in every game, last year we had a very tough game against the Hungarians in Budapest, and now we had to put ourselves there again in Vienna, against the Austrians, in our 5-1 win.”
Torini also spoke about the fact that every time they come to Europe, they have to quickly adapt to the style here and the slightly bigger pitch, but that shouldn't be a problem.
We hope spectators get the entertainment they want for their tickets!
He finally said.
The best was left for last, two teenagers, the first of them McLean Celebrity He looked like an elementary school bully. By comparison, he's a great hockey player for a 17-year-old, and everyone takes it for granted that he'll be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NHL draft.
The Vancouver man certainly looked nervous, offering only standard answers about how proud he was to be on a world championship team and what a beautiful city Budapest is. He played the entire current season at Boston University, and was also part of the Canadian U20 team at the World Youth Championships in Sweden, where they lost 3-2 to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
Well, that hurts a lot…
I confess.
Connor Bedard He's a year older than Celebrini and plays for perhaps the weakest team in the league, the Chicago Blackhawks. He was selected first in last year's draft.
“It's not a problem, wherever I go on the ice, in whatever team, I always try to give my best – said the blond youngster, who became the best player and top scorer at the World Junior Championships that started in 2022 and ended in 2023. – This current tour is a great experience, Vienna, Budapest and then Prague, I have never been to these cities before, but what I have seen so far exceeds all my expectations.
If you can make your life a little miserable on Tuesday night, that won't be a problem…
As for Hungary, our team went from heaven to hell in a matter of days at the Division 1 World Championships, which ended on Saturday. After an embarrassing defeat to Romania, István Sofron beat hosts Italy and then the strongest team of the six, Slovenia, to reach the world elite for the fourth time in the history of modern Hungarian hockey.
Don MacAdam's team will close out the season with a celebratory match against Canada, the two teams also played each other last year in a memorable and memorable match at the MVM Dome, although our team was also able to prepare for Group A at that time. Tickets are available from HUF 7,990. To the meeting.
(Cover photo: Andre Tourigny, head coach of Hockey Canada. Photo: Peter Papajsik/Index)
