The 4 Nations Break is almost over, as the US and Canada play the final game Thursday night before the Caps get back on the ice on Saturday, but it’s been a nice week and a half off for Spencer Carbery and the squad…despite ‘multiple travel issues on the way there and back’ for his visit to Quebec City.
“First time I've ever been there; the tournament that they put on up there, the international peewee tournament with teams from all over the world, it was pretty incredible,” Coach Carbs told The Junkies Wednesday. “For me, I had never experienced it as a kid, and I’d never been to Quebec City, but then also for my son to be able to experience that, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for sure.”
He also got to watch a big of the 4 Nations Face-Off, including the USA/Canada brawl, but beyond that, he called it ‘fantastic.’
“I've watched quite a bit of it, and the tournament overall has been fantastic. Great for the game, for casual hockey fans to be able to see most of the best players in the world, the speed of the games, and the skill on display,” Carbery said. “I think that game is just a great example of our sport and the competitiveness and the pride; it's impressive to see and it, and it just shows you how much it means to these players that are representing their country; they literally want to win so badly that they're willing to fight…like, those are guys that don't normally drop the gloves, especially right off the bat, but they're just trying to set the tone and create some type of advantage for their team, and for their country, for that matter. Pretty impressive to watch, and it's been great for the sport.”
Even if his own bruiser, Tom Wilson, isn’t on the Canadian roster…
“In that setting, it’s not just about the fighting and the fisticuffs; Willie just is such a presence, and he's so hard to play against, that what it does is it's not that he's gonna beat the crap out of the anybody on the opposing team, it’s about his presence that makes the opposition second guess some things that they're gonna do on the ice from time to time,” Carbs said. “All of a sudden, you’re thinking, maybe they do have the upper hand a little bit, and let's just try to keep it to playing hockey.”
When NHL play resumes, the Caps have 27 games left and stand atop the Eastern Conference, so it’s one-third of the regular season to go to set themselves up for what they hope is a Stanley Cup run, and hopefully come back refreshed and ready to rock.
“I’ve been talking to some guys so I knew where they were headed for the break, and my emphasis for the group was to enjoy the time away, because we’ve been grinding for five months,” Carbery said. “I really wanted guys to take advantage of the time to get away and enjoy the time away from the rink and all the pressure, and come back as refreshed as possible. So, I was glad a bunch of guys were able to get away.”
But, after a 10-day break, the madness begins with an immediate sprint, so there's really no time to waste getting their legs underneath them again.
“We feel good, and feel like we're in a good spot. We've got 27 games in 55 days to go, starting with a pretty busy stretch right out of this break, so it’s going to be chaotic,” Carbery said. “Same sort of approach, but also starting to have an eye on the finish line here of really getting our game in a good spot, so that as a group, we're really confident playing at a high level at the most important time of the year. We want our game to look consistent night to night, and we're doing all the little things that we have to do, and then also individually, we've got a lot of guys that are sort of hitting their stride feeling really good about their individual game.”
Listen to Carbery’s entire visit above!