Team Canada revealed their full rosters for the upcoming Four Nations Faceoff tournament, and Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was interviewed to give his thoughts on the roster, including his desire to play with a bitter rival.
McDavid expressed great excitement to represent Canada for the first time in a professional best on best tournament, and named a few players he's excited to play with - including longtime rival and friend Sam Bennett.
Who would you be most excited to play with?MCDAVID: Hard not to say Sidney Crosby, hard not to say Nathan Mackinnon, two guys that are just amazing, some of the greatest to ever do it a guy like Cale Makar. Sammy Bennett, who was my minor hockey linemate for 8 years, so hopefully there's a bit of chemistry between us still.
Sam Bennett is a longtime professional rival of Connor McDavid, spending his entire career with the Calgary Flames and the Florida Panthers, who beat Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final.
According to a report from the Athletic this summer, McDavid and Bennett played up an age group in minor hockey and spent years together as linemates, tearing up the scoresheet.
"McDavid andBennett are childhood pals who used to play mini-sticks in hotel hallways at travel tournaments. They were linemates from before they hit double digits in age - the younger McDavid played up an age group. They first played with the York-Simcoe Express and finished their youth hockey careers in minor midget with Strong's Toronto Marlies in 2011-12."- Daniel Nugent-Bowman, the Athletic
Given the pair's history together, it'll be interesting to see if they begin the short tournament together, trying to rekindle some of their ancient chemistry.
Interestingly, Elliotte Friedman asked Connor McDavid if he had any input on the roster in which three Edmonton Oilers players got cut, and McDavid did everything he could to provide a real answer.
Even if McDavid is the only Oiler player on Team Canada, Edmonton fans will still be cheering on their country and their team captain to bring home the win at the 4 Nations Faceoff.
