By Will Zhang (‘26) Self-Proclaimed Hockey Expert

At 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 20th, the Canadian National Hockey team composed of legends Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar, faced against the US National Hockey Team led by Auston Matthews and the Tkachuk brothers. After 60 minutes of pure exhilaration, the score was tied 2-2. In the next 11 minutes, the bombardment of the US upon Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington was all for naught as Connor McDavid caught a pass from Mitch Marner in the slot and scored the winning goal.

The game was a full on battle both inside and outside the arena. The political implications of this game was just as important as the game results, with Donald Trump posting an invitation for Canada to join the US on Twitter as well as revealing a phone call he made to the US National Team, wishing for their success in the game. This also came after Trump levied 25% tariffs against the US’s largest trade partner in Canada, resulting in large-scale voices against the US all around Canada. With the harmful policies Trump has levied against Canada, the tournament served as a boiling point of tensions. This was most evident in Canada and the US’ first matchup in Bell Center in Montreal, where during the US anthem, Canadians booed the flag as they should. Americans repaid the favor, booing O Canada as it was sung in TD garden about a week later. Nation sovereignty has been the hot topic of conversation this year with Trump’s aggressive expansion policies, and now that he has angered the neighbors up North, he must be able to face the consequences.

The Four Nations tournament was meant to be a competition of the most skilled hockey players in the NHL, the world’s premier hockey league, bar none. However, the Four Nations drew international attention like no other. While the Stanley Cup finals this year culminated in a game 7, only 4.4 million total viewers tuned in. In the Four Nations Finals, however, there were over 9.6 million American viewers alone. With bombshell after bombshell news all over social media and news, this tournament brought hockey to the mainstream, however, that also came at the cost of drawing attention to all the harmful policies in place by the US. Donald Trump kept toying with the Canadians, as he must have had some influence on Cale Makar’s illness in the first game against the Americans, as no doubt that Canada would have won if the best defenceman in the world had been playing at that time. And despite missing games just one week before, Cale Makar persevered and was the shining Canadian light that helped lead Canada to victory over the US in the finals.

But to further understand the true impact of this tournament, the first game between the US and Canada must be studied. Entering into the tournament, the US had seen very limited success on the international stage. With just two gold medals entering (for reference, the Canadian captain, the great Sidney “Sid the Kid” Crosby alone has two as well) the tournament, the US needed a chance at redemption. And this tournament was important for them. For the first time in nearly a century, the Americans entered a best-on-best tournament as the favorites. Leading their team was the best goal-scorer in the NHL in 2024, Auston Matthews, followed by brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk. The game started through tensions as Canadians let the Americans sing in silence and boos. And the patriotic Canadians burst the silence when it came to sing O Canada, with voices being as loud as ever. The start of the game has also been synonymous with the game itself. Three fights broke out in just the first nine seconds, with players JT Miller and Brady and Matthew Tkachuk battling it out against Canadians Colton Parayko, Sam Bennett, and Brandon Hagel. The violent nature of America was clearly showing, but the strength and unity of Canadians was evident as the Canadians won 2 out of the three battles. Despite the initial Canadian victory, they ultimately came short due to an incredibly lucky shot by Lucas Raymond, Detroit Captain, also known as the GOAT. Despite the loss, the fact that Canada won the initial skirmishes was enough to keep spirits alive for the future.

The final of the Four Nations was one of the most exhilarating games ever in sports history. The beginning of the game was eerily similar to the first matchup, minus the fights. However, Sam Bennett was the star that saved the Canadians in the second period, tying the game at 2. But the real MVP of this tournament was Game 7 Jordan Binnington, who went up and beyond once again in the TD Garden arena. He came up strong for the Canadians, single handedly saving goal after goal and went absolutely wild in overtime. Two head on stops against the NHL goals leader in Auston Matthews and a wide open save against Brady Tkachuk was enough to stall the American offense. When taking advantage of this masterpiece, Connor “McJesus” McDavid and Mitch Marner connected, leading to a wide open shot for McDavid against Michigan Native Hellebuyck. A half second later and he, the Canadian hockey team, and the entirety of Canada rejoiced in this hard fought win against the US.

The aftermath of this game was stunning, as Americans were left in shambles. Canadians danced over the complaints of referees by the Americans, who were all American as well. With Sidney Crosby having 5 goal medals, more than the entirety of the US National Team has in its history, the greatest Hockey Player in Canada is now officially better than the entire nation of America. Now, as Donald Trump continues to propose for a takeover of Canada as the 51st state, Canadians have started to ask Americans to join as the 11th Province. If our Hockey and therefore world superiority wasn’t enough Justin Trudeau also publicly extended an arm to the lesser counterpart that is the US, as they are now on the clock to join as the 11th Province.