Drake’s attention not a bad thing for Nurse, or the game
Entertainer’s Instragram post an example of just how big the Olympic stage can be
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA— Laura Schuler, the head coach of Canada’s women’s Olympic hockey team, interrupted practice to deliver a message on Saturday.
“We’re here to win a gold medal,” she told her team, about two-thirds of the way through a 75-minute workout. “We’re having a little bit too much fun, not enough focus.”
If focus is the problem for Canada’s only unbeaten Olympic hockey squad, blame a schedule that has built in three days between Thursday’s wrap-up of group-stage play and Monday’s semifinal against the Olympic Athletes from Russia (7:10 a.m. ET). Or blame Drake. The women’s hockey tournament was rolling along in predictable enough fashion this week — with most casual observers happy to be awakened for the faceoff of a widely assumed goldmedal matchup between Canada and the United. But then Drake, the chart-topping musician and Toronto-based sports fan, posted an In- stagram story that paid flirty tribute to Canadian winger Sarah Nurse.
And suddenly, many more people seemed to be taking notice that Nurse, the fourth-liner from Hamilton, scored the winning goal in Thursday’s 2-1 win over the U.S.
“Only in Canada will you find a sweeter ting that’s going top cheese for a Gino,” Drake wrote on the social-media platform, atop a picture of Nurse.
To briefly break down that collection of words: “Sweet ting,” according to UrbanDictionary.com, is “a very nice girl who is both beautiful and smart.” And as for “going top cheese for a Gino” that’d be rink-rat jargon for shooting high for a goal.
Nurse, a 23-year-old alumnus of the University of Wisconsin, did not require any such translation when she saw Drake’s post. Which is not to say she wasn’t taken aback by the literal buzz it created.
“I woke up (Friday) to my phone just buzzing. And I actually put it on silent for a little bit, until it got out of control,” Nurse said. “All my friends were texting me: ‘You’re on Drake’s Instagram story.’ And they’re like: ‘He followed you on Instagram. That’s so cool.’ And it was definitely very cool and flattering. He’s actually a really big fan of hockey. Who knew?”
Even Schuler, Canada’s businessfirst coach, brightened slightly at the mention of Drake’s interest
“I think that just is an indication how big a stage this is,” Schuler said. “The world’s watching. And it’s cool to have that kind of support.”
Drake, of course, is a renowned female enthusiast who’s also famous for backing front-runners. So it was probably inevitable he’d see something in a women’s team in the midst of a 23-game Olympic win streak that stretches back 20 years.
“I think it’s definitely a huge compliment that somebody like Drake is watching women’s hockey, saw a goal that was scored, and felt that he wanted to put that out there for other people to see,” Nurse said. “I think it’s pretty amazing, not only for our team but for the entire sport.”
Indeed, as much as Canada’s women’s squad finds itself in the Olympic spotlight every four years — and as much as other members have enjoyed some crossover notoriety (Meaghan Mikkelson and Natalie Spooner appeared on TV’s The Amazing Race Canada) — few teams are accustomed to exposure on the level of Drake, who has about 40 million Instagram followers.
Nurse, who had about 5,000 Instagram followers as of Saturday afternoon here, said she’d gained bout 2,000 since Drake’s post.
“We’ve been teasing (Nurse) since we found out about it, for sure,” said Jill Saulnier, the Team Canada winger. “But I think we’re all just really jealous, to be honest.”
Said Emily Clark, Nurse’s best friend and roommate: “I’ve been trying to take (Nurse) down a peg — make sure her head doesn’t get too big. But it’s pretty wild. Special goal for her, special moment. And Drake giving her a shout-out, I think it’ll be hard for her to forget.”
Nurse, who said she has long been a fan of Drake’s music, has never met the man. But she’s a member of a family that has produced its share of well-known names. Her cousin, Darnell, plays for the Edmonton Oilers. Darnell’s sister, Kia, is a nationalteam fixture in basketball who played in the 2016 Olympics. And Sarah’s uncle is Donovan McNabb, the former NFL quarterback.
Growing up, Sarah Nurse said she enjoyed a wide variety of sports, not to mention the piano. “I played everything. Basketball, volleyball, lacrosse. I tried T-ball once. I was a runner. Learning how to be athletic, I think, is really important. It’s amazing how many hockey players I see that have trouble kicking a soccer ball.”
Sarah, for the record, does not have trouble kicking a soccer ball, or shooting straight.
“She’s definitely a little sassy; I think that’s one adjective a lot of our teammates would use,” Clark said. “She’s just very straightforward. She’s not afraid to say how it is. And she’s definitely a girl who knows what she wants. She doesn’t take no for an answer.”
Sounds as though she shares some type-A personality traits with the man they call Drizzy.
“Yeah,” agreed Clark. “I think they’ll get along just fine.”