Team Europe to lean on ‘tower’ against Canada
Defenceman to halt the charging Crosby and Co in final
Team Europe will lean on 6-foot-9 defenceman Zdeno Chara, referred to by his coach as a tower, to slow Canada in the World Cup of Hockey finals.
When Sidney Crosby and Co. come charging down the ice, Chara will often be standing and skating in their way.
“He’s a guy who you don’t want to play against,” Canadian forward Brad Marchand said on Monday. “He’s mean. He’s big. He’s tough. And, he covers a lot of ice.” Marchand would know. He, along with Canada’s Patrice Bergeron, play with Chara in Boston.
The 39-year-old Chara will not only be the tallest player on the ice on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the best-of-three series. He’ll also be the oldest.
Marchand, though, insisted the 2009 Norris Trophy winner has not lost a step.
He’s still dominant in so many areas. Chara is averaging nearly 22 minutes of ice time per game, ranking among team leaders, and has scored a goal in four World Cup games.
Europe coach Ralph Krueger cites leadership as one of Chara’s biggest assets. He has been Boston’s captain for nearly a decade and became the first Slovakian player to win a Stanley Cup in 2011, and the second European to be captain of an NHL champion, following Nicklas Lidstrom in 2008.
When Krueger was putting together the team a year ago, he travelled to New York to talk to Chara when the Bruins were playing the Islanders in a preseason game. Getting Chara to buy in, Krueger figured, was a key to the team’s success.
Several players joined the conversation, Krueger recalled, and a newfound respect began to develop. “A tower for more than his physical presence,” Krueger said. “It’s the man inside of that tower that has been so exciting to work with.”