Team USA is out to destroy Canada at the World Cup.

Some extremely strong comments heading into an exhibition game.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 7 years ago
Team USA is out to destroy Canada at the World Cup.
Keystone Press

Both Canada and the United States have been hockey powerhouses for several years now, and as a result it should come as little surprise that an intense rivalry has developed between the two countries on the ice. However the disappointment from Team USA at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics appears to have turned the dial on that rivalry all the way up.

Sportsnet's Luke Fox recently spoke to Columbus Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky and asked him what feelings the word "Canada" evoked in him.

“Rivalry. Intensity. Revenge.”

It's no surprise really, Canada is likely being viewed as the favorite by most to win this tournament, and they have the benefit of playing in Toronto, giving them what will likely be somehwat of a home ice advantage throughout the entire tournament, although fans from rival countries will do their best to mitigate that.

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“Listen. They’re the favourites," said Dubinsky. "They’re the team you have to go through to win this thing. We’re certainly paying a little extra attention to them.”

It's not just words to get pumped up ahead of the games either, we are heading into an exhibition contest on Friday, and forward Max Pacioretty, who plays in a Canadian city, went so far as to describe it as hatred.

“I don’t need to think about Sochi to hate Canada. It’s just been that way growing up. Vice versa. They know they have a target on their back after winning Sochi and same for Vancouver,” Max Pacioretty said.

To be fair to Pacioretty he's likely not referring to all of Canada here, speaking instead specifically about their hockey program, a program the U.S. last beat for a gold medal all the way back in 1996 at a previous World Cup tournament.

Fox got a firsthand look at the players as they prepared for the tournament, and he believes that while not every player may be as open about his feelings as say a Max Pacioretty, the intentions from Team USA in this tournament are clear.

From Fox:

Most Americans will cushion their World Cup comments by saying the right thing, about how they need to respect all seven teams, but this spirit of this room is unequivocally this: Eliminate Canada.

The two squads face off in an exhibition match on Friday night, although this time Team USA gets home ice advantage with the game being held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

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