San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky watched the 4 Nations Face-Off excitedly like the rest of the hockey world.
Viewership for the championship game between Team USA and Team Canada reached numbers not seen in a very long time for a hockey game. Across North America, the average viewership for the game was 16.1 million, with 9.3 million being the U.S. average.
“I think it’s incredible. I listened to PK Subban’s rant on First Take, and I thought it was incredible,” Warsofsky said.
“I think he’s spot on of what hockey players are all about, and what they play through, and how they compete. I mean, we’re talking about kind of an exhibition game, and they played as hard as you can play in a game seven of a Stanley Cup Final. That’s what this sport is all about.”
Connor McDavid struggled during the game but made his star moment with the overtime-winning goal.
The sport of Hockey received so much coverage for the tournament, which has created unprecedented excitement for the game. Northern California is still a growing hockey market; this tournament could only help.
“People around here that probably watched the game, that aren’t really hockey fans, and I think we just grabbed a lot of hockey fans from that,” Warsofsky said.
“The fighting is what it is, and people love that stuff, but when they watch that and the physicality and the intensity and people playing for your country, and the pride that it comes with, I think it was a hell of a job by the National Hockey League and the players and everyone that was involved.”
The San Jose Sharks are returning to relevance in the NHL. While their record is the worst in the league, their prospect pool is ranked No. 1 according to the Athletic.
Players like Macklin Celebrini, who played one season for the San Jose Jr. Sharks, will lead the Sharks back to the playoffs.
“‘I’ve said it all year, right? We’ve talked about it as we do believe in the future, and it’s bright here, as from the players that we have here, from the players that we coming in,” Warsofsky explained.
“From the moves that Mike [Grier] has made with draft picks, we truly believe it’s coming. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but hopefully, that can be a catalyst for what is to come.”
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