Cale Makar discloses his true feelings about playing for Team Canada in 4 Nations Face-Off

Cale Makar shared his excitement about playing for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. He posted pictures of himself donning the red Team Canada jersey with the iconic Maple Leaf logo.

One picture showed him celebrating after Connor McDavid’s overtime goal with Mitch Marner and others. Another showed him with teammates Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby and Sam Reinhart. Makar captioned the post:

“Honoured to represent my roots! 🇨🇦”

Cale Makar played three games in the tournament, helping Canada win the championship. His attacking contributions were limited, as he had one assist and no goals, totaling one point. However, his defensive game was strong, as he had a +1 rating and averaged 26:47 of ice time per game.

In the final against the U.S., the Calgary native played 28:17 but did not get any points. Against Finland, he had one assist in 23:57. In the game versus Sweden, he played 28:06 without a point. His strong skating and passing helped Canada control the game.

Makar had to miss the first 4 Nations game against the US in which Canada lost 3-1. He was disappointed with his absence and called it a childhood dream.

"I mean, incredibly hard (the decison to not play)," Makar said. "Obviously, you grow up as a kid dreaming about that game, especially playing the Canadians as well, so probably one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make, and hopefully never have to do that again."

This was his only absence in the tournament and with his defensive help, Canada later defeated the USA in overtime in their rematch.

Cale Makar and Team Canada clinched a win in finals to become the 4 Nations champions

In the final, Cale Makar's Avalanche teammate Nathan MacKinnon scored the opening goal for Canada at 4:48 of the first period, taking his total tally to four goals.

Talking to the media after the 3-2 win over USA, MacKinnon said (via NHL.com):

"For another year at least we have some bragging rights. We've got to go do it again next February."

The U.S. tied it at 16:52 when Brady Tkachuk scored on a pass from Auston Matthews. Jake Sanderson put the U.S. ahead 2-1 at 7:32 of the second period with a deflection goal. Canada tied it at 14:00 when Sam Bennett scored past Connor Hellebuyck.

The game went to overtime, where Connor McDavid scored at 8:18. He took a pass from Mitch Marner and shot into the top corner to win the game.