‘I’ll Be Chirping’ | Calgary Flames

STOCKHOLM – The primary shot has already been fired.

Properly upfront of puck drop, too.

Mikael Backlund, bedecked in blue and yellow with host Sweden on the 2025 IIHF World Championship, maybe moved the needle with a bit of needling of Canadian opponent and Flames teammate MacKenzie Weegar.

“Weegs and I… he always says, ‘You have a such a good stick,'” Backlund prefaced.

“So, tell him to watch out for that CCM stick. It’s going to be coming on the forecheck.”

Shot blocked by Weegar.

“The CCM?” he questioned. “I’m not worried about his CCM. I’ve already got (Sidney) Crosby with a CCM that I’ve got to look for. I’ll watch that stick before his.”

Backlund, with Rasmus Andersson, could have true a house ice benefit when Sweden welcomes Canada within the closing exhibition of round-robin play on the Worlds. Weegar, with Flames head coach Ryan Huska, serving as an assistant on the employees, shall be firmly planted on the opposite aspect.

“It’ll be great,” Huska stated. “I love those two guys. I think they’re special players. Hey, I want to make sure we’re winning that game, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun for me to be able to watch them play that game as well, and actually see how far both of those guys have come over their careers.”

That is the diplomatic method.

With first place in Group A on the road, issues may get a bit of extra heated from ice degree.

Sweden has jumped out to an outstanding 6-0-0-0 begin, out-scoring opponents 25-3 heading into the heavyweight tilt reverse Canada. The Canadians, for his or her efforts, are 5-0-1-0 – their lone loss, a shootout setback to Finland on Monday, and have out-scored the opposition 29-4 by way of six skates.

“I love those guys,” Weegar stated. “These guys are my boys.

“However I am trying ahead to it and I do know they’re going to be trying ahead to taking part in me. I simply can’t wait to get after them. I will be chirping. I do know Backs would not actually prefer to chirp an excessive amount of. I will attempt. I will see what is going on on on the market. I do know Ras has the ‘C’ so I will be chirping him too. He thinks he is the large canine over there.

“There might be a couple buttons I can push. We’ll see. He’s going to try to be all serious out there and try to be disciplined and stuff. We’ll see. We’ll see how the game’s going, I’ll say that.”

Andersson would not assume that method will work too effectively for Weegar.

“I am under his skin already,” No. 4 declared.

“Me and Weegs are extraordinarily shut. l’d say Weegs is certainly one of my greatest buddies on the workforce. Me and him are type of the 2 guys that lead the backend. Certainly one of us performs 25 (minutes) and the opposite performs 24. Then the opposite evening it is the alternative. We have now that understanding with one another.

“However, I imply, no… he cannot get beneath my pores and skin. There isn’t any means.

“If anything, I’m the one that’s going to crawl underneath his skin.”

Andersson is jesting, after all, and is among the greatest gum-flappers within the recreation.

So, naturally, his gamesmanship is all in good enjoyable.

Identical from the opposite aspect.

“Those guys are awesome and they’re in their home country and they’re going to be playing hard for their country, just like us,” Weegar stated. “It’s just going to be fun to play those guys.”

Ditto, Backlund provided.

“It’s going to be a great game,” he stated. “Whenever you received the schedule that is one of many video games your circle on the calendar within the spherical robin. I am positive they really feel the identical. They have a very good workforce right here.

“On paper, we are the two greatest groups within the group. There isn’t any doubt about that.

“It should be a great match.”

Recreation time is about for 12:20 p.m. MT on Tuesday. For sure, you will not need to miss it.