EDMONTON -- "We are the champions."
Team Canada and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid are the 4 Nations Face-off champions.
Mitch Marner started the tournament on McDavid's wing and ended it on his wing. Jon Cooper was asked about what went behind making those changes when he did. He first explained why he split them up in the first place.
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“Brayden Point has been a center all his life," Cooper explained. "And I thought putting Point with McDavid was going to help the speed factor. It was just (a matter of) whether he was going to be comfortable playing the wing."
"He surely was, and he proved that."
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During Thursday night's game, Marner and McDavid were reunited. Cooper explained why he brought them back together.
"I thought that line had great chemistry (Point, McDavid, Mark Stone) but ultimately in the end as that game went on, Mitch had legs tonight," Cooper revealed. "That kid can make plays, as we saw tonight. He just needed one chance to make a play, and he did."
As for why Cooper did that, his answer was simple.
"It comes down to a gut feeling," Cooper revealed. "How the guys are going. (And) I felt that those three guys could do it and they did.”
Ultimately, it paid off. Marner assisted on McDavid's overtime-winning goal. And now they are the champions.
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