Mark Stone got a pleasant surprise when he arrived at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard for Team Canada’s first practice Monday ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
The 32-year-old right-winger with the Vegas Golden Knights learned he would be playing on the same line with superstars Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche.
That would be a dream for any hockey player.
“I really wasn’t too sure who I was going to play with,” said Stone, who has 14-35-49 totals in 42 games this season with the Golden Knights. “I’m just going to try to complement those two guys.
“Sid’s been the best player in the world for 15-odd years,” Stone added. “Nate’s become one of, if not the best player in the world over the last 5-10 years. It’s exciting, for sure. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had a smile on my face, a little grin.”
Canada plays its first game of the tournament Wednesday at the Bell Centre against Sweden (8 p.m., SN, TVA Sports).
To highlight how much talent Team Canada has, Crosby, MacKinnon and Stone on paper are the second line, behind the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid playing between the Florida Panthers’ Sam Reinhart and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner.
Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper said it was an easy decision to put Stone with Crosby and MacKinnon, who are both centres. Crosby will play left wing, but since Crosby shoots left and MacKinnon shoots right they will both be able to take faceoffs on their strong sides.
“You look at Mark Stone and, first of all, he’s a hockey player — and I think you know the term I’m saying,” said Cooper, using a line Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis often uses. “He just knows his game, he knows where to go. But he plays with Jack Eichel (in Vegas) and there’s a lot of similarities in where Jack Eichel and where Nathan MacKinnon get pucks, where they want pucks and what puts them in the best position to succeed.
“Those are hard things to do,” Cooper added. “People sit there and say, ‘Well, maybe Stone’s not the most fleet of foot,’ but guys that think the game fast play the game fast — and then they can play with fast players. For us, a guy with Stone’s hockey sense was an easy one to put him with Mac.”
Team Canada defenceman Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues knows what it’s like to play against Stone.
“I think just the way he sees the ice is one of his biggest things from playing against him,” Parayko said. “Unreal. He’s a really good passer. He knows where players are all the time and he gets the puck to those players. Elite passer and then when he does get chances in the slot, or a chance to shoot the puck, he can be dangerous there, too. Just I think a good overall forward and got good size too (6-foot-3 and 210 pounds). He’s always hard to play against.”
Crosby is showing no signs of slowing down at age 37 with 17-41-58 totals in 55 games this season with the Penguins. Crosby and defenceman Drew Doughty are the only two players on Team Canada who won gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. MacKinnon, 29, leads the NHL in scoring with 21-66-87 totals in 57 games with the Avalanche. Crosby and MacKinnon are both from Nova Scotia, train together in the summer and are very close friends.
“First of all, you’re talking about chemistry and anywhere I’ve been in the last 48 hours those two guys have been together,” Cooper said after practice Tuesday at the Bell Centre. “They’re constantly talking hockey with each other and constantly ripping each other. It’s actually quite a treat to listen to these two guys go at it. It’s really fun.
“But it’s almost like there’s a little brother and a big brother,” Cooper added. “That’s not talking about the game of hockey, that’s just talking about the way they interact. I’m a big believer in chemistry and I’m a big believer in the way guys think and how they play and, for me, it’s just natural to put those guys together. Is it going to work? We don’t know. But do you want to see two guys that really want it to work? It’s those two guys.”
Stone is ready to be the middle brother at this tournament to help it work.
“Sid is one of the smartest players of all-time,” Stone said after practising with Crosby and MacKinnon for the second time on Tuesday. “Has the size — not the tallest guy, but he’s the thickest guy. So he can really control the play down low. I think what surprised me most about Nate is I knew his hands were fast — I knew he had those fast-twitch muscles — but, man, he can really put defences on their heels with the way he can handle the puck.”
“It’s eye-opening, for sure,” Stone added about playing with the two superstars. “But I think I can bring something to help them.”