Five months have passed since the moment when, at the World Championships in Riga, the star-laden Russian national team unexpectedly lost in the quarter-finals to the Canadian national team, made up of players. little-known hockey game. Then, if anyone forgot, the Russians led with a score of 1: 0 after Timkin’s goal, but then conceded, and in overtime ours was buried by the one hardly anyone remembered well. before the start of the World Cup – the front Andrew Manjipane.
It became a real discovery of the Riga tournament. In the semifinals with Sweden, he scored a brace and then helped the Canadians defeat Finland in the battle for gold. It makes sense that this particular Canadian with Italian roots has become the MVP of the world championship. Surely the fate of the title was decided by this goal against the Russian national team in overtime of the quarter-final game, as this puck paved the way for the Canadians to medals.
And now Manjipane was waiting for a new success. A few weeks after the assistant general manager of the Canadian national team Ron Francois called the striker and said he was on a long provisional list of candidates for the national team for the Beijing Olympics, followed by a new invitation. This time – at a virtual team meeting in Zuma.
“Most of our stars had their cameras on. McDavid, Crosby, Pietrangelo. I was just trying to stay calm with them. Well you understand me. They are good players, aren’t they? “ – Manjipane said with a smile, commenting on the fact of his participation in the preliminary meeting.
This disheveled Calgary guy got so excited at the Riga World Championships that he kicked off the regular season with flying colors. Earlier in “Ogonyok” he was seen exclusively as a worker, a transporter of grand pianos who, in case of urgent need, could build something interesting during an attack. Today, Andrew has 8 goals in his first 12 matches. Few of the participants in this “all-Canadian” Zuma have already been selected in the sixth round of the draft and have spent three years at the farm club to break into the NHL.
“Of course my task and my dream is to be part of the Olympic team. I’m definitely considered a dark horse because the coaching staff has a ton of options. My job is just to watch every game, to play my hockey, to act as hard as possible. And then, in the end, I could join the national team. It is a great honor for me to even be on the extended list of candidates. But I have to face the excitement, it is impossible for all of this to affect me. You have to play as if nothing had happened “Said Manjipane.
In the coming week with a lineup, Calgary will have a big seven-game away tour that could determine the forward’s fate and his Olympic prospects. Games in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa will be covered by all Canadian media, and if the rising star from Calgary can prove himself, his stock will skyrocket.
Speaking without emotion, Manjipane has a lot to offer the Canadian national team. Andrew is ready to play in any position in attack, he is ready to plow in defense, despite his small dimensions, he does not care about the third link and modest playing time. And among the fans he has become a favorite: during the pre-season game in honor of Andrew, one of the fans threw a loaf of bread on the ice, because in Italian his name means “to eat bread”.
“No, no, I’m just going to go out and play. There is no point in thinking about this list. He’s sure a lot of his guys will probably go to Beijing. It was great for me to receive this challenge and now I can say, “Wow, all these stars were watching me via a video link.” After all, I first donned the Canadian national team jersey only in May, at the World Championships. Never called before. So it’s just an honor for me. “Said Manjipane.
In this largest list of 50 candidates, he was one of the last. This story reminded Canadian observers of the Jerome Iginla, who in 2002 was declared the last member of the team in the summer orientation camp, then made his way to the national team and was an important part of the gold team in Salt Lake City . Of course, one can no longer claim that Manjipane, like Iginla, will become a member of the Hall of Fame, but he had his chance.
“I remember Crosby’s golden goal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I was 13, we were watching with the whole family – mum, dad, sisters. This is why this challenge means a lot to me. Remember, every Canadian wants to play for the Canadian national team. “, – summed up Manjipane.
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