Tuesday night in Budapest, roughly 20,000 Hungarian hockey fans flocked to Budapest’s MVM Dome arena to get a glimpse of some NHL talent that arrived in the form of a friendly World Championship warm-up between Canada and Hungary.
Fresh off a 5-1 exhibition win in Austria on Sunday, the Canadians iced a mostly-NHL player team that included Philadelphia Flyers Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Tyson Foerster.
The lineup also included NHL superstars like Calder Trophy nominee Macklin Celibrini, former Cup champ Ryan O’Reilly, and 2023 Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Fantilli.
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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby made headlines upon landing in Budapest on Monday, though he didn’t join the team on the ice.
Konecny and Sanheim Play Big Roles
With Crosby out, it was clear that Konecny, who led Canada’s pregame skate and wore an “A” on his sweater, would assume a leadership role for the night.
Though everyone in the building understood Canada was a heavy favorite, Konecny still had a successful night, notching 1 goal, 2 assists, and a +4 rating during 14:57 of ice time in the 6-0 victory.
Konecny’s first point came midway through the second period, when he netted a goal from the slot off a feed from Celebrini, whom he appeared to enjoy significant chemistry with on the top line all night.
Eight minutes into the third, Konecny found Sanheim in the blue paint for a goal that put Canada up 5-0, and just 28 seconds later notched another assist on a Celibrini goal that took the San Jose Sharks star to 4 points for the night.
Sanheim led the Canadians in ice time with 19:44 and finished +2. Foerster was deployed in a more limited role than Konecny and Sanheim and recorded 1 shot in 13:02 of play.
In the end, Canada outshot the Hungarians 37-14, and Hungarian goalie Bálizs Bence, who made several big saves, was deservedly named Hungary’s player of the game.
Celebrini and his 4 points were enough to secure the same honor for Canada.
Hockey in Hungary
Though Canada won 6-0, Budapest was all smiles.
A re-run of last year’s exhibition between the two teams, the event was well-advertised and hotly anticipated throughout Hungary in the weeks leading up, which saw the Hungarian team take on other IIHF rivals throughout the country.
Fans waited outside the arena for the players’ red carpet arrival over three hours before puck drop, where the Hungarian and Canadian teams arrived via buses.
While the Hungarian national jersey was the most popular outfit of choice, fans wore a plethora of NHL and other club teams’ apparel as well, demonstrating a genuine appreciation for the sport.
Both Hungarian and Canadian players received fair amounts of applause during the pregame lineup readings, with Celebrini in particular generating a heightened reaction.
During the final 30 seconds of the match, the crowd, which remained in full force until the end despite the 6-0 score, stood and raucously cheered for the players.
The teams then joined for a group picture with both nations’ players interlaced between each other. An instrumental of the Canadian national anthem was played before the arena went silent as the Hungarian crowd erupted into an a cappella of their own anthem.
The exhibition’s end was marked by a postgame on-ice interview with former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly, who expressed his gratitude to the fans as they finally began to make their way to the exits.
The IIHF World Championships are set to begin on Friday in Stockholm. Team USA, which is in Group B alongside Hungary, will open up facing Denmark at 2:20 p.m. ET.
Canada will compete in Group A and start out on Saturday against Slovenia at 6:20 a.m. ET.
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