re Canadian players born abroad
Hi everyone, I've been following the forums on this site lately as I have a keen interest in watching Canada compete internationally in hockey so I thought I'd finally join so that I can comment.
I wanted to just say that to my way of thinking, so many of these young players that are born in the States just because their fathers are playing on a U.S. team at the time are, in my eyes, similar to Canadian kids born abroad when their parents are serving in the military.... doesn't really make them any less Canadian in my opinion. They still have the Canadian bloodline, still raised by Canadian parents with largely Canadian traditions and oftentimes spend a good amount of time in Canada. Not to mention they usually learn to play hockey from their fathers and often from playing the minor leagues in Canada. To me they are just Canadian kids born abroad but they do of course have a choice which country they want to represent. When I watched the Foligno interview, he indicated that he not only did it to honour his mother but also that he had always wanted/intended to play for Canada anyways. Even when they interviewed his older brother it seemed that he kind of envied that his brother made that choice, just my perception and I could be wrong.
I also just wanted to say that from watching hockey here and there over the years, I've noticed that so many of the American players, even though perhaps not Canadian by birth, still seem to have substantial connections to Canada... either through coming from a Canadian bloodline, having an influential Canadian coach in their early years or playing the minor league in Canada. Even when I was watching the Team U.S.A. coach the other night I said to my friends that I'm pretty sure that that fellow has some Canadian background and sure enough the other night as I watched the interview of the U.S. team after the U.S./Canada game, the Team U.S.A. coach said that the U.S./Canada game/rivalry was a bit more special for him because his father was from Canada.
lol
I do really worry though that with all these great Canadian NHL players playing down in the States, that we will continue to lose the next generation of great players to the U.S.A. Parise comes to mind as a good example but there are many of course. Strikingly, when reading forums over the last year or so, it appears many Americans have no idea of the Canadian bloodlines that many "American" players have so it can sometimes be surprising to hear some try to put down Canadian hockey using an example of such a player who they apparently think is purely a product of American hockey.
I mean no offence with my post, just my observations. I do hope that more NHL teams come back to Canada so that more of our players can be born at home!