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What hockey rivalry important for Canada and Canadian players?

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For me, it's Canada-Russia. It's always special. Nothing else is even close.
 
It was Russia without a doubt until 1996 when the US won the World Cup and put themselves on Canada's radar. The closeness of the countries makes for a natural rivalry anyways.

I would At the Junior level it is still Russia as they still seem to be competitive every year.

At the senior level, the US has been as good as any other country in terms of competitiveness but better than Russia in the last decade or two.

It's really close.
 
Russia is the main one based on history. The rivalry with USA has been growing for the last 20 years though.
 
Always has been and always will be Canada-Russia.
The US rivalry is media and league driven, not fan or player. No one cares about US hockey.
 
BatVader said:
Always has been and always will be Canada-Russia.
The US rivalry is media and league driven, not fan or player. No one cares about US hockey.
Click to expand...

That's a pretty bold and arrogant statement. Of course Canadians cares about the hockey nation that has given them as much trouble as any other country in recent years, and more than Russia, is a natural geographic rival, and has replaced Russia as the country that could ultimately replace Canada as the #1 hockey nation.
 
Most elite kids in Canada play in tournaments against US teams. So this era it's the US to most Canadian players.

I remember going to a tournament in Detroit and the final was between a Detroit team and us. When the fans started chanting USA USA our players were saying "what the ****" and laughing. Thirteen year old kids are playing for their team not Canada or the states.:laugh:

But you hear it at baseballs Little League World Series, so what do I know.
 
Technically, Canada's rivalry was with the Soviets. Ever since the wall fell, Canada's best and worst moments have been against the Americans. I guess there was that WJC comeback recently.
 
Canada-USA

Canada-Russia means more to older fans, everybody else has moved on.
 
Canada usa for me
I could live in a world where Russia beats Canada, as its always been in the top tier and having Canada lose once in awhile to Russia wouldn't be the end of the world

Canada losing consistently to the usa in best on bests is not a world I want to live in
 
I don't know any olympic hockey players but among all my Canadian friends they certainly hate losing to the US much more than Russia. Probably because they don't have any Russian friends to rub it in on them. :)
 
All-time it is still Russia. Like others have said, in the last 20 years it has shifted to the States. For several years anytime you ask the young players at the World Junior championship they'll tell you USA is their biggest rival. This is because at the senior level the rivalry has thawed for Canada-Russia. Still there at the junior level and can very well make a comeback if Russia fields a great team in the Olympics but right now it probably is USA. In the hearts of anyone over 35 it is still Russia. It is always a bit of nostalgia when you say Canada/Russia.

Michael J. Fox once remarked in the 1980s that when Americans think of Soviets they think of "Commies". When Canadians think of Soviets they think of hockey players.
 
I would argue that in the last decade or more, Russian hockey hasn't even been "Russian hockey" as we typically think about it.
 
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