Mangiapane gives a much calmer response to his Olympic dreams being crushed by NHL

After having been through quarantines for COVID-19, Calgary Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane knew that the 2022 Olympics would be tough for everyone trying to participate. As many players across the league have expressed, there is clear frustration between the players and the NHL for not allowing players to partake in the event. Some players went as far as ripping the NHL on social media, but Mangiapane is taking a much calmer approach.

«It's tough for all of Canada, for every person that was wanting to go to the Olympics,» said Mangiapane, who has 17 goals in 28 games this season.

«You don't know if you're going to make it or not, and things like that. Just to have the opportunity was nice, but it would have been cool to see Team Canada go out there and play.»

Mangiapane has always been known to be a soft-spoken kind of guy, so it's not surprising to see him take this kind of approach rather than a balls-to-the-wall approach like Brad Marchand going off about the NHL on Twitter.

«I would have liked to kind of see what other players were doing and what was going on and happening behind the scenes before making a call for myself,» said Mangiapane.

«Every kid's dream is to win a Stanley Cup, but also to win gold for your country. I would like to have gone, but given the circumstances I kind of understand why we're not going.»

Although COVID-19 can be a scary term nowadays, Mangiapane believes that it could help teams gain more chemistry and help them learn more about each other.

«It's tough to sit there for ten days not doing much,» said Mangiapane, who said he occupied his time watching movies, playing video games, talking to friends, family and teammates before resorting to a late puzzle.
«Kind of scary, because you don't know how the guys' bodies will react to catching Covid, so you're kind of scared for the whole team a bit. Thankfully everybody is okay.
«Say what you want, maybe it got us closer together as a team now that we went through this. It kind of builds chemistry a bit and we should be good moving forward.»

This may be a key, but odd, contributor to the Flames' success so far this season as they currently sit third in the Pacific Division with a 15-7-6 record in 28 games.

sportsnet.ca

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