Jamison Coyle of NHL Network Jamison Coyle of NHL Network. (Courtesy of Jamison Coyle)
HockeyNHLBy Michael Grant on

For someone who grew up in New England, Thursday night will be as about exciting as it gets. Jamison Coyle, a Nashua, New Hampshire native, will be part of NHL Network’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship coverage. The highly anticipated matchup between the United States and Canada will be at TD Garden in Boston, just 40 miles from Coyle’s hometown.

The U.S. will be looking to beat Canada for the second time after prevailing 3-1 on Saturday in Montreal. To learn more about what promises to be an epic hockey showdown, we caught up with Coyle to break it all down.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Awful Announcing: What are you looking forward to Thursday night?

Jamison Coyle: “The anticipation of the atmosphere based on what we saw at Bell Centre on Saturday. Just talking to the people who were inside that arena, they said they’ve never seen anything like that. Some of them said that’s the best sporting event that they’ve ever been to. If that was Round One, it’s going to be tough to put your finger on what is in store for Thursday night. I’m most looking forward to the anthems and the build-up into the open face-off and then maybe the first ten seconds. Based on what we saw in Round One, who knows what will happen in Round Two.”

How much has the political climate contributed to the atmosphere?

“Look, the Canada vs. U.S. rivalry in hockey is always something special regardless of what’s going on geopolitically. Certainly, it has added fuel to the fire with what’s going on politically right now, and then I think just pride for these players and what their countries represent to them. The logo on their sweaters adds to the build-up and the rivalry and the passion of what we’re going to get on Thursday. That’s why we love sports.”

How healthy is the U.S.?

“I wouldn’t say they’re fully healthy, just from everything we’ve learned from what the coaches have said. It sounds like the Tkachuk brothers (Brady and Matthew) are a go for Thursday night, which is great for the U.S. It sounds like Auston Matthews is good to go. Charlie McAvoy’s been ruled out, so that’s that’s not great just based on the impact he made on Saturday with his physicality. He laid out Connor McDavid a couple of times. He put a beating on Sidney Crosby behind the net. The U.S. certainly would love to have him in the lineup but it sounds like he’s dealing with something pretty serious right now with being hospitalized.”

If the U.S. wins, what will be the reason?

“It’ll be because of the way the team is built and sticking to their type of hockey with guys like J.T. Miller, the Tkachuk brothers. They have all the talent in the world. They have all the skill but also play a playoff-type of hockey which is north-south, kind of simple hockey. They get in the forecheck, make every hit, things like that. Just a little grittier, gutsy kind of hockey in these moments. We’ve seen it previously with the last couple of Stanley Cup champions.”

If Canada wins, what will be the reason?

“On paper, most people think that they have the best lineup out there so I think if Canada wins, they’ll learn from some of their mistakes in that matchup that we saw at Bell Centre. They’ll have to play a grittier brand of hockey and they’ll have to play their style of hockey and not maybe get caught up in all the emotions of what we saw in that first matchup. The Americans fed off of that and played the role of a bully.”

How much of a difference can Connor McDavid’s speed make for Canada?

“We’ve never seen speed like that in the NHL. Everything’s moving at a thousand miles an hour, his feet, his hands, and the puck. He’s always an X factor. You saw it in that first goal against Team USA when he absolutely turnstiled the U.S. defense and then scored a backhand over Connor Hellebuyck. I think the U.S. learned from that. We talked about playoff-type hockey. Any chance that they had to lay a hit on Connor McDavid, they did. You’re not going to stop the guy. You’re just trying to mitigate him and what he does best, which is use his absolute blazing speed.”

Who has more pressure on them: the U.S. or Canada?

“The pressure is on the United States. They won the first matchup in enemy territory with all the hostility. They fed off of that. I think they enjoyed playing the spoiler or the villain if you will. It’s hard to beat the same team twice in such a short amount of time. And like I said, Team Canada is going to make the necessary adjustments.”

How thrilled is the NHL with the ratings and attention?

“I don’t think it could have gone better and I don’t know if anybody envisioned how well it’s gone. We were all excited once the format came out. We haven’t had best-on-best with these NHL players in quite some time. For guys like Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid, we’ve never seen them in best-on-best at this level, so we had an idea of what it could be. Based on what we’ve seen, it’s exceeded everybody’s expectations.

“Everybody has taken notice, whether you’re a hockey fan or not. That’s the biggest compliment to the sport of hockey so far. The spotlight is on the NHL right now.”

As someone from New England, what does this moment mean for you?

“I’m just excited as a hockey fan. I know we’re supposed to be unbiased but I’d be lying if I wasn’t rooting for my home country. I’ve seen some big games in that venue. I covered the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. That was Game 7, my hometown Bruins against the St. Louis Blues. Look the Blues won it and there were some great storylines. I’m appreciative and I’m thankful to be in attendance.”

Do you have a prediction?

“I don’t even know what to expect from the anthems or the first 15 seconds of the game, so to predict this one it’s so hard. I think it will be low-scoring like we saw in the first matchup because everybody’s approaching it like Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. In those games, it’s tight-knit, close-to-the-vest type hockey, simple hockey. You don’t want to make mistakes because those are the ones that usually get exposed and lead to scoring chances. I think it’s going to be a very physical, very emotional game.”

About Michael Grant

Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.

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