A hockey analyst questioned why Travis Sanheim, the Philadelphia Flyers’ defenseman, was selected to Team Canada’s roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, and his teammate Joel Farabee just wouldn’t have it. The Flyers forward came to Sanheim’s defense in three words, and the post immediately went viral.
In February, the world’s best hockey players will face off, competing for their respective countries. Each year, some NHL players play in the World Championship, but not since 2016, during the World Cup of Hockey, has the NHL paused for an international tournament. But in February, it’s finally time for the 4 Nations Face-Off, where the best players from Canada, the USA, Finland, and Sweden will compete for eight days in Montreal and Boston.
As expected, the nations’ roster selections led to some big discussions. Team Canada included star players such as Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Brad Marchand. But they also snubbed forwards like Connor Bedard and John Tavares, and defensemen like Dougie Hamilton and Evan Bouchard.
Joel Farabee respons to hockey analyst
On social media, hockey analyst JFresh, with over 120,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter), raised questions about the decision to include Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim, who wasn’t on many experts’ projected roster.
“The one pick for (Canada) that does actually kind of confuse me is Sanheim,” wrote JFresh.
“He’s a good player and he’s having a good year playing a lot of minutes, but I wouldn’t consider him an amazing defender. He’s not that physical, etc. What am I missing (other than not a lot of great LD options)?”
In response, one of Sanheim’s teammates, Joel Farabee, actually logged into his X account and responded to JFresh’s criticism with only three great words.
“Watch a game,” he wrote, clearly referring to the fact that Sanheim has had a great season with the Flyers.
Although Sanheim isn’t the biggest name or star on Team Canada, Farabee believes he’s a great team player and a perfect addition to Canada’s defensive depth—and many seemed to agree with him, as his response went viral and gathered over 5,000 likes.
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