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After introducing myself and announcing my media affiliation, he told me, 鈥淭he Leafs, they鈥檝e got to beat Florida!鈥� as if I could do anything about that.

Canada head coach Dean Evason joined us in the elevator with a very reasonably portioned breakfast plate and when it stopped at the fifth floor, the door opened to reveal two young Finnish players in track suits playing ping pong on one of the tables that is in the foyer of every floor.

Before heading to the rink, Canadian winger Macklin Celebrini was talking on his cellphone in the lobby, hoodie pulled over his baseball cap, and goalie Jordan Binnington was taking counsel in a bar nook with a few of the coaches.

Outside, autograph seekers stood with hockey card binders while, unknown to them a few park benches away, Sidney Crosby and Mike Matheson were looking, and laughing at, something on Crosby鈥檚 phone. They were unassuming partly because of their muted dress 鈥� sweats, T-shirt 鈥� and partly because hockey players in the wild aren鈥檛 physically totemic, unless they鈥檙e named Zdeno.

Daring to blow their cover, I wished them 鈥済ood luck,鈥� they politely chimed 鈥渢hanks!鈥� and one of the greatest hockey players the world has ever seen went back to being some random dude on a park bench in Stockholm.

Team Canada was facing Latvia that sunny afternoon, a game that already saw the streets filled with fans wearing the team鈥檚 carmine red sweaters, hundreds having arrived for the tournament via the short ferry from Riga to Stockholm.

The Latvians are famous for their beery exuberance 鈥� the women, at least those who remain single, are famous for wearing a garland of roses in their hair 鈥� and here they hoped against hope that they might again upset one of the world鈥檚 more established teams, which is what happened in 2023 when they defeated the U.S. to claim bronze.

That spring, extra planes had to be brought in to transport fans to Tampere, Finland for matches. Before the afternoon game in Stockholm, supporters amassed at the tournament鈥檚 fan fest, held in a parking lot beside the arena and emceed, alternately, by a female mentalist in a pant suit and the tourney鈥檚 two-coffees-and-a-Red-Bull mascot named Beaty, shaped like both a heart and a vegetable, or neither.

We found a bench at a table alongside a Latvian supporter named Mikos, who told us that this year, because there are fewer NHLers on the team, 鈥渕aybe we make the quarterfinal, but not much more.鈥�

When I asked how things were going in their country, he said, 鈥淲ell, we always have to be aware of what鈥檚 happening with our neighbour,鈥� winking as he answered. I winked back and told him that we had to be as well, and then everyone at the table produced the greatest gallows laugh, which was reason enough for being here: imagining the world鈥檚 leaders as hockey people with a beer in their hand and flowers in their hair wondering where the nearest sausage stand is at.

Booming parade drums and a chanting Eastern European second line led everyone into the rink, even John Ferguson Jr., the former general manager of the Leafs who seemed amused by it all. When we took our seats, the Latvians appeared to out-number Canadian fans 200 to 1, many of them having formed a roaring wall behind veteran goalie Marc-Andr茅 Fleury, who鈥檇 ended his days-long retirement to play with his former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate, Crosby, in Stockholm.

After about seven minutes, Eduards Tralmaks wired a wrist shot past Fleury鈥檚 catching glove for the game鈥檚 first goal and the fans erupted, producing an enormous Latvian flag and crest that rippled down the tribune, their voices drowning out Status Quo鈥檚 鈥淲hatever You Want.鈥� For the rest of the period, Latvia鈥檚 goalie Gustavs Grigals spun his body like a wagon wheel in an effort to keep the puck out. The period ended 2-1 Canada, still anyone鈥檚 game.

During the intermission, I spoke to Armin Grasberger, an Austrian sports journalist whose profile photo in the media chat group showed him playing music under the low lights of a stage. He told me that he was in a punk band 鈥� 鈥渁 singer/shouter/screaming dude鈥� 鈥� called Spectral Fire and that his inspiration as a musician, and as 鈥渁 human being,鈥� was the Winnipeg group Propagandhi, whom Armin said 鈥渟howed me how I wanted to be as a person.鈥�

I asked if he played hockey and he told me that after his neighbourhood soccer club folded 鈥� lots of bad knees and ankles 鈥� one of their players suggested they start a hockey team. Armin and a few others learned how to skate and they joined a local beer league that plays out of one of Vienna鈥檚 three rinks.

When I asked him the name of his team, he stood up and turned around. On the back of his dark jacket, their name and crest was stitched 鈥� SKULLS 鈥� and when he asked me if I also played, I stood up and did the same. Both of us had proudly worn our recreational hockey team鈥檚 jackets. We鈥檇 been seated together in a sea of 10,000 people.

It wasn鈥檛 long before Canada pulled away from Team Latvia. The play turned occasionally chippy, with Crosby popping one of the Latvians鈥� helmets off during a face wash (he probably didn鈥檛 say hi to him).

The arena鈥檚 female announcer listed six more goals, including one by Nathan MacKinnon, who is dominating his second consecutive international tournament. The large ice appeared friendly to fine young defenceman Noah Dobson 鈥� it was a revelation watching him in person 鈥� as well as Utah鈥檚 hard-working Barrett Hayton, whose games we rarely see. The score was 5-1, then 6-1, then finally 7-1, and yet the Latvian fans roared on.

Afterward, I asked Fleury about having them sing, drum and holler behind him for two periods.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 mind it, it was fun,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven when they were losing by, like, five goals they kept singing. It鈥檚 kind of good to see.鈥�

For any team not part of the traditional top four or five it was to be a pretty decent way to go about navigating this tournament, and, really, this life.

After two days I鈥檇 already felt a deep connection with the world hockey community when, back at the hotel, a table of Europeans saw my Leafs sweater and stood to shout: 鈥�Elbows Up!鈥�

Settling in for a drink before heading back to our room, an older gentleman brought over his glass and can of Coca-Cola to a round elevated table where two young Swedish women 鈥� hotel employees at the end of their day 鈥� were roasting marshmallows over a small fire. They asked where we were from. My wife and I told them 鈥淭oronto鈥� and the gentleman said he was from Halifax.

I asked if he鈥檇 been to the world championship often and the fellow, whose name was Troy, said: 鈥淵es, a few times.鈥�

I commented on the play of the Haligonian players here 鈥� Crosby and MacKinnon 鈥� and asked if he鈥檇 watched them come up through minor hockey, especially Sid, a phenom by the time he was 11.

The gentleman sipped his Coke and then returned the glass to its coaster. He told us: 鈥淲ell, I鈥檇 say I did, yes. Seeing as I鈥檓 his father.鈥�