Krug eyes future Team USA opportunities with strong showing at Worlds
Bruins defenseman Torey Krug said he hoped to be playing hockey in May, but he expected those games would come for the Bruins. Instead, Krug is playing abroad for the first time as one of the top defensemen for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships.
"When things came to an end, I was thinking about [playing for Team USA] and I was hoping to get the call just because it’s something that I’m very proud to be a part of," Krug told The Boston Globe in a phone interview. "I’ve never been able to represent my country. It’s just a great opportunity and hopefully we do well over here and it becomes not necessarily a tryout, but almost like a foot in the door for maybe future events."
The international future of Team USA is a little hazy, as the NHL has yet to determine whether it will send its players to the Olympics in 2018, but regardless, Krug is shouldering the responsibilities of the team's top defensive pairing in this year's World Championships. It's an opportunity he said he relishes, and Krug also looks strong on the scoresheet. The defenseman has five points (two goals, three assists) in eight games for Team USA and boasts a plus-four rating.
"When the other teams’ top lines are going out, to get the tap on the shoulder from the coach to get out there and to shut them down has been a different experience for me,” Krug told The Boston Globe. “It’s a pretty amazing feeling, really. It’s a lot different."
(h/t The Boston Globe)
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