Ahead of the Blue Jackets' clash with the Maple Leafs on Thursday in Toronto, defenseman Zach Werenski appeared on TSN 1050's Overdrive on Wednesday and talked about the season, Mike Babcock, and more.
.@ZachWerenski on the rise of USA Hockey over the last decade, looking ahead to the 2026 Olympics, and how Blue Jackets handled Babcock turmoil #CBJhttps://t.co/R5WbVqpEUS
— OverDrive (@OverDrive1050) December 13, 2023
"It's not an excuse for how we've started," Werenski said when asked about the team's coaching change right before training camp. "I think [head coach Pascal Vincent has] done a great job since training camp, getting us ready. It's obviously frustrating where we're at in the standings. All the leads we've blown in games. I think we're a lot better of a team than our record shows. And now it's just finding wins. So, definitely tough early on with the whole Babcock thing, but we put that behind us pretty quickly and got moving forward. And now it's just kind of stringing some wins together. I think we're close. It's just unfortunate that we keep finding ways to lose games. So [we're] trying to fix that and get in the win column here."
Werenski spoke about Patrik Laine's fashion and said that he's used to it by now.
"We knew Patty was a little bit out there with some stuff he wears and his fashion and whatnot," Werenski said. "But when I first started playing with him when he came to Columbus, I really wasn't that aware of it. And now it's just normal. You kind of expect it with Patty. Every day he's got a new suit on, sunglasses, a new hat. So nothing really surprises me or catches me off guard right now but some of the stuff's pretty crazy. I don't know if I'd wear it but he does a good job rockin' it."
When asked about the Team USA roster for a potential best-on-best tournament, Werenski was hopeful about making the team.
"It'd be an honor to be on that team," Werenski said. "I hope I'd make that team."
Does Werenski think the U.S. could beat its neighbors to the north?
"I think we'd be a confident group going up against Canada."
