4 Nations Face-Off blog: Travis Sanheim

Travis Sanheim of Canada will keep a blog throughout the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20.

In his first entry, the Philadelphia Flyers defenseman writes about the first day of practice with Canada at CN Sports Complex in Brossard, Quebec, watching the Super Bowl in which the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs and how condensed the learning curve is for the team before its first game, against Sweden at Bell Centre on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

The last couple of days, just meeting everyone and now being on the same ice surface as some of these guys and playing alongside them, is obviously a dream come true.

I'm very fortunate and I am just trying to take it all in right now. We're learning a lot today and also tomorrow with systems, so your head is going to be in a lot of places. I'm just trying to enjoy it.

Talk about pinch-me moments, for me it was when that first power-play unit went out there: Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Reinhart and Cale Makar. It's hard to imagine all those guys playing together. It's going to be fun to watch.

I got to Montreal yesterday afternoon, in time to watch the Eagles. It was fun to see them win it. I got to meet all the other players and relax and get ready for what is to come the next few days. We all watched the game as a team.

It was really cool to watch the game as a group, especially with me and Travis Konecny being from Philadelphia and to have our team be in the Super Bowl. We both wore jerseys to rep the Eagles; I had A.J. Brown. They gave us a result that was really good and cool.

Today, walking out onto the ice and seeing all the reporters in the stands, that's something new for me. We are not used to that, it's not something we deal with on a daily basis down in Philly, so that was cool to see.

Every time I look around, you are talking to many superstars across the League, guys you never thought you would get the chance to play with. It's a privilege and an honor and I'm going to take it all in.

I'm learning so much, and it's not just from the defensemen. It's every position. It's how they prepare, what they are doing on and off the ice, it's communicating. It's just all the little things I can pick up from these guys that I can take back with me and incorporate into my game in Philly. It's been great. I'm going to learn a lot the next couple of weeks.

Nobody knows what is going to happen with the lineup and playing time. I'm taking it day by day and trying to show my best and show that I am here for a reason. In saying that, I know that I am here with a lot of talented and great players. I'm trying to enjoy the challenge and have fun with it.

Aside from practice, we had a ton of meetings today as we try to learn the systems. We had clips sent to us over an app to study. Plus, it's all new drills out there with all new coaches. We're not used to a lot of these drills and we're trying to figure them out as best we can. Usually with your home team you have the same drills over and over again so you don't have to learn new drills, so guys' heads are spinning a little. But it was a good first day.

It's great to not only be learning from players, but also to be learning from the coaches here. You take all you can from them, different systems, different ways guys see the game. Each coach sees it differently, how can you pick up that stuff and what they see and apply it to your game. It's fun. I really like that side of it. I like talking about the game, different aspects of it and what you do in certain situations. I really enjoy that part. I'm looking forward during the next few days to talking to everybody I can and picking their brains.