Russian players miffed at Canada's Hayton for leaving helmet on during anthem

Team Russia was not amused with Team Canada captain Barrett Hayton after it handed Canada its worst-ever loss at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Hayton didn't remove his helmet during the anthem following the historic 6-0 defeat, prompting Russia captain Grigori Denisenko to voice his displeasure to the officials. The winger and several of his teammates then snubbed Hayton in the handshake line.

"Just something the whole team didn't like," Denisenko said through a translator when asked about it postgame, according to TSN's Mark Masters.

Hayton initially said he was "not sure" why Russian players were upset during the anthem, but later owned up to it.

"I'm sorry for leaving my helmet on for the Russian anthem following (Saturday's) game and I apologize to the Russian team and its fans," he said in a statement.

"As a leader on this team, I was trying to process the game and evaluate how we can regroup. I was lost in the moment. The Russians played a great game (Saturday night) and my actions were not intended to be disrespectful. My mistake should not detract from their win. I owe it to my team and all Canadians to be better."

Hockey Canada also apologized to the IIHF, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, and to all Canadians for the incident.

Canada had never lost by more than five goals at the tournament before Saturday's result.