Canada, U.S. taking different paths to 2018 Olympic Games
Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins turned down offers to work in the NHL this season so he could be behind the bench for Canada at the Winter Olympics.
Tony Granato gets to keep his day job at the University of Wisconsin and still coach the United States.
Six months from the start of the Olympics in South Korea, picking coaches is just one of the many contrasts between Hockey Canada and USA Hockey.
Their rosters will be more similar to each other’s than Russia’s starstudded group, but the two North American countries are embarking on drastically different approaches ahead of the February tournament — the first without NHL cooperation since 1994.
Canada is taking no risks with its thorough preparation as it tries to win a third consecutive gold medal, while the U.S. sees a benefit in a less-is-more approach.
The best way to prepare is a matter of opinion.
The U.S. and Canada will each rely heavily on professionals playing in European leagues and mix in minor leaguers on American Hockey League contracts. While Russia will likely have a team with former NHL stars such as Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk and Andrei Markov, Canada has former NHL players like Derek Roy, Max Talbot, Mason Raymond, Kevin Klein and Ben Scrivens to look to in Europe.
The U.S. has Nathan Gerbe, Keith Aucoin and former AHL goalies David Leggio and Jean-Philippe Lamoureux.
The U.S. is far more likely to call on recent world junior and current college players, skewing younger at skill positions. Boston University’s Jordan Greenway and Denver’s Troy Terry, who led the U.S. to gold at the world juniors last year, could be among the selections.
Canada GM Sean Burke began preparing a year ago for a no-NHL Olympics, scouting to find potential fits to fill positions previously held by Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Carey Price.
U.S. GM Jim Johannson began touching base with players seriously in June, after roster rules were set. Canada has already started as a group on the ice, playing this week in the Sochi Hockey Open and taking another group of prospective Olympians to St. Petersburg, Russia, next week for the Tournament of Nikolai Puchkov.