THE NEW OLYMPIANS
Willie Desjardins replaces Leafs coach Mike Babcock behind the bench of an NHL-free Team Canada,
Sean Burke and Willie Desjardins have been charged with finding and leading non-NHL talent for Canada at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Burke will serve as Canada’s general manager for the 2017-18 season with former Canucks coach Desjardins behind the bench.
Burke, a pro scout with the Canadiens, will be aided on the management side by another former goaltender in Martin Brodeur, assistant general manager of the St. Louis Blues.
With the NHL electing not to participate in South Korea, Canada will be without the marquee names that won gold at the last two Olympics, including Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. Pyeongchang ends a streak of five consecutive Winter Olympics with NHL players. Canada won gold in 2002, 2010 and 2014.
While many have called this Plan B, Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney sees it differently.
“This is our plan, it is our Plan A,” Renney told a media conference call Tuesday.
Desjardins was the Vancouver head coach from 2014 until earlier this year. His coaching staff will include assistants Dave King, Scott Walker and Craig Woodcroft.
Hockey Canada says it has already been scouting players, with two tournaments next month in Russia kicking off the road to Pyeongchang.
The rosters for those events — the Sochi Hockey Open Aug. 6-9 and the Tournament of Nikolai Puchkov in St. Petersburg, Aug. 14-17 — have already been stocked with the likes of former NHLers Max Talbot, Derek Roy, Mason Raymond, Ben Scrivens, Justin Peters, Cam Barker, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Carlo Colaiacovo — all now playing in Europe.
“We’re going to play these two events in August, hopefully find out a lot of things that we have. But we’re going to have to also find out some of the things we don’t have,” said Burke. “Any player that’s eligible, whether he’s playing in North America on an AHL contract or in college, junior, we don’t want to leave any stones unturned.”
The Olympic hockey tournament is slated for Feb. 9-25.
Burke, an Olympian in 1988 and 1992, is Canada’s all-time goaltending leader in games played (35) and wins (21) at the worlds, where he won two gold and two silver medals.
The NHL cited a number of reasons why its owners were against Olympic participation, with having to take a lengthy break in February to accommodate the Games a major obstacle.
There were also disagreements over who should pay for travel, insurance and accommodations costs for the players. The league also pointed to injuries suffered at the Games as well as the negative effects of a compressed schedule. The NHL Players Association called the league’s decision “shortsighted.”