Spengler Cup last chance for Canadian Olympic hopefuls

With a good part of Canada’s Olympic roster already set, hockey players looking for a spot will get one final chance to prove themselves at the Spengler Cup.

Canada, a two-time defending champion at the annual event in Davos, Switzerland, open the tournament on Tuesday against Czechside Mountfield HK.

“We’ve had five events up until now, we’ve used a lot of European guys numerous times, we’ve got a real good handle on that level, but we wanted to see how the other levels would compare and this tournament affords us the opportunity to do that,” Canadian general manager Sean Burke said.

The Canadians will have a different look to their roster than when they suited up earlier this month at the Channel One Cup in Russia. With Kontinental Hockey League players unavailable for selection, the Spengler Cup roster consists mostly of Swiss players with an assortment of American Hockey League and NCAA players.

Burke says it’s a nice chance to evaluate this crop of players and that Canada’s showing at the Channel One Cup — where it lost two of three games — didn’t have an impact on the Spengler Cup roster decisions.

“Actually, the final game against the Russians was probably the best evaluation game we’ve had and, if anything, I think that tournament was a real positive for us,” Burke said. “Even losing the two games I think we learned a lot of good things about our team and some of our players.

“And of course those games, they eliminate some players as well, unfortunately. That type of game, the Czechs, the Russians, they really made it clear to us that there’s a number of guys that can play and we’ve got a good handle on them, but there’s also some guys that it was just a little too much for.”

Returning players on Canada’s Spengler Cup roster include Andrew Ebbett, Maxim Noreau, David McIntyre, Mason Raymond and Nick Spaling. Chris Kelly, who played last season with the Ottawa Senators, along with Jeff Schultz, Cody Goloubef and Christian Thomas are all Canadians on the roster that have played in the AHL this year.

Even losing the two games I think we learned a lot of good things about our team.

JEFF MCINTOSH/THE CANADIAN PRESS Canadian team GM Sean Burke will use the Spengler Cup as a final evaluation for players hoping to land spots on the country’s Olympic roster.