Couture rues NHL Olympic absence
He’dlovetorepresent Canadasomeday,but hiswindowisclosing
DENVER >> Every indication suggested that 2018 would be an unforgettable year for Logan Couture.
After narrowly missing the cut for Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team in 2014, the Sharks forward went on an eye-popping run in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, landed an invitation to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and emerged as one of the best twoway centers in the NHL.
Hitting his prime at age 28, the window appeared to be wide open for Couture to earn a spot on Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Then, it got slammed in his face.
The NHL decided last season that it wouldn’t be sending its athletes to Pyeongchang, South Korea, after participating in five consecutive Winter Olympics beginning in 1998.
Instead of potentially competing for his country overseas when the tournament kicks off on Feb. 14, Couture will be in the middle of a playoff race with the Sharks (2816-8), who wrap up a five-game trip against the Colorado Avalanche (28-19-4) in Denver on Tuesday.
“It is disappointing,” Couture said. “It would mean a lot to win a medal, represent your country. I had an amazing time playing in the World Cup, playing for Canada. It would have been a cool experience, but my ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup. “That’s my No. 1 priority.” As is the case with most Canadians of his generation, Olympic hockey is embedded within
the fabric of Couture’s childhood sports memories. He stayed up late to watch Wayne Gretzky compete for Canada in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, tuned in for every game when Mario Lemieux led the country to its first gold medal in 50 years in 2002, and felt the nation’s heartbreak when Joe Thornton and the boys were upset by Switzerland in 2006.
“I remember watching all of those games,” Couture said. “I’d wake up early when they were overseas or stay up late. It was the only thing that anyone would talk about when you got to school the next day.”
Couture came close to being part of the team that provided the next generation of Canadians with similar memories in 2014 by winning the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics.
The then-24-year old was informed that he was among the final cuts when general manager Steve Yzerman put the team together.
“I got a call from Steve
Yzerman and he told me that I was right there,” Couture said.
Over the next four years, Couture elevated his game, earning national recognition for being among the NHL’s top two-way centers.
Couture became the fourth player in a 20-year span to record 30 points in one playoff season during the Sharks’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016. Sidney Crosby praised him for his exceptional hockey IQ, and Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan called him the Sharks’ Connor McDavid, insisting that he’s taking the torch from Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski by “driving the bus” in San Jose this season.
The former Sharks coach wasn’t using hyperbole.
Couture leads the Sharks in goals (22) and is second on the team in scoring (39 points) while playing a more defensive role skating against the top centers in the league on a nightly basis.
Although Canada is loaded with depth at center, Couture would have been a pretty strong bet to make the team this year after competing in the World
Cup last summer.
Sharks coach Pete DeBoer believes that Couture would have been among the Sharks competing in Pyeongchang if the NHL were participating in the Olympics.
“For sure he is (in that group),” DeBoer said, adding: “You feel for them.”
Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic expressed sympathy for Couture because it’s quite possible that his window for making a Canadian Olympic team will be closed if the NHL participates in the 2022 Beijing Games, to get a foot into the Chinese market as expected.
By then, Couture will be 32 and potentially exiting his prime years as an influx of young Canadian players will be entering their midto-late 20s.
He isn’t the only member of Canada’s 2016 World Cup team who is in this predicament. Sharks defenseman Brent Burns could also miss his window, as he’ll be 36 when the next Winter Olympics roll around. Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux (30), Boston’s Brad Marchand (29), Los Angeles’ Jake Muzzin (28) and Dallas’ Tyler Seguin (26) will also be
hard-pressed to make the team in 2022.
“Now a four-year window is turning into an eight-year window,” said Vlasic, who won a gold medal with Canada in 2014.
“The elite players, like McDavid, will still find a way onto the roster next time, but it’s unfortunate for the rest of those guys.”
Vlasic said the experience of being in the Olympic village, attending live events and making friends with his country’s top athletes can’t be replicated by the World Cup.
Although Couture admits to being “star struck” while skating with so many elite players on Team Canada last summer, he doesn’t know whether he will be completely satisfied by his international hockey experience if he never competes in the Olympics.
“That’s a tough question to answer. The World Cup was an amazing experience to win gold in Canada. That’s tough to top,” Couture said, adding: “I do realize the magnitude of (the Olympics) and what we’re missing out on, which is tough, but that’s the way it goes.”