Gragnani, Lapierre are going to Olympics

A pair of P.E.I. Rocket alumni is going to the Olympics.

Defenceman Marc-Andre Gragnani, 30, and 32-year-old forward Maxim Lapierre were part of the roster Hockey Canada announced on Thursday for the Pyeongchang Olympics.

Lapierre recorded 113 points in 136 games for the Rocket during the 2003-04 and 200405 seasons. Gragnani had 193 points while playing 256 games for the Rocket from 2003-04 to 2006-07.

Canada will ice a men’s hockey team with more than 5,500 NHL games under its belt. With NHLers not taking part at the Winter Games, Hockey Canada drew talent from seven different leagues across North America and Europe. And while the team may not have the marquee value of Canada’s recent Olympic champion teams, Hockey Canada officials and coaches made a point of noting it is long on heart.

“All of our players, at somewhere along the line, they’ve been told ‘No,”’ head coach Willie Desjardins said at the roster reveal Thursday. “They not going to get a chance to continue their NHL career or even start it in some way.

“A lot like other Canadians, they’ve managed to battle it and fight back. They’ve stuck with it, they won’t give up ... That’s what our team is about. It’s about guys who have received a no but found a way to make a yes.”

The bulk of the NHL experience comes from a half-dozen forwards with some familiar names. It includes former Chris Kelly, who won the 2011 Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins, Derek Roy, Rene Bourque and Mason Raymond.