Canada mixing it up for hockey
Canada is turning to a mix of youthful exuberance and battle-scarred experience in its quest for Olympic men’s hockey gold minus the country’s NHL stars.
The 25-man roster announced Tuesday is bookended by 37-yearold Eric Staal and fellow centre Mason McTavish, who turns 19 this weekend, for the upcoming Beijing Games.
“We always talk about playing the Canadian way,” head coach Claude Julien said on a video conference call with reporters. “We’re a proud country of the way we play the game. We’re going to be an aggressive team.”
Staal will be looking for his second gold medal at the Olympics after winning on home soil 12 years ago in Vancouver — a month after McTavish turned seven.
“This seems like a great group,” said Staal, who was also on the Canada’s taxi squad in 2006. “Love the look and the balance we have.”
Also heading to China after the NHL bowed out of the tournament last month because of COVID-19 concerns are 19-year-old defenceman Owen Power (drafted first overall by the Buffalo Sabres last year), 20-year-old goaltender Devon Levi and 22-year-old forward Jack McBain.
“This whole experience is crazy,” Levi said. “I’m just super excited.”
And while there’s no Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid to be found, Canada has plenty of NHL miles on a roster that also includes professionals playing in North America, Europe and Russia.
Among the veteran forward group along with Staal, assembled by general manager Shane Doan and the rest of Hockey Canada’s brain trust, are Daniel Winnik (36), Adam Cracknell (36) and David Desharnais (35), while defencemen Jason Demers (33) and Mark Barberio (31) are names fans might recognize.
The full roster:
■ Goalies: Levi, Edward Pasquale, Matt Tomkins
■ Defencemen: Barberio, Demers, Power, Brandon Gormley, Alex Grant, Maxim Noreau, Mat Robinson, Tyler Wotherspoon
■ Forwards: Staal, McTavish, Cracknell, Desharnais, Winnik, McBain, Josh Ho-Sang, Daniel Carr, Landon Ferraro, Corban Knight, Eric O’Dell, Ben Street, Adam Tambellini, Jordan Weal
Hockey Canada and the national governing bodies of the sport’s other powerhouses had been banking on NHLers going to Beijing until last month, when the league nixed plans after close to 100 games were postponed because of the coronavirus.
“The process was different,” said Julien, who has a wealth of NHL experience and helped Canada win Olympic gold as an assistant in 2014. “With today’s video, we had a pretty good grasp on all of the players and what they could bring.”
There isn’t nearly as much runway for preparations compared to 2018, when the NHL skipped the Games for financial reasons, but 10 of the players named Tuesday suited up for Canada at Russia’s Channel One Cup in December.
Doan and Julien were also set to lead Canada at the Spengler Cup, which was cancelled because of COVID-19, and were on standby as Olympic replacements in the event the NHL withdrew from the tournament. “If we have a challenge, that means that every other team at the Olympics is having the same challenge,” Julien said. “We just have to handle it the proper way, be as prepared as we can, and be willing to adjust.”
Following a training camp and exhibition game in Switzerland, the Canadians will travel to Beijing and play a final warm-up contest against the United States before the Olympic tournament. Canada opens Feb. 10 against Germany before taking on the U.S. (Feb. 12).