Beijing 2022: Team Canada
KHL.ru continues its preview of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament with a look at the Canadians. Without the NHL, Canada won bronze four years ago. In similar circumstances this time, how will this perennial powerhouse fare?
History and honors
Ever since hockey was included in the Olympic program, Canada has dominated the sport — despite often sending amateur or even student teams to the Games. The Canadians won gold in the first ever tournament, allowing just one goal, and won six of the first seven tournaments between 1920 and 1952. In that time, their solitary loss came in 1936 against a Great Britain team built around players based in Canada.
That dominance went unchallenged until the USSR entered the frame. Suddenly, everything changed and from 1956 to 2002, Canada did not win a single gold. Even the historic Nagano Games, the first Olympic tournament involving the NHL’s stars, the Canadians could not do better than fourth. Since then, however, Canada won three of the next four ‘best-on-best’ Olympics. The exception came in Torino in 2006, where seventh place represented the country’s worst ever result. Four years ago, in the absence of the NHL, Canada took bronze.
Overall, Canada has contested 22 Olympics (missing two along the way). It has nine gold medals, four silver and three bronze. The Canadians have also missed 10 out of 84 World Championships, but still have more medals than any other nation (51). Their 27 golds ties with USSR/Russia for top spot.
Coach
Initially, Canada appointed the experienced Claude Julien as head coach. His achievements include winning the Stanley Cup, the Olympics and the World Championship. However, just a couple of days ago, he slipped during practice and broke a rib. His replacement as head coach is 37-year-old Jeremy Colliton, originally named as one of Julien’s three assistants. Colliton’s resume is rather more modest: four seasons in the Swedish second tier, two in the AHL and three years (two full seasons and two part seasons) in the NHL. His most substantial hardware to date came from winning promotion to the Swedish top flight with Mora.
Jeremy Colliton has assumed head coaching duties for
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) January 30, 2022’s Men’s Olympic Team, as Claude Julien will no longer be able to travel due to an injury. @TeamCanada | #Beijing2022
[Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo]
Leaders
The most titled and experienced player on the team is Erik Staal. At 37, he’s the same age as coach Colliton and, like Julien, he’s won the Stanley Cup (2006), the World Championship (2007) and Olympic gold (2010). He’s no longer involved in the NHL, but in four AHL games this season he produced 5 (2+3) points. Staal’s physique should be strong enough to cope with a short-term tournament: last summer he went to the Stanley Cup final with Montreal, missing just one game of post season. And there are no concerns about this veteran’s technical and tactical know-how.
At the other end of the scale, Canada’s two youngest players are 19-year-old defenseman Owen Power and forward Mason McTavish. Both tasted World Championship glory last season, with McTavish winning the juniors and Power playing on the senior team in Riga. Then they went on to feature prominently in the NHL draft, where they were chosen first and third overall.
However, the bulk of this Canadian team comprises players based in Europe — including nine from the KHL. One of the most exciting of these is Gagarin Cup winner Corban Knight from Avangard. In his first two KHL seasons he’s consistently picked up 40-point hauls and this season he’s set a new personal best, going at more than a point a game with 48 (18+30) in 47 appearances.
Roster
The battle to be starting goalie pits Lokomotiv’s 31-year-old Eddie Pasquale against exciting 20-year-old Devon Levy, who impressed at the last World Juniors. It’s far from certain that Pasquale’s greater experience will get him the nod. Levi is currently in peak form in the NCAA, while Pasquale has not quite hit the heights of recent seasons. At the same time, there’s a gulf between the NCAA and the KHL, so Levi’s status cannot be regarded as a lock. Third goalie Matt Tomkins, currently playing in Sweden, is only likely to feature in the event of injury or Covid problems.
On defense, Power is likely to attract the lion’s share of the attention. Even at the age of 19, he’s demonstrated that he can play plenty of minutes in the adult game, and was even showing that as an 18-year-old. Alongside him, Mat Robinson (who, among other things, has the best plus/minus total in KHL history at +235) is another renowned “minute eater”. This hypothetical defensive pairing could well play half an hour per game in Beijing. However, it’s more likely that Power will be partnered with Jason Demers, recently signed by Ak Bars. The 33-year-old, who has 760 NHL appearances to his name, is more of a stay-at-home D-man who would enable Power to follow his offensive instincts. Demers has almost twice as much NHL experience as the other seven defensemen on the team; if his Ak Bars team-mate Mark Barberio is removed from the equation, Demers has seven times as many NHL games as the rest.
In addition to the aforementioned Staal, McTavish and Knight, Eric O’Dell is worthy of mention among the forwards. After two indifferent seasons, the 31-year-old has rebooted his career at Dynamo Moscow. Josh Ho-Sang is another one to watch as he looks to play his way back into the NHL.
As usual, Canada’s offense features a disproportionate number of centers, several of whom will have to play on the wings. However, this rarely proves to be a problem. It’s striking that there are almost no dedicated snipers, nor any rough-and-tumble checkers on the roster. Even the likes of Adam Cracknell, Ben Street, Daniel Winnik and Landon Ferraro are picking up points on a consistent basis in the AHL or the European leagues. As a result, it’s hard to divide this team into a ‘top six’ and ‘bottom six’. More likely, Canada will deploy a strike trio with three evenly-matched alternative lines and a huge range of potential attacking options.
Prognosis
Whatever line-up Canada brings to international competition, it will always be among the contenders for honors. Beijing 2022 is no exception, but there is one caveat: this time around, the Canadians are among the pretenders for gold but by no means the stand-out favorite. If Canada wins the final, it would be something of a surprise. However, if it fails to make the medal games, that would be a greater sensation.
