Canada’s Olympic hockey team has made short-term collaboration as a single entity a top priority ahead of the Beijing 2022 Olympics.
With two weeks before Canada opens its Olympic tournament against Germany on February 10, players are trying to get to know their teammates on and off the ice in order to create a better unit.
Canada coach Claude Julien, who is currently in Switzerland for the pre-match training camp in Davos, believes there will be plenty of opportunities for the players to get to know each other well between the camp and the team’s arrival in Beijing together as a unit.
Helping with this are two pre-tournament games played by the Canadian men before the games start. Canada meets Switzerland on February 1 before heading to Beijing. They will then have an early test against the United States on February 7th at the National Indoor Stadium.
Watch | CBC Sports’ Rob Bizzo walks through Olympic hockey history
CBC Sports Explained: Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey
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Did you know that ice hockey first appeared at the Olympics during the Summer Games? Or was the sport briefly dropped from the Olympics in the 1950s? In this episode of CBC Sports, you’ll explain the history of men’s ice hockey at the Olympics. 9:39
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Several athletes on the Canada Olympic roster who lost the NHL talent for the second year in a row have previously played with and against each other.
According to Julian, players understand what he calls “Canadian-style” hockey, a “brave” style of hockey that focuses on effort.
Former NHL player Adam Cracknell recently played a brief COVID-19 season in Beijing with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star and has ample knowledge of the city should anyone on the team have questions.
Hockey Canada unveiled its 25-man roster for the Olympics on Tuesday. It’s a mix of young and old with players like 37-year-old Eric Stahl and Mason McTavish, who only turns 19 this weekend.
