Canada hockey roster: Eric Staal, Owen Power headline former NHL players, prospects in 2022 Winter Olympics

The 2022 Canadian men’s Olympic ice hockey roster was revealed Tuesday and it has some familiar names. Several NHL veterans like five-time All-Star Eric Staal, Daniel Winnik and Jason Demers will suit up in Beijing, as will two of the game’s brightest young stars, Owen Power and Mason McTavish.

There are no active NHL players on this year’s Olympic team as the league opted not to send them to Beijing and decided to forgo the Olympic break and make up games postponed due to COVID-19. The NHL also didn’t send players to 2018 games, though three players from that 2018 team will make return trips in 2022.

Here is the roster for the Canadian men’s hockey team ahead of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. The men’s ice hockey competition will begin on February 9.

Canada 2022 Olympic hockey roster

Unlike Team USA, Team Canada is packed with players with deep NHL experience and Olympic experience. Seventeen of the 25 players selected for Team Canada have NHL experience, led by Eric Staal, who has been an All-Star five times and has 1,293 games and nearly 1,100 points under his belt.

Staal (second overall in 2003), along with Josh Ho-Sang (28, 2014), Mason McTavish (3, 2021), Brandon Gormley (13, 2010) and this year’s first overall pick Owen Power are former first-round players on the roster

There are also four former Olympians on the team. Staal represented Canada and took home gold in 2010, while Eric O’Dell, Maxim Noreau and Mat Robinson suited up in 2018 and took home bronze medals.

Who coaches the Canadian men’s ice hockey team?

To go along with the veteran NHL presences on Team Canada, there are several NHL veterans who will also be on the bench.

The most notable is 2010 Stanley Cup winner Claude Julien, who was recently fired by the Canadiens 18 games after last season. Prior to that, Julien had been an NHL head coach continuously since 2002 and amassed a career record of 667-445-152 and made the playoffs 10 times as a coach. He was also an assistant for Team Canada in 2014 when they took home a gold medal.

Among Julien’s assistants is former Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton, who was relieved of his duties earlier this season after his team started 1-9-2. He compiled a record of 87-92-26 and made the playoffs once in three full seasons as head coach. The other attendees include longtime Hockey Canada veteran Tyler Dietrich and former NHL assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner.

Former NHL forward Shane Doan is the team’s general manager.

Canada Olympic Games medal history

Historically, Canadian men have been very successful, with 15 Olympic medals to their name. Much of that was in the early period of the Olympics, as they won gold in six of the seven Olympic cycles between 1920 and 1952. They won gold in 1952, sparking a 50-year gold medal drought earlier. to finally regain the top spot in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

In addition to their early success, the Canadian team has also been doing well recently. They have won medals in four of the last six Olympic cycles, including a bronze in 2018, when the NHL decided not to send any of its players to compete.

Canadian Olympics hockey schedule

Team Canada is one of 12 teams that qualified for the Beijing Olympics. They will play in Group A. Their opponents in the group stage will be the United States, China and Germany.