Connor McDavis last represented Canada in Europe at the 2018 World Championship. Starting tomorrow, he will be front and centre in Milan.
photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
France is in a tough and unenviable position, playing two of the greatest teams on the planet (Canada, Czechia) and a Swiss team that has proven at the World Championship it can beat any team on a given day.
CANADA
Safe to say, Canada is the pre-tournament favourites. How can they not be? They won three of the last four NHL-Olympic gold medals, and they won the limited 4 Nations Face-Off as a tuneup just last year.
The team has an abundance of talent. Up front, the names alone explain themselves. Crosby, MacKinnon, McDavid, Celebrini. On defence, Makar, Doughty, Theodore. They can pass, shoot, score, skate with the best of them. Heaven help the team that takes too many penalties against the power play that coach Jon Cooper can utilize.
What could be the concerns? For starters, goaltending. There is no Carey Price here, no Martin Brodeur, who is guaranteed to be sensational. Jordan Binnington might not strike fear in opponents, but recall Canada wouldn’t have won the 4 Nations on McDavid’s goal had it not been for a truly incredible Binnington save in close on Auston Matthews. With the lineup the team has, the goalies have to be solid, not spectacular.
The replacements. Canada has lost two original roster players to injury. Out are Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point. In are Sam Bennett and Seth Jarvis, both of whom were on the 4 Nations team. The biggest wild card is Tom Wilson. He is having a great NHL-type season, but he has zero international experience and is known for toughness and big hits as much as goalscoring or checking. In international hockey, a big NHL hit can easily turn into a major and game misconduct, so Wilson has to play on the right side of the edge to be effective.
CANADA
Safe to say, Canada is the pre-tournament favourites. How can they not be? They won three of the last four NHL-Olympic gold medals, and they won the limited 4 Nations Face-Off as a tuneup just last year.
The team has an abundance of talent. Up front, the names alone explain themselves. Crosby, MacKinnon, McDavid, Celebrini. On defence, Makar, Doughty, Theodore. They can pass, shoot, score, skate with the best of them. Heaven help the team that takes too many penalties against the power play that coach Jon Cooper can utilize.
What could be the concerns? For starters, goaltending. There is no Carey Price here, no Martin Brodeur, who is guaranteed to be sensational. Jordan Binnington might not strike fear in opponents, but recall Canada wouldn’t have won the 4 Nations on McDavid’s goal had it not been for a truly incredible Binnington save in close on Auston Matthews. With the lineup the team has, the goalies have to be solid, not spectacular.
The replacements. Canada has lost two original roster players to injury. Out are Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point. In are Sam Bennett and Seth Jarvis, both of whom were on the 4 Nations team. The biggest wild card is Tom Wilson. He is having a great NHL-type season, but he has zero international experience and is known for toughness and big hits as much as goalscoring or checking. In international hockey, a big NHL hit can easily turn into a major and game misconduct, so Wilson has to play on the right side of the edge to be effective.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION
CZECHIA
The Czechs won two medals during the NHL years of 1998-2014, that historic gold in ’98 and then a bronze in Turin. Since then, they have finished 7th, 6th, 4th, and 9th at the Olympics, but their improved play at the World Championship is cause for optimism. They won a bronze in 2022, their first medal in nine years, and a gold at home in Prague in 2024.
They have lost one key player to injury, however. Pavel Zacha is out, replaced by Filip Chlapik. That will hurt. Up front, they will be led by “Pasta,” David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. One of the world’s best, the 29-year-old is in his prime and ready for his closeup. Martin Necas has been thriving in Colorado alongside MacKinnon and Tomas Hertl has been one of Vegas’s top players. This trio will drive the offense.
Roman Cervenka, now 40 and in his fifth Olympics, doesn’t seem to age. He is having as good a season with Pardubice as ever, and his being named to the team is not done out of gratitude but rather expectation.
Radko Gudas and Filip Hronek will anchor the blue line, and their roles will be especially important on the power play and penalty kill. Other notables include Michal Kempny, who won the Stanley Cup with Washington, and Jan Rutta, who won a Cup with Jon Cooper’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Czechs won two medals during the NHL years of 1998-2014, that historic gold in ’98 and then a bronze in Turin. Since then, they have finished 7th, 6th, 4th, and 9th at the Olympics, but their improved play at the World Championship is cause for optimism. They won a bronze in 2022, their first medal in nine years, and a gold at home in Prague in 2024.
They have lost one key player to injury, however. Pavel Zacha is out, replaced by Filip Chlapik. That will hurt. Up front, they will be led by “Pasta,” David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. One of the world’s best, the 29-year-old is in his prime and ready for his closeup. Martin Necas has been thriving in Colorado alongside MacKinnon and Tomas Hertl has been one of Vegas’s top players. This trio will drive the offense.
Roman Cervenka, now 40 and in his fifth Olympics, doesn’t seem to age. He is having as good a season with Pardubice as ever, and his being named to the team is not done out of gratitude but rather expectation.
Radko Gudas and Filip Hronek will anchor the blue line, and their roles will be especially important on the power play and penalty kill. Other notables include Michal Kempny, who won the Stanley Cup with Washington, and Jan Rutta, who won a Cup with Jon Cooper’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION
FRANCE
No team gets eliminated after the preliminary round, but it’s very difficult to see the French playing more than one more game after this, in the Qualifying Round. The team has literally no Olympic experience, and their NHL resumes are thin, to say the least.
For leadership, they will look to 40-year-old Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who has played 12 World Championships and was also on Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup. He also played ten years in the NHL, more than any other Frenchman. Another veteran is Sascha Treille, who has 15 WM tournaments to his credit. The only current NHLer is Montreal forward Alexandre Texier, a solid if unspectacular player.
Stephane Da Costa and Yohann Auvitu also have NHL experience in the past, and after that the team’s depth will be seriously challenged. The two goalies are Antoine Keller and Julian Junca. The 21-year-old Keller made his World Championship debut last year, while Junca, 28, has played in six games over the last three Worlds.
No team gets eliminated after the preliminary round, but it’s very difficult to see the French playing more than one more game after this, in the Qualifying Round. The team has literally no Olympic experience, and their NHL resumes are thin, to say the least.
For leadership, they will look to 40-year-old Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who has played 12 World Championships and was also on Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup. He also played ten years in the NHL, more than any other Frenchman. Another veteran is Sascha Treille, who has 15 WM tournaments to his credit. The only current NHLer is Montreal forward Alexandre Texier, a solid if unspectacular player.
Stephane Da Costa and Yohann Auvitu also have NHL experience in the past, and after that the team’s depth will be seriously challenged. The two goalies are Antoine Keller and Julian Junca. The 21-year-old Keller made his World Championship debut last year, while Junca, 28, has played in six games over the last three Worlds.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION
SWITZERLAND
If there is a dark horse at the Olympics, it might well be the Swiss. They have been to the gold-medal game of the World Championship four times in the last 12 years, the common factor being Nino Niederreiter, who is the only player to have played on all four teams. He was the flagbearer for the opening ceremony and played his 1,000th NHL game early this year with Winnipeg, his fifth team.
The Swiss have plenty of skill. Nico Hischier was drafted 1st overall by New Jersey in 2017, and defender Roman Josi has been one of the best blueliners in the NHL for much of his 15 years, all with Nashville. Both are team captains, and they are but two of ten NHLers coach Patrick Fischer will have at his disposal.
Two of Hischier’s Devils’ teammates are also in Milan, Jonas Siegenthaler and Timo Meier, and in goal there is an abundance of skill and experience. The likely number-one man is 25-year-old Akira Schmid, who is having an impressive year with Vegas. But right behind him are two veterans in Leonardo Genoni and Reto Berra, both of whom have been on three of four of those silver-medal teams at the World Championships.
The Swiss aren’t considered part of the “Big Six,” but they are certainly coming to Milan as a solid number seven. If they win a medal in two weeks, no one should be surprised.
If there is a dark horse at the Olympics, it might well be the Swiss. They have been to the gold-medal game of the World Championship four times in the last 12 years, the common factor being Nino Niederreiter, who is the only player to have played on all four teams. He was the flagbearer for the opening ceremony and played his 1,000th NHL game early this year with Winnipeg, his fifth team.
The Swiss have plenty of skill. Nico Hischier was drafted 1st overall by New Jersey in 2017, and defender Roman Josi has been one of the best blueliners in the NHL for much of his 15 years, all with Nashville. Both are team captains, and they are but two of ten NHLers coach Patrick Fischer will have at his disposal.
Two of Hischier’s Devils’ teammates are also in Milan, Jonas Siegenthaler and Timo Meier, and in goal there is an abundance of skill and experience. The likely number-one man is 25-year-old Akira Schmid, who is having an impressive year with Vegas. But right behind him are two veterans in Leonardo Genoni and Reto Berra, both of whom have been on three of four of those silver-medal teams at the World Championships.
The Swiss aren’t considered part of the “Big Six,” but they are certainly coming to Milan as a solid number seven. If they win a medal in two weeks, no one should be surprised.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION