Olympic hockey tournament includes old rivals, new faces

BEIJING — Canada always views itself as the favourite at international hockey tournaments — even if that feeling isn't shared outside the locker room's four walls.

No matter the stage, there's a certain swagger brought by any team wearing the red Maple Leaf.

Four years after the NHL skipped the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang for financial reasons, Canadian fans were expecting to finally see the likes of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon share the same ice under the sporting world's biggest microscope.

COVID-19, of course, had other ideas.

The NHL withdrew from the 2022 Games in Beijing six weeks ago due to a string of coronavirus outbreaks that led to the postponement of close to 100 contests, forcing most countries participating in men's hockey to drastically pivot.

And while there remains lingering disappointment hockey's brightest stars won't be on the ground in China, the event set to open Feb. 9 should still provide plenty of entertainment with a wide-open field at the top of the ledger.

"It's a tough tournament to win," said Canadian captain Eric Staal, who struck gold in 2010 when the NHL participated in its fourth of five Olympics. "You need everything to line up correctly.

"We've got great players, but we need to perform as a team and we need to have everybody on board."

Canada, however, is on its third coach after Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss Jon Cooper left the post when the NHL nixed its plans before Claude Julien suffered fractured ribs during a recent team-building exercise at the country's training camp in Switzerland.

That leaves Jeremy Colliton, formerly of the Chicago Blackhawks until he was fired in November, to take the reins.

"We're facing some adversity and we're going