'The waiting's over': Canada set to open men's Olympic hockey tournament

BEIJING — Jeremy Colliton accidentally fired a puck into the bench during a drill to send some of his players ducking for cover.

Following some lighthearted ribbing, Canada’s Olympic men's hockey coach and the team got back to work.

"Setting the tone," Colliton deadpanned to a couple reporters.

The team's third bench boss since December after the NHL pulled the plug on its participation at the Beijing Games because of COVID-19 was making light of the moment.

But doing just that — along with imposing its will early — is what Canada will be looking for against Germany in Thursday's tournament opener.

"Guys are ready to play," Colliton said after the team's fifth on-ice session in China. "They don't want to practise anymore. Everyone's excited."

"It's about time," added defenceman Jason Demers. "We're ready to go."

Another group of Canadian non-NHLers weren't anywhere close to that four years ago against the same opponent in the Olympic semifinals, falling behind 3-0 before eventually losing 4-3 to see the country's gold-medal hopes dashed.

The stakes aren't nearly as high in the Group A curtain-raiser, but with 10 returnees on a well-drilled and disciplined German roster, many of the bitter lessons learned in 2018 still ring true.

"They've played a patient game," Canadian captain Eric Staal said. "We're going to have to make sure we stay patient as well, but be persistent, be aggressive."

Unlike the event four years ago, the 2022 men's tournament is being staged on the smaller North American ice. That could play into Germany's hands with less area to defend against a Canadian team that, despite a lack of NHL stars, still has plenty of high-end skill up front.

Colliton, however, sees it the other way.

"We're