Hockey giant Canada cranks up Olympic preparations

Although NHL participation in the 2022 Beijing Olympics is still pending a formal agreement between the league, the players' union, the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation, Team Canada is already taking shape.

Canada, which has won a record nine gold medals in hockey, including three of the past five, this week named Doug Armstrong as head of a management group that includes Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland, Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis and Florida Panthers adviser Roberto Luongo.

They will be tasked with selecting a high-octane Olympic roster that is expected to be anchored by NHL superstars Connor McDavid of the Oilers, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche.

"This group that we're going to assemble is probably going to have a lot of faces that have never worn a Team Canada jersey at this level of competition," said Armstrong, GM of the St. Louis Blues.

Armstrong was part of Hockey Canada's management group for the gold medal-winning teams at the 2010 (Vancouver) and 2014 (Sochi) Olympics. He became the first person in management to join the Double Triple Gold Club as a two-time winner of the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold and the IIHF World Championship (2007, 2016).

"There are some players that played in 2014, and quite honestly some players played in 2010, that we're going to look at very seriously for this team to help us move forward," he said. "But youth will be served on this team for sure."

Tom Renney, CEO of Hockey Canada, said it's not too early to begin planning for the Beijing Games, adding: "Under Doug's leadership, as well as that of our entire management group, we're thrilled to task them to lead us into 2022, with the opportunity to oversee our staff and players as they compete for Olympic gold."

NHL-sized rinks rather than the slightly larger international-sized ice surfaces will be used at Beijing's National Indoor Stadium－which will host the men's tournament－and Wukesong Arena－which will host the women's competition.

The 18,826-seat National Indoor Stadium was constructed for the 2008 Olympics and has been nicknamed "The Fan" because its architecture resembles a traditional folding fan. The Wukesong Arena, built to host the basketball tournament at the 2008 Games, can accommodate 14,614 spectators for hockey.

"Knowing that we'll be playing on an NHL-sized rink in Beijing means we'll build our team like we would for playing at home," Armstrong said.

"But no matter the ice surface, we're going to rely on skating and on hockey sense. So whether it's NHL ice or a pond somewhere, we're going to rely on the same traits to build our team."

Canada won the bronze medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, when the Olympic Athletes from Russia won gold. NHL players did not participate due to a row over who would cover the costs.