The Canadian team at the 2018 Olympics has begun to take shape. On Tuesday, Hockey Canada named Sean Burke as general manager and Willie Desjardins as head coach for the Canadian Olympic squad. Additionally, Martin Brodeur was named an assistant GM, while Dave King, Scott Walker, and Craig Woodcroft will round out the coaching staff.
Hockey Canada Names GM, Coaching Staff, and Tune-Up Rosters for 2018 Olympics
Hockey Canada Olympic staff:
GMs: Sean Burke, Martin BrodeurCoach: Willie Desjardins
Assistants: Dave King, Scott Walker, Craig Woodcroft pic.twitter.com/iOppN54z0Y
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) July 25, 2017
Sean Burke is currently serving as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens. Burke was previously in the Phoenix Coyotes organization in multiple roles, including assistant general manager and director of player development.
Another former goaltender heading Canada’s staff is Martin Brodeur, currently an assistant general manager for the St. Louis Blues. Last season, Brodeur took over as a goaltending coach as well after the departure of Jim Corsi in February, though he will not continue those duties in 2017-18.
Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins takes the reigns for Canada behind the bench. Desjardins was fired by the Canucks on April 10 after three seasons as Vancouver’s coach, failing to make the playoffs the last two years.
Dave King most recently coached in the KHL for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, back in 2015. Last year, King was a part of Hockey Canada’s efforts at the Deutschland Cup, Spengler Cup, and World Championships.
Scott Walker is a former head coach of the Guelph Storm. Still a part-owner of the OHL franchise, Walker has been a player development consultant with the Vancouver Canucks for the past two years.
Craig Woodcroft has plenty of experience coaching in Europe, a big help for Canada. Woodcroft was Dinamo Minsk’s head coach in 2016-17 and will take over Geneve-Servette of the NLA in 2017-18.
Hockey Canada also announced a couple of tune-up rosters for the Sochi Hockey Open and the Tournament of Nikolai Puchkov. Notable names include Justin Peters, Gilbert Brule, Mason Raymond, Daniel Paille, Maxime Talbot, Ben Scrivens, Cam Barker, Carlo Colaiacovo, and Derek Roy. The full rosters can be found here and here.
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