Good morning from the nation’s capital!
This is where Team Canada has descended to begin its World Cup journey – just as it did in 2004, the last time the tournament was played. Beyond the presence of veterans Joe Thornton and Jay Bouwmeester, this gathering bears little resemblance to that one.
The players began to roll into town on Sunday afternoon and were put through medicals. They also posed for headshots, received information from Hockey Canada about logistics involving family members attending games and just generally started hanging out together.
For some, this is old hat.
Sidney Crosby, Shea Weber, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have won three significant international events together – the 2005 world junior championship, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2014 Sochi Olympics. Other players know each other from the NHL or have been teammates on Canadian entries at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.
The hockey world is a small world, but some players could be seen making first-time introductions as they mingled at their team hotel on Sunday.
Beyond getting comfortable with the system head coach Mike Babcock wants to play, the main goal of the week will be establishing the feeling that this is a team. That task is much easier said than done, and falls in large part on Crosby, the captain, and Weber, an alternate.
Team Canada has scheduled six practices and three exhibition games before it is due to arrive in Toronto for the World Cup. There will be plenty of off-ice activities, team dinners and meetings as well.
To see the staff and players report for duty over the weekend was to be reminded of the incredible collection of hockey experience this group possesses:
• The management group features four current NHL GMs (Doug Armstrong, Ken Holland, Marc Bergevin, Bob Murray) and an assistant GM – not to mention Hockey Hall of Famer – in Rob Blake.
• The coaching staff boasts five current NHL head coaches (Babcock, Joel Quenneville, Claude Julien, Barry Trotz, Bill Peters).
• From the Hockey Canada end of things, you have president Tom Renney, vice-president of national teams Scott Salmond and a staff of people that have won gold medals all around the globe.
And then, of course, there are the players.
They have already started turning heads in the city. The gentleman who checked me in to my hotel immediately asked if I knew why his buddy had spotted Crosby on the street.
Word spreads quickly.
It is a great time of year to be in sun-splashed Ottawa. Hockey is back, but winter is still in the distant future.
The biggest thing you notice during a stroll through downtown is the massive amount of ongoing construction here. There are cranes and barriers and blocked-off roads everywhere you look. It is partly due to the installation of a new light rail train system, but there are also several projects tied to having the city look its best for Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations in 2017.
Team Canada doesn’t have quite that long to put on a good face. It takes the next step in building towards the World Cup today when players take the ice for a noon ET practice at Canadian Tire Centre.
Sportsnet will be there to document it, just as we will at every juncture until the trophy is lifted more than three weeks from now.
It’s going to be fun.
