Camp fires up Quinn
Coach believes in roster
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Ottawa Sun
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Despite a rash of injuries for the World Cup, Team Canada head coach Pat Quinn likes what he sees. (CP File Photo) |
Team Canada coach Pat Quinn doesn't faze easily.
Despite a rash of injuries that has cost Canada the services of Steve Yzerman, Rob Blake, Ed Belfour and Chris Pronger for the World Cup, Quinn likes what he sees.
So barring any unexpected setbacks when the 26-man roster checks in for medicals today at the University of Ottawa, it's full steam ahead.
"I'm hoping that everybody is going to be fine," Quinn told the Sun yesterday at the club's Ottawa hotel. "I was surprised to find out that Chris Pronger wasn't going to be available because he was a guy we expected to play a big role for us.
"I don't think you ever replace a guy like a Steve Yzerman, who was excellent for us in Salt Lake (at the 2002 Olympics), or a Rob Blake, who played a lot of important minutes. But we feel comfortable with the players who have been added to the roster and we're in a good position going into camp."
After guiding Canada to a gold medal at the Salt Lake City Games, Quinn and assistant coaches Ken Hitchcock, Jacques Martin and Wayne Fleming are all back.
Although Canada won't face the same pressure as it did in Salt Lake to win, there isn't going to be any less preparation. Quinn and his staff met for three hours yesterday to go over the logistics for training camp and the eight-team tournament.
Canada will hold its first on-ice session tomorrow (practices are closed to the public). The preparations will be similar to the camp held in Calgary in 2001 before the Salt Lake Games, but the style of game will be different because the tournament will be played on NHL-sized rinks.
"The players are going to notice that we're probably going to play a similar style that they're used to playing in the NHL because of the smaller ice surface. (We won't) have the room out there that we had at the Olympics," said Quinn.
One area the coaching staff took a closer look at yesterday was line combinations. To start the tournament it wouldn't be surprising to see Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards play together or Detroit's Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper on the same line.
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Quinn wouldn't say how he's going to use captain Mario Lemieux, whose linemates from Salt Lake (Paul Kariya and Yzerman) aren't returning, but there's a chance Tampa's Martin St. Louis could get a shot. Colorado's Joe Sakic will likely centre Jarome Iginla and Simon Gagne -- a combination that worked well in the Olympics.
"Lines are something that's probably going to develop as the tournament goes on," said Quinn. "We didn't really establish our lines in Salt Lake until the third game of the tournament and we're sort of looking at the same thing here. I'm sure what you're going to see is us trying to experiment a lot at first."
With the loss of Pronger and Blake, the Canadian defensive corps will be younger. Colorado's Adam Foote will see his role increased, as will New Jersey's Scott Niedermayer, Vancouver's Ed Jovanovski, Edmonton's Eric Brewer and the Senators' Wade Redden.
"What we've kind of done on defence is added the two guys (San Jose's Scott Hannan and Florida's Jay Bouwmeester) to the bottom of the depth chart and we've moved everybody else, who we had selected before, up," said Quinn.
