If you look at the image on the left, there is something important about that image. That photo was taken with 5:18 to play after Sparta Praha took a 2-1 lead over Canada when Filip Chlapík scored from former Winnipeg Jets forward Kristian Vesalainen, and you may notice that there is only one white jersey in the entire photo. Far be it from me to suggest that this is how Canada has played this entire Spengler Cup tournament, but scoring just two goals in two losses when they had a chance to get the farewell win pretty much sums up the entire problem with Canada’s player selection process for the Spengler Cup. Canada has been eliminated from the tournament for the second year in a row, and it could be time to ask the tough questions about why Canada also emerged a winner in Davos, Switzerland.I’m not here to question the heart or passion of the men who donned the Canadian jerseys in Davos, but the squad didn’t leave me with much hope when it came to scoring goals in bunches. San Diego’s Nikolas Brouillard pushed the offense from the blue line and Rockford’s Brett Seney looked good on most shifts, but what this team had in effort was lost in speed up and down the ice. As we see in most hockey games, speed creates scoring opportunities. Team Canada had none.
This team played 180 minutes of hockey. Outside of a ten-minute period against the US Collegiate Selects, where they scored three times, Canada seemed to be right on the heels of most teams. Canada never led again in the tournament, being defeated by HC Davos and HC Sparta Praha by a combined 9–2 score, with eight of those goals surrendered in the third period against those two teams when the games were tied. These results indicate a bigger problem with this team, and history will show that Canada goes home sooner than they wanted. Again.
I’m also not sure why Canada asked Michel Therrien to coach this team. The last time he was a head coach was in 2016-17 with the Montreal Canadiens. He spent three seasons as an assistant coach in Philadelphia before being fired, but he had spent more time outside of hockey than in it when he was announced as head coach of Team Canada. Giving him a squad that was already low-scoring didn’t look good, but Canada scoring just five times in three games and conceding 11 goals underlines that its systems aren’t suited to the big ice.
General manager Marc Bergevin should probably be fired as well, as this roster and coaching staff never really found their game. Bergevin had many options for coaches who could have produced the same results at worst, but he desperately needed a coach who could squeeze the last bit of talent and effort out of the Canadian roster for at least three games. Names like Pete DeBoer and Gardiner MacDougall would have been better choices, while coaches like Dave Tippett, Jay Woodcroft and Bruce Boudreau likely would have accepted the opportunity. I’m not sure if it was requested.
You have to wonder why Canada wasn’t more aggressive in bringing in younger and higher scoring players like Gregor McLeod who ranks fourth in the DEL in scoring, defenseman Alex Breton who leads all DEL defensemen in scoring, or forward Samuel Dove-Falls who has a ton of speed and 14 goals in the DEL. Maxime Fortier is in third place in the Finnish Liiga for SaiPa, while Alex Beaucage is tied for sixth place with Lukko. Defenseman David Quenneville is tied for seventh in SHL scoring, while former Canadiens forward Charles Hudon has 22 points in 29 games in the SHL. There were a lot of good players who could have been asked to play for Canada, but we’ll never know if they were or not.
Look, some of this was written out of frustration after watching Canada implode today, but today’s game was tied at 1-1 with 6:53 to play before Canada lost 5-1. Canada and Davos were tied 1–1 with 15 minutes to play before Davos scored three goals to win 4–1. Maybe it was the height where some players just lost their legs. Maybe it was bigger ice than what the AHL guys were used to playing on. Regardless, Canada scored two goals in 150 minutes of action while conceding 11 in the same period, and their tournament is officially over.
The Spengler Cup used to be a tournament where Canadian players wanted to play and were proud to play for their country. Make no mistake, every player and coach in the Canadian room today probably had that pride too, but I wonder what work is being done to bring the best Canadian players from across Europe to Davos for a week of hockey fun. Some of the guys who played this year should probably be included on that list, but the players mentioned above not being released, choosing not to play or simply not being asked prove that something is broken in the way Canada builds its annual team for the Spengler Cup.
Do we need a big change? Possibly, but maybe Jason was right The hockey show when it was suggested that a U SPORTS team should play as Team Canada. Send the top-ranked team in men’s hockey as a reward for their solid season so far, and let’s see how they play. If that happened, the UBC Thunderbirds men’s team would be in Davos right now, and I dare say they would probably have scored more than five goals in three goals.
I’m still looking forward to the rest of the 2025 Spengler Cup, but there’s less to cheer about now with Canada eliminated. For those who need some sort of carrot to chase, we can still watch one of Davos try to capture its 17th championship, Fribourg-Gottéron defend its championship, Sparta Praha try to win a third Spengler Cup, or the American Collegiate Selects shock the world with a Spengler Cup title. Canada being eliminated first today really sucks, and it will be another 52 weeks before we know if Canada will be a contender again.
The semi-finals will be played tomorrow, followed by the final on Wednesday. It will still be a nice ending this year, but with less national pride.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
#tournament