Bednar Snubbed: Team Canada Names Olympics Assistant Coaches

Hockey Canada officially announced the assistants for head coach Jon Cooper’s staff on Monday, and they’ll be rolling with the same group that led Team Canada to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship last February.

Cooper will be joined behind the bench by Bruce Cassidy, Pete DeBoer, Rick Tocchet, and Misha Donskov.

Once again, Jared Bednar will not represent Team Canada.

My Thoughts: I understand not wanting to change too much from a staff that led a team to a championship, but I do think that sometimes keeping things the same could lead to failure. Canada narrowly escaped the championship game with a win thanks to an OT goal from Connor McDavid. Had they lost that game, they would’ve ended the tournament with two losses against Team USA.

Cooper still makes sense as head coach, and that was already set in stone. But Pete DeBoer was recently fired from his post as Dallas Stars head coach, Misha Donskov — his assistant in Dallas — joined Hockey Canada as a full-time national team coach and the vice president of hockey operations. Rick Tocchet also changed jobs, leaving Vancouver to be the head coach in Philadelphia.

I understand Donskov’s new position with Hockey Canada, but I struggle with DeBoer keeping that position ahead of Bednar. Three of Team Canada’s most important skaters are Avalanche players. Nathan MacKinnon, who won the 4 Nations MVP, and the top blueline pair of Cale Makar and Devon Toews, are all familiar with Bednar. There’s also an opportunity for Mackenzie Blackwood to be a fourth Av on the roster.

Given the familiarity Cooper has with several Lightning skaters on the team, and Cassidy with Golden Knights like Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, Adin Hill, and now Mitch Marner, it would only make sense to have the Avs’ bench boss, who is also the second-longest tenured NHL coach with one team, on the staff as well.

Assistant coaches aren’t going to make or break a team and I’m fully aware of that. But not having Bednar there is a head scratcher. Even if he’s lost to DeBoer in each of the last two postseasons.