Courtesy: Canadian Press

By Ethan Ready

Winter Olympics

Jon Cooper named head coach of Canadian Olympic Team at 2022 Olympics

Aug 9, 2021 | 11:49 AM

PRINCE GEORGE – Jon Cooper has a pair of Stanley Cup championships but he’ll be hoping to add an Olympic medal to his coaching accomplishments.

On Monday, Hockey Canada announced the product of Prince George will be the man behind the bench for the Canadian Olympic team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing if NHL players participate.

“It is an honour to be entrusted with leading Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team next year in Beijing, and to be able to carry on the rich tradition of hockey excellence that is associated with Hockey Canada,” said Cooper in a release issued by Hockey Canada.

“The opportunity to work with an excellent management group and an elite-level coaching staff of Barry (Trotz), Bruce (Cassidy) and Peter (DeBoer) is a great privilege. I have many fond memories of the Olympics, from watching games as a young kid to thrilling gold medal victories, and I look forward to helping create lasting memories for Canadians across the country while our team competes for a gold medal.”

Cooper will make his debut as head coach of Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team in Beijing. He previously served as head coach of Team Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Championship, winning a silver medal, and was an assistant coach with Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He is entering his ninth full season as head coach of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, leading the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. Cooper is currently the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL, and has served as head coach at the NHL All-Star Game twice (2018, 2019). He also served as head coach of the Norfolk Admirals and Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL), winning the Calder Cup and Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL coach of the year with Norfolk in 2011-12.

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Canada took bronze at the last Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang under head coach Willie Desjardins.

The schedule for the upcoming NHL season leaves room for an Olympic break, however, the league has not made a final decision on whether players will be allowed to compete.