NHL Team Canada Players Planned for Tight Lodgings at Sochi Winter Olympics
-
Frank Doyle
Just because Team Canada has a slew of millionaire superstars on its men’s hockey roster for the Sochi Olympics doesn’t mean they’ll get special treatment in Russia.
Amid growing concerns about the facilities in Sochi, a photo of one of Team Canada’s rooms featuring three small beds surfaced on social media Tuesday morning. It may not be the glamorous lifestyle players are used to in the NHL, but it’s just the way they wanted it.
“No special treatment,” Canadian chef de mission Steve Podborski told reporters. “One of the things that we discovered in our exit interviews following Vancouver is that the athletes want to be part of a team. That includes the hockey players.”
The NHL season pauses for the Olympics following Saturday’s games, meaning the players will have a few days to practice and get accustomed to their surroundings before they open the tournament against Norway on Feb. 13. Team Canada is currently set as a -10000 favorite to win their opening game in regulation at Sports Interaction.
Meanwhile, back in Canada, we’re beginning to hear a few more details about the team’s strategy. Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock told Hockey Central at Noon on Tuesday that he expects to give each of his top two goaltenders (Roberto Luongo and Carey Price) a start in the first two games of the tournament. From there, the better of that duo will “have a chance to run with it,” according to Babcock.
The Canadian bench boss also confirmed he would start off with NHL teammates playing together in Russia. That means we should expect to see Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz together, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Towes as a pair, and Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in another group.
Crosby is set as a +500 favorite to lead the entire tournament in points and is third favorite at +750 to lead in goals.
Team Canada is set as a +143 favorite to win the gold medal.