National Men’s Team coaching staff named for 2023 IIHF World Championship

It was an unexpected start for Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2021
IIHF World Championship and not the good kind. Losses to Latvia, the United
States and Germany put the Canadians in an unfamiliar position – an 0-3
record and a steep hill to climb back into playoff contention, let alone to
think about a 27th world title.

In over 60 years of world championship participation, Canada had never
started without a win in three games. In fact, it had never started with
even two losses. But there had also never been a tournament like the one
played in 2021, with COVID-19 restrictions and mandatory quarantine
periods, so really it was an unprecedented event all round.

Which is, perhaps, what made it so easy for the Canadians to keep faith
that this was an obstacle that could be overcome.

“Being down and battling and [Andrew Mangiapane] coming over and turning
things around … we just always believed” says Adam Henrique, the Canadian
captain.

From the outside, everything seemed to change with the arrival of
Mangiapane. The Calgary Flames forward flew over to Latvia following a
disappointing first-round playoff loss and had to isolate for two weeks
before joining the team. That meant he watched the first three games, the
losses, from his hotel room. By the time he got to the dressing room, the
team was down.

But definitely not out.

“Obviously his play coming over was a big addition to the team, but even
his impact off the ice, he was a huge morale boost for the group,” Henrique
explains. “He’s great in the locker room, he’s a funny guy, always had a
smile on his face, a high-energy type of person and I think that really
bled through the locker room with all the guys there.

“And his play on the ice was amazing. He became the MVP of the tournament,
and we had some chemistry right away … so he is a huge reason we ended up
being able to pull through.”

There was no specific moment or game Henrique could remember that things
seemed to change, it was more a gradual coming together of the team, with
lots of time spent playing cards together with visits outside of the hotel
restricted because of the pandemic. But whatever it was, the wins started
to come.

Victories over Norway, Kazakhstan and Italy got Canada back to even. But
then came the defending champions, and Finland did not…