He’s baaaack!
That was the message from Hockey Canada on Monday as they announced Steve Yzerman would once again lead Canada at the Winter Olympics. Yzerman was tabbed to reprise his GM role for the 2014 Sochi Games after leading Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2010 games in Vancouver.
“The opportunity to work with Hockey Canada again is something I’m really excited about,” Yzerman said. “I really, really enjoyed the experience in the past, and really look forward to the next few years. And hopefully all goes well and the National Hockey League players will be participating in Sochi as well.”
Joining Yzerman in managerial roles are his same assistants from 2010 -- St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland and Edmonton Oilers president Kevin Lowe.
Yzerman was a borderline Demigod following the gold medal win in Vancouver, but it will be interesting to see how he performs in a follow-up role. Wayne Gretzky, also familiar with being a Canadian icon, returned to GM the national team after winning gold at the 2002 Salt Lake games...only to fall flat in 2006 (Canada finished third in its group, then lost to Russia in the quarterfinals.)
The difficulty of following-up a gold medal performance is something Yzerman alluded to.
“While winning in Vancouver was something unique and extraordinary, I am as excited about taking on another great challenge,” he said. “I look forward to working with Doug, Ken, Kevin, Peter and Dave and the Hockey Canada staff to put a plan in place to bring Canada success internationally.”