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Report: Canada likely to unveil Olympic roster on Jan. 7

Yzerman Canada

On Tuesday, Hockey Canada announced it will “most probably” release its roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics on Jan. 7, according to CBC.

“Th deadline being backed up to the 7th is really beneficial for us,” Canada head coach Mike Babcock told CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Radio. “We get to watch these players make these decisions for us longer.

“We want to be right.”

News of the unveiling comes one week after the IIHF extended its original Olympic roster deadline (Dec. 31), reportedly at the behest of Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic -- countries that pushed for an even longer deadline extension (Jan. 15).

Aiming to split the difference between the original date and the proposed one, the IIHF picked Jan. 7.

There appears to be no major significance to the Jan. 7 date in terms of the NHL calendar. There are 10 games on that date, so it will be busy in terms of news -- but not all countries are waiting until the 7th to announce.

According to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, USA Hockey is “definitely” sticking to its Jan. 1 date of unveiling its Olympic roster, in conjunction with the 2014 Winter Classic at the Big House in Ann Arbor.