Former NHL players Mason Raymond, Chris Kelly, Ben Scrivens and Rene Bourque were among the 25 skaters named Canada’s National Men’s Team roster for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang on Thursday.
The roster for next month’s tournament is made up entirely of professional players, most whom currently play in Europe. Former Ottawa Senators forward Chris Kelly has spent time with the AHL’s Belleville Senators this season, while Christian Thomas was loaned to the team from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Canada won gold medals in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014 with teams full of NHL stars. General manager Sean Burke and head coach Willie Desjardins don't have that luxury for next month's Games, as the NHL decided not to send players to the Olympics for the first time since 1994.
World Juniors standout Cale Makar was offered a spot on the team, according to TSN's Darren Dreger, but chose to decline. Makar opted instead stay with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Defenceman Chris Lee is the lone player from Canada’s 2017 world hockey championship team on the roster. He was the lone non-NHL player on that gold medal-winning squad. Lee spent training camp with the Los Angeles Kings this season on a professional try-out before returning to the KHL.
Notable players not on the roster from last month’s Spengler Cup-winning team include Jay McClement, P-A Parenteau, Nick Spaling and Matt D’Agostini.
The 12-nation men's hockey tournament at the 2018 Games goes from Feb. 14-25 at the Gangneung Hockey Centre and the Kwandong Hockey Centre.
Canada's National Men's Team Roster
Goaltenders
Justin Peters
Kevin Poulin
Ben Scrivens
Defence
Stefan Elliott
Chay Genoway
Cody Goloubef
Marc-André Gragnani
Chris Lee
Maxim Noreau
Mat Robinson
Karl Stollery
Forward
René Bourque
Gilbert Brulé
Andrew Ebbett
Quinton Howden
Chris Kelly
Rob Klinkhammer
Brandon Kozun
Maxim Lapierre
Eric O’Dell
Mason Raymond
Derek Roy
Christian Thomas
Linden Vey
Wojtek Wolski