List of Olympic men's ice hockey players for Canada

Members of the gold medal winning Canadian men's ice hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Men's ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and permanently added to the Winter Olympic Games in 1924.[1] Canada has participated in 21 of 23 tournaments, sending 38 goaltenders and 307 skaters.

For the first 40 years of the tournament, Canada did not have a national team, instead choosing to send a club team, typically the Allan Cup winner.[2] In 1960, the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen became the final club team to represent Canada at the Olympics. In 1962, Canada implemented a national team program, led by Father David Bauer.[3] Between 1920 and 1952, seven Olympic ice hockey tournaments were held and Canada won six gold medals and a silver in 1936.[4] The Soviet Union began competing in 1956 and frequently defeated the Canadian team. The Soviets won seven gold medals in nine tournaments; during that period Canada won a silver and two bronze medals.[5] The Olympic Games were originally intended for amateur athletes, so the players of the National Hockey League (NHL) and other professional leagues were not allowed to compete.[6] Many of Canada's top players were professional, so the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) pushed for the ability to use professional and amateur players. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused, and Canada withdrew from the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in protest.[7][8] In 1986, the IOC voted to allow all athletes to compete in Olympic Games, starting in 1988.[9][10] The NHL decided not to allow all players to participate in 1988, 1992 or 1994, because doing so would force the league to halt play during the Olympics. An agreement was reached in 1995 that allowed NHL players to compete in the Olympics, starting with the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.[11] National teams are co-ordinated by Hockey Canada and players are chosen by the team's management staff.[12] In 2018, NHL players were not allowed to participate.[13]

Canada has won nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals in men's ice hockey, more than any other nation.[14][15] Seventeen players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, twelve into the IIHF Hall of Fame and eight into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame has inducted three individuals and five gold medal winning teams: the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons, 1948 RCAF Flyers, 1952 Edmonton Mercurys and the 2002 and 2010 national teams. Two players—Martin Brodeur and Chris Pronger—have played on four teams. Nine others—Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Jarome Iginla, Eric Lindros, Roberto Luongo, Terry O'Malley, Rick Nash, Joe Sakic and Wally Schreiber—have played on three teams. According to the IOC database, 252 men have won medals; 15 players—Brodeur, Patrice Bergeron, Sidney Crosby, Drew Doughty, Ryan Getzlaf, Iginla, Duncan Keith, Roberto Luongo, Patrick Marleau, Nash, Scott Niedermayer, Corey Perry, Pronger, Jonathan Toews and Shea Weber—have won two gold medals. Eight others players—Lindros, Schreiber, Fabian Joseph, Brad Schlegel, Paul Kariya, Ken Laufman, Floyd Martin and Donald Rope—have won two medals. Chris Pronger holds the record for most games played, having dressed for 25 games in four Olympics between 1998 and 2010. Wally Schreiber is second in games played, with 24 games in 1988, 1992 and 1994. Harry Watson leads Canadian Olympians in goals, having scored 36 goals in 1924 (before assists were counted); Walter Halder scored 29 points (21 goals and 8 assists) in 1948; and Ken Laufman recorded 14 assists in 1956 and 1960.[16]

  1. ^ "Ice hockey". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  2. ^ Hansen, Kenth (May 1996). "The Birth of Swedish Ice Hockey - Antwerp 1920" (PDF). Citius, Altius, Fortius. 4 (2). International Society of Olympic Historians: 5–27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
  3. ^ Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #66–Trail Smoke Eaters' gold ends hockey's amateur era Archived 2008-01-08 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #15–Great Britain wins Olympic gold Archived 2014-02-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #25–Soviet Union win their first Olympics, starting a new hockey era Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Schantz, Otto. "The Olympic Ideal and the Winter Games Attitudes Towards the Olympic Winter Games in Olympic Discourses—from Coubertin to Samaranch" (PDF). Comité International Pierre De Coubertin. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #17–Protesting amateur rules, Canada leaves international hockey Archived 2017-10-10 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ Litsky, Frank (1984-01-25). "Eagleson upset over hockey dispute". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Monsebraaten, Laurie (1986-10-15). "Players in NHL are now eligible in the Olympics". Toronto Star.
  10. ^ "Amateurism". USA Today. 2009-03-30. Archived from the original on 2002-02-23. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  11. ^ Lapointe, Joe (1997-09-16). "The N.H.L.'s Olympic Gamble; Stars' Participation in Nagano Could Raise Sport's Profile". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  12. ^ Rosen, Dan (2009-02-12). "Yzerman has plan in place for Team Canada". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2023-08-27. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  13. ^ "NHL will not participate in 2018 Winter Olympics". Archived from the original on 2018-02-10. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  14. ^ "Olympic Ice Hockey Tournaments, Men". IIHF. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  15. ^ "Olympic Ice Hockey Tournaments, Women". IIHF. Archived from the original on 2011-11-24. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  16. ^ Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #53–Harry Watson scores at will in Olympics Archived 2018-07-23 at the Wayback Machine.

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