Willie Desjardins on an Olympics without NHLers

By JAMES TUBB on December 22, 2021.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

It will be eight years since the NHL last participated in the Winter Olympics.

An official announcement had yet to be made as of press time Tuesday, but The Canadian Press reported that evening that NHL players won’t be going to the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The NHL went to five straight Olympics from 1998 through 2014 before skipping the 2018 games in South Korea.

The Canadian men’s team won two straight golds in 2010 and 2014 before bringing home bronze in 2018. Medicine Hat Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins was behind the bench for Canada in those 2018 games.

He spoke to the News last Thursday about taking part in an Olympic Games without NHLers and said it was exciting and a honour to represent his country.

“Certainly for a lot of guys, I know that group of guys was so excited to get the chance and they are so proud of their country,” Desjardins said. “It was pretty neat to see how hard they played and just the excitement on the bench, it was amazing.”

Canada lost to Germany in the semifinals 4-3, which sent them to the bronze medal game against the Czech Republic. They beat the Czech’s 6-4 to capture the bronze and Desjardins said it was a good game for the team to bring home the bronze.

“The bronze medal game was starting to wind down and we got the lead, how excited those guys were,” Desjardins said. “We wanted the gold and didn’t get the gold but we did find a way to beat the Czech for the bronze so it was a good game for them.”

The NHL and NHLPA committed to sending players to China for the 2022 Olympics in September, but that agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation allowed either party to withdraw if COVID-19 conditions rendered participation “impractical or unsafe.”

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