Getting the Team Canada band back together

MILAN — Josh Morrissey is raring to go. Which is perfectly understandable given the way recent international hockey events have played out for the Winnipeg Jets defenceman.

There was the severe stomach virus that sidelined him last February for the gold medal final of the 4 Nations Face-Off. And now, a lower-body injury suffered in his Winter Olympics debut last week which has kept him out of Canada’s last two games.

If it weren’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all.

But hope springs eternal, and there was Morrissey flying around the ice on Tuesday afternoon as he practiced with his No. 1 ranked teammates ahead of Wednesday’s win-or-go-home quarterfinal game against No. 8 Czechia — which downed Denmark 3-2 in a qualifying round elimination game.

Could Morrissey be ready to return?

“Just taking it day-by-day. A good practice here. Just trying to get ready for the rest of the tournament the best I can,” he told reporters.

Canadian head coach Jon Cooper liked what he saw from Morrissey, who was back to his usual blue-line pairing beside Colton Parayko.

“That was a big thing for him to get out here today. In my opinion he looked great. But (no decision) until after I talk to him,” said Cooper.

We’ll mark that down as a “likely.”

Canada took care of business against Switzerland and France to finish off group play while Morrissey watched from the crowd, but they could use his puck-moving ability and offensive instincts as they move into elimination games.

A win Wednesday would send Canada to the semifinals on Friday. Bronze and gold medal games go Saturday and Sunday.

“Not being out there but watching, defensively, guys have been sharp. I feel really confident in our defensive game,” said Morrissey.

“It’s a short tournament and you’re coming together with the systems, trying to put everything into play. But I think it is rounding into form. I feel guys were sharp today.”

Forward Brad Marchand has also missed the last two games with a nagging injury but was a full participant on Tuesday. Cooper wouldn’t commit to him being in the lineup, only saying he’s “available.”

Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Bennett missed the practice for what the team called maintenance, but both are expected to play on Wednesday.

“It’s pretty clear. We understand the circumstances, and what we need to do, and obviously what got us to this point, as far as our identity and things like that,” said captain Sidney Crosby. “We gotta keep getting better. But obviously, stakes are a little higher now.”

The fate of a couple Manitobans could be impacted by whether Morrissey and/or Marchand return. On the blue line, Elkhorn’s Travis Sanheim could potentially be the odd man out. He was on the fourth pairing Tuesday with Shea Theodore, who would likely remain in the lineup as a seventh defenceman.

Up front, Winnipeg’s Seth Jarvis played the past two games in Marchand’s absence, so you figure he could be the one going out. For what it’s worth, he skated on the fourth line Tuesday with Marchand and Bo Horvat.

Canadian players have repeatedly talked about putting ego aside for the greater good, even if it means taking a reduced role or, in Morrissey’s case, have to cheer from the sidelines due to circumstances beyond your control.

“You just try and be a great teammate in whatever way I can,” Morrissey said of still trying to contribute despite not playing.

“Every single guy here is a fantastic hockey player, so just try and watch the game yourself, stay sharp on what the team’s doing, systems. It’s a short tournament, but like Marchy said, being vocal, being around the group and contributing any way you can.”

Canada is obviously the heavy favourites over Czechia, who they beat 5-0 in first round-robin game where Morrissey got hurt. But you won’t catch them counting the proverbial chickens before they hatch.

“We try to match anybody that we play. They came out hard and they came out strong and I thought we matched that really well,” said Horvat.

“So we expect them to come out harder. Playing us hard again. So we got to match that again.”

Czechia rebounded from that loss to Canada by beating France 6-3 and falling to Switzerland 4-3 in overtime to finish off group play before squeezing past Denmark.

“We need to play our best game of the tournament to have a chance to beat (Canada),” Czech forward Ondrej Palat said Tuesday. “Obviously an unbelievable team, so that’s a huge challenge in front of us.”

Czech defencemen Radko Gudas said one thing his team won’t do is play scared.

“If you get intimidated, you don’t have anything (and) you shouldn’t be playing pro hockey,” he said.

“They’re one of the best teams put together in a long time. They have some stars playing even on the fourth line. They’re a very skilled, very fast team. We’ve got to have 120 per cent of our effort and be on top of our game throughout the whole game.”

Back on the Canadian side, Cooper was asked what his message to the team is? Does he have some big rah-rah speech planned?

“I hate looking at it like that,” he said. “You don’t want to put any stress on yourself. You don’t want players playing the game not to make mistakes. I like our mentality. It’s not qualification or quarterfinal or whatever. You gotta win six. This is game four. Let’s go make the best.”

Puck drops on the quarterfinal game Wednesday at 9:40 a.m. CT.

Here’s a quick look at the three other quarterfinal games:

No. 3 SLOVAKIA VS No. 6 GERMANY (5:10 a.m. CT)

While Slovakia may be the higher seed, don’t discount the odds of a German upset here.

Led by Winnipeg-born head coach Harold Kreis and former Jets associate coach and current Florida Panthers assistant Jamie Kompon, Germany has the likes of Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle and JJ Peterka, who sparked Tuesday’s 5-1 qualifying round win over France. Meanwhile, Slovakia is being led by the scorching hot Juraj Slafkovsky.

No. 4 FINLAND VS No. 5 SWITZERLAND (11:10 a.m. CT)

Can Jets forward Nino Niederreiter and his Swiss teammates pull off the upset? They’ll face a daunting task against a NHL-heavy roster that includes the likes of Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho and Miro Heiskanen. Switzerland beat Italy 3-0 Tuesday to get to this stage.

No. 2 UNITED STATES VS No. 7 SWEDEN (2:10 p.m. CT)

It’s hard to believe one of these teams is not even going to get to play for a medal. A heavyweight battle between two of the three most star-studded rosters in the tournament, with Canada being the other.

Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will lead his team into battle, while winger Kyle Connor is expected to be a healthy scratch for a second straight game.

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“This is exciting. This is why I play the game,” Hellebuyck said following Tuesday’s practice.

“I don’t chase the money, I don’t chase the fame, I play for fun. And these are those moments that I really enjoy.”

One potential benefit for Team USA is that Sweden had to play Tuesday night by virtue of losing a three-way tiebreak in their pool and ultimately finishing third with a 2-1 record. They easily took care of Latvia by a 5-1 score.

The four remaining teams will be re-seeded for the semifinals. That means Canada would play Finland and the United States would meet Slovakia if there were no upsets.

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Mike McIntyre
Sports columnist

Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.

   Read full biography