The truth about Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team? It has question marks

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This article was published 13/02/2022 (1352 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEIJING It was 30 years ago this month that Ivano Zanatta arrived at a hockey destination he’d never contemplated. A Toronto-born hockey lifer who played at Sudbury’s Laurentian University, he’d fallen short on his NHL dream after a trip to New York Rangers rookie camp never bore fruit.

But before he could hang up his skates he was presented with a sales pitch: Come play professionally in Italy, he was beckoned, this while being assured his family’s heritage would make it easy for him to secure a passport. Zanatta figured he’d go for a year and return home. But after establishing himself on a team based in the idyllic ski-resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo in the mid-1980s, by 1992 Zanatta found himself as a member of Italy’s roster at the Olympic Games in Albertville, France.

Italy’s team was heavy on North Americans with Italian roots. And though the squad put up an admirable fight, winning a game against Poland, they were ultimately overmatched. Italy finished 12th in a 12-team tournament. But Zanatta was an Olympian.

Fast forward 30 years and Zanatta could see the parallels. Now head coach of China’s controversial entry at these Olympics, Zanatta’s roster is heavy on North American players with the slightest of familial connections to China. And though Zanatta’s squad has put up an robust fight in a trio of games to this point — and while they made Canada earn every inch of a 5-0 win on Sunday night — China finished the group stage ranked 12th in a 12-team tournament.

Still, China’s men’s hockey team is at the Olympics, which is saying something considering there was a moment last fall when hockey’s international governing body threatened to bounce China from the tournament citing an “insufficient sporting standard.”

“It’s an honour and a privilege (to compete against Canada),” said Zanatta. “(Canada) is one of the greatest nations in the world. To have that opportunity with, let’s say, a startup hockey nation, it’s fantastic. It’s a fantastic moment. You’ve got two extremes, two poles. And we’re showing we’re not that bad after all.”

Now the host nation will get one last chance to prove its worth on the ice against a significant foe, specifically in a win-or-go-home qualification-round rematch with Canada on Tuesday. With the top four seeds earning a bye into the quarterfinal round, Canada finished fifth in group-stage action, pairing them with 12th-place China yet again.

“The one thing we know is they’re going to compete hard, so we need to be ready,” said Team Canada coach Claude Julien. “You can’t take anything for granted anymore. One bad bounce here or there can make a big difference.”

The team representing China here isn’t so much a traditional national team as a single professional team. They’re entirely made up of the roster of the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star. The good news is, because China doesn’t have sufficient talent to ice a truly home-grown men’s national team, they’re largely represented by professionals, the bulk of whom hail from Canada and the United States. The bad news is Kunlun Red Star currently occupies the KHL’s basement, with a league-worst minus-97 goal differential in 48 games. And that has certainly showed at times in this tournament.

What showed most glaringly was China’s lack of options in the lineup. Against Canada two of China’s available skaters didn’t see a second of ice time. Four others played 5:30 or less. It was a little more than a two-line team, essentially.

“We don’t have the depth,” Zanatta said. “It’s a matter of numbers, too. We just don’t have the horses, and (the Canadians) do. So hats off to my guys. I’m proud of them.”

Indeed, as much as China was blown out 8-0 in their tournament opener against the collegian-heavy United States, Zanatta’s team made a game of it against Germany, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to lose 3-2. Which had Julien reminding his team that Sunday’s game wasn’t to be taken lightly.

“No matter what the score was, China against USA, I certainly didn’t think it was an 8-0 game. It was a lot more level playing field than 8-0,” Julien said. “They skate hard. They play hard. They forecheck. So give them credit.”

Three games into this thing and here’s the truth about Canada’s team: We still have zero idea what it can be. Will it be a reprise of 2018’s disappointment, unable to rise to the moment with a chance at the gold medal on the line? Or will it be a savvier operation whose leadership group looks around the Olympic tournament, observes no obvious powerhouse, and wonders aloud: Why not us?

Because, really: Why not Canada? The 4-2 loss to the U.S. was as much a goaltending malfunction as it was anything. The 5-1 win over Germany suggested Canada, never short on grinders, has enough finesse to get a game over the finish line. And as much as Sunday’s win over China won’t impress anyone — and as much as they’ll have to repeat the trick in the qualification round if they’re to advance — at least Canada got the job done.

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Certainly there were Canadian-born participants on the Chinese side who insisted they’ll never forget the experience.

“It was a surreal moment. Once in a lifetime for sure, something you dream of. My five-year-old self wouldn’t believe where I am today,” said Paris O’Brien, the Port Coquitlam, B.C., goaltender who’s known in China as Yongli Ouban. “I’m 21 years old, this is just a start, I’ll tell you that. I was born in Canada but now I’m representing my Chinese heritage and my roots. But it’s pretty cool to see and play against the team that I grew up watching, with many guys who I grew up watching in the NHL, like Eric Staal. For sure they kept me busy, but it was fun. I enjoyed every moment of it.”

While China’s players said they enjoyed the matchup against Canada, more than a few of them had to endure it. Their best forward, Edmonton’s Spencer Foo (or Fu Jiang, as he’s known here), played 27 minutes on Sunday. Ditto their best defenceman, Mississauga native Ryan Sproul — or Ruian Sipulaoer here. For Zanatta, life as the coach of the 12th place team isn’t easy. But it also doesn’t make it any less Olympic.

“We know our reality,” said Zanatta. “We know what we have. I can’t ask for more than what I’ve seen. I’m not even looking at the score. I’m looking at the effort. And it’s there every shift. And there’s going to be mistakes. And it’s a matter of numbers, too. We just don’t have the horses, and they do. So hats off to my guys. I’m proud of them.”

Dave Feschuk is a Toronto-based sports columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @dfeschuk