Canada followed the USA out of the Olympics yesterday after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Russia. The Russian’s out shot the Canadian’s by 33-27 and goals from Alexander Ovechkin and Alexei Kovalev condemmed the Canadian’s to a shock early exit.
But what happened to the 2006 Canadian team that appeared so strong on paper? The second-guessing is well underway in the most hockey-mad nation on Earth. Hockey is so engrained in the culture that when Canada fails to win, it’s taken as a blow to national pride and psyche.
Executive Director Wayne Gretzky took full responsibility for the teams failure addressing the media after the loss. He spoke slowly and thoughtfully, the stress of the past three months clearly visible. “It’s been a horrible three months for me and moving forward you have to think about your health,” Gretzky said.
In the middle of trying to coach the Phoenix Coyotes and select Team Canada, Gretzky’s mother passed away five days before Christmas. Her mother then died three weeks later. Recently, Gretzky’s name and family have been linked with scandal. While not saying that he would step down from his involvement with Team Canada, he did say that he’d take stock of his role. Such words can be expected after a loss that Gretzky deemed “devastating” several times during the course of the press conference.
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