Associated Press article
January 10, 2006
Team Canada captain Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche will wear No. 91 instead of his usual 19 at the Torino Olympics as Hockey Canada honors Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman.
Yzerman, who wears No. 19 in Detroit, withdrew his name from Olympic consideration in early December.
San Jose center Joe Thornton also wears No. 19 in the NHL, but he’ll go with No. 97 in Torino, Hockey Canada announced Monday in releasing the Olympic team numbers.
Vancouver forward Todd Bertuzzi will don No. 14 because his usual 44 will be worn by international veteran Chris Pronger of Edmonton.
Because veteran defenseman Rob Blake of the Avalanche has dibs on No. 4, center Vincent Lecavalier of Tampa Bay will wear No. 40.
Simon Gagne of Philadelphia will be No. 21 because No. 12 is worn by Calgary forward Jarome Iginla.
The Edmonton Journal article
January 9, 2006
by John MacKinnon
Everybody loves a winner, but when it comes to Canada’s national hockey teams it’s strictly tough love — just win or else, baby.
The winning does not come easily, even for Canada, but it has been coming regularly for the men and the juniors, who just completed the golden three-peat in Leksand, Sweden.
The senior men won gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2003 and ‘04 world championships. Canada won silver at the 2005 worlds, but slipped, famously and disappointingly to a fourth-place finish at the Winter Games in Turin.
Still, the Team Canada brand has rarely been stronger and a huge part of that strength has been the work done by a growing roster of high-profile leaders, led by the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Lowe and Detroit GM Ken Holland with the men’s Olympic program. Ex-Detroit Red Wings great Steve Yzerman, a gold medallist in Salt Lake as a player, may be the next high-profile name to join the Team Canada management ranks.
