Team Canada held its first practice ahead of the Olympic tournament yesterday, and Nick Suzuki found himself playing on the wing with two gifted players.
Team Canada has arrived in Italy and held its first practice yesterday. In a best-on-best tournament, coach John Cooper isn’t going to load up his top six; he’s after four balanced lines. Everyone has to be able to keep up with the opponents’ all-star lines, which is why Cooper has embarked on a chemistry-finding mission.
Montreal Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki landed on Cooper’s second line for the first practice, playing on Colorado Avalanche’s star center Nathan MacKinnon and Florida Panthers uber pest, Brad Marchand. Of course, Suzuki’s role will be different with Team Canada, with so many natural centers, some had to be moved to the wing, but Suzuki has shown time and time again that he’s the kind of player who can give his coach whatever he needs.
Speaking to the media after practice, Suzuki explained that the coaches are trying to find the right chemistry to get results in such a short tournament, but added that it was fun to be out there with those guys [MacKinnon and Marchand] and to do drills together. Speaking of Marchand, he happened to walk by Suzuki’s interview and poked fun at the Canadiens’ centerman by saying, “Je m’appelle Nick Suzuki” as he walked by.
While Habs fans have spent years hating the former Boston Bruins, it’s not the first time we've seen him interacting with Habs players at international tournaments. Back in 2016, Marchand and Brendan Gallagher developed a good friendship at the World Championships, and they were even together arm-in-arm on the celebration line as the Canadian National Anthem was played.
Canada’s first line on day one was formed by Macklin Celebrini, Connor McDavid, and Tom Wilson. As for the third one, it featured Mark Stone, Sidney Crosby (who will wear the C), and Mitch Marner, while the fourth line was made up of Brendan Hagel, Bo Horvat, and Sam Reinhart. Leaving Sam Bennett and Seth Jarvis as the extras, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, given the fact that they were late additions after originally selected players Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point couldn’t make the trip due to injuries.
On the blueline, Cooper had the following pairs: Devon Toews and Cale Makar, Josh Morrissey and Colton Parayko, Thomas Harley (who’s Suzuki’s roommate in Milano) and Drew Doughty, and Shea Theodore with Travis Sanheim.
It will be interesting to see if Cooper liked what he saw in this first practice enough to stick with those combinations. Team Canada kicks off its tournament on Thursday, February 12, with a clash with Czechia at 10:40 AM. Meanwhile, Juraj Slafkovsky and Oliver Kapanen will kick off their tournament on Wednesday, February 11, when they face each other at 10:40 AM. As for Alexander Texier, he will kick off his tournament with France on Thursday with a tilt against Switzerland at 6:10 AM.
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