Revisiting Vancouver Canucks Performances At The 2002 Winter Olympics In Salt Lake City
Four Vancouver Canucks represented their countries at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Photo by Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports - Revisiting Vancouver Canucks Performances At The 2002 Winter Olympics In Salt Lake CityThe Winter Olympics are headed back to Utah as Salt Lake City has been named the host for the 2034 Winter Olympics. The last time Salt Lake City hosted was in 2002 when Canada secured Gold in both men's and women's hockey. The men's tournament in 2002 also featured plenty of Vancouver Canucks content with plenty of former, future and then current players participating in the tournament. In honour of the Winter Olympics heading back to Salt Lake City, here is a look back at the four Canucks who represented their countries over two decades ago.
Ed Jovanovski- Team Canada
Having already established himself as a force on the blue line, Ed Jovanovski was named to Team Canada ahead of the 2002 Winter Olympics. In six games for Canada, Jovanovski recorded three points and helped the Canadian men claim Gold for the first time since 1952. It was a special tournament for Jovanovski as he is also credited with the primary assist on Joe Sakic's game-winning goal in the Gold Medal Game.
Jarkko Ruutu- Team Finland
In what was his first of three Winter Olympics, Jarkko Ruutu was part of a stacked Finland team in 2002. While he didn't record any points, he did help Finland to a sixth-place finish in the tournament. Ruutu would have better luck in the future, picking up a Silver in 2006 and a Bronze in 2010.
Markus Näslund- Team Sweden
Surprisingly, the 2002 Winter Olympics was the only one in which Markus Näslund participated. He had three points for Team Sweden, which included a two-goal game against Germany in the group stage. Ultimately, Sweden would fall to Belarus in the quarterfinals, finishing the 2002 Winter Olympics in fifth place.
Mattias Öhlund- Team Sweden
Lastly, Mattias Öhlund was part of Team Sweden's blue line in 2002, recording two points in four games. While he didn't pick up a medal in Salt Lake, he became a Gold Medalist four years later at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. Öhlund currently sits tied for 14th on Sweden's all-time Winter Olympics games played list and is tied with former Canucks teammate Daniel Sedin who also won Gold in 2006.
Other former Canucks who participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics:
Pavel Bure & Igor Larinov- Russia
Jyrki Lumme, Ossi Väänänen & Sami Salo- Finland
Mats Sundin, Johan Hedberg & Magnus Arvedson- Sweden
Pavol Demitra- Slovakia
Michael Peca & Pat Quinn (Head Coach)- Canada
Aaron Miller- USA
Christian Ehrhoff & Marco Sturm- Germany
Martin Rucinsky- Czechia
Arturs Irbe- Latvia
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