Jon Cooper blocks media from entering Team Canada practice
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Jon Cooper is ready to lead Team Canada to a gold medal, and now he's made a surprise decision with the Olympics just days away.
Team Canada have arrived in Italy with high, high hopes of an Olympic gold in the first best-on-best tournament since 2014, and while there were questions over the initial lines this team put together, they remain the most talented roster in the tournament.
The Canadian team will begin their chase for glory on Wednesday, and with just a few days to go, they have continued practice as they try to build their chemistry for the tournament on the back of a gold medal win at the Four Nations Face Off in 2025.
However, after seeing their lines in their first practice, Canada have seemingly changed things up, going closed practice for their second session on Monday, with many wondering why.
Jon Cooper clarifies close practice situation
In an interview with The Athletic however, Head Coach Jon Cooper clarified that they weren't trying to hide anything, but with the smaller practice rink providing too many distractions with the media there, they decided not to permit the media.
Practice wasn’t closed. It was only done because the rink’s too small. It’s just distractions and people — there’s just issues to have so many people here. If you’re asking me, did any lines change? Did anything happen? No, it did not. Nothing changed.
When this report first emerged, many were left with questions over the head space of the Canadian team with the decision to go closed practice, but now we know it was simply the best option due to the availability of the small rink.
Ultimately, Cooper confirmed that the lines we saw out of the first practice are likely to be Canada's squad heading into game No. 1 of the tournament, with no bigger story behind the recent practice decision.
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