NHL Analyst Predicts Major Change With Hockey Canada If They Fail at the 2026 Olympic Games
Hockey Canada put up another massive failure at the 2025 World Juniors, and if that continues at the Olympics, groundbreaking changes could be on the way.
The 2025 World Juniors could have been a tournament absolutely dominated by Canada, but after some dreadful roster decisions, the team failed to medal for the second straight year.
That's caused plenty of backlash for Hockey Canada, whose coach was seemingly not upset with the process leading in or even the result, but now, one analyst has warned that things could be forced to change in a big way.
Speaking on TSN's Overdrive, Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill, and Jamie McLennan discussed the state of Hockey Canada, with major warnings for the organization if the squad fails to at least play for a gold medal at the 2026 Olympics.
Well, I think we're about 13-14, months away from [change] possibly happening. Because it's one thing at the juniors where you're not going to win every single... I'm saying more so about the Olympics next year, if the national team starts falling behind, they lose in the quarters, that's when heads are going to explode.
Like, that's when it's going to be, 'What are we doing here, and how's this going to work? And how are we going to get this back on track?'. Because that's coming. Like, it's one thing at the junior ranks. It's another thing at different levels when the national team is trailing."
Like, that's when it's going to be, 'What are we doing here, and how's this going to work? And how are we going to get this back on track?'. Because that's coming. Like, it's one thing at the junior ranks. It's another thing at different levels when the national team is trailing."
Given the roster that's been assembled for the Four Nations Face-Off, it's clear that the men's team has a much better selection committee, but with some questionable decisions on that roster, no one can be 100% certain of that.
Ultimately though, there's much more proven talent at the professional level for Hockey Canada to choose from, and with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid leading the way, success is much more attainable, but if something goes wrong, we could be in for a seismic shift for Hockey Canada.
| POLL | ||
Will Team Canada win gold at the 2026 Olympics? | ||
| Yes | 34 | 40 % |
| No | 51 | 60 % |
| List of polls | ||
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