Head coach Jon Cooper reacts to Team Canada’s 10-2 win over France in the final preliminary-stage game of the 2026 Winter Olympic hockey tournament.
On the team’s approach to the game, knowing goal difference could matter regarding the seeding and quarterfinal opponent:
I told our guys before the game that we can’t put ourselves in a position where we are going to sit here and pick our opponent: “Let’s do this, to avoid this.” We are Canada. In the end, we want to just improve our game. The second you start saying, “We have to score this many goals, or avoid this opponent,” it is just a recipe for disaster.
For us, it was just about getting better. And we have. To me, we just wanted to avoid the qualification game. Get the extra day of rest, let’s see where the chips fall, and go play the games. I think the guys have done that.
It has been a pleasure to coach them for the last three games.
On Tom Wilson getting into a scuffle:
I’ll have to rewatch it. This is hockey. When you put 40 guys on the ice together for a competition, it doesn’t matter what country you are from. Someone is going to tick somebody off.
[Wilson] plays hard. I am sure whoever he was up against there does the same thing. Pretty harmless, in the grand scheme of things, of what we’re used to. It is just boys being boys.
On Connor McDavid’s nine points through nine periods:
A point-per-period… I have to digest that for a second.
Hey, listen, you can’t throw around “best player in the world” easily. You can debate it all you want, but he is most definitely up there.
I would never start talking in those terms unless I knew him off the ice — how he works, how he conducts himself, and his humility. It is super impressive to watch.
He deserves this. He is playing in the best tournament in the world and is shining like this. I don’t know. It is pretty fun to watch.
On the decision to let Macklin Celebrini take the penalty shot after drawing the call:
The ref said you can take whoever you want. 18 guys on the bench turned around an dsiad, “Yeah, coach, who are you going to pick?” I see Macklin doing his little circles out there, ready to go. There was no way I was pulling him off. That is who the crowd came to see. He delivered.
On whether he is happy with the progress his team has shown through the three preliminary games:
I am. Take away the goals for. For me, it was all about the goals against and the play away from the puck. Unfortunately, we gave up two tonight. You’d like to correct that. But, for the most part, we played pretty well defensively. We’ve done that throughout the tournament. When we haven’t, our goaltending has been there to bail us out.
Ultimately, if you want to give yourself a chance to win the tournament, you’d better give up two or fewer a game.
