After Saturday’s practice, Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper discussed the USA-Canada gold medal final, the status of Sidney Crosby, the impact of Brad Marchand, and the fourth line adjustment vs. Finland.
Through all the trials and tribulations, what are your thoughts on it being Canada-USA again in the final?
Cooper: If you were writing the book, this is how most hockey fans would’ve liked to see it. I don’t want to take away from what has gone on in this tournament. For us to get to this point, we had to scrape and claw. Finland gave us everything we could handle, and so did the Czechs.
If you look at Sweden and the scare they put in the US, this wasn’t easy to get to this point. So many people were like, “Oh, this was just inevitable.” The amount of things that could’ve gone wrong…
Both teams navigated their way. Now, we are both here. Those who got to see the 4 Nations last year, if that is the appetizer, it should be a good one.
What type of game are you expecting tomorrow?
Cooper: I am not in the prediction game. It will be competitive. It truly will. If anything, the 4 Nations preliminary game was much different than the final. The final was two teams that were trying to win a hockey game and didn’t want to make mistakes. It was a differently played game. But it will be hockey on steroids.
Did Sidney Crosby skate today, and what is his availability for tomorrow?
Cooper: He skated today. I haven’t spoken to him since the skate. We will meet tonight and make a determination about tomorrow.
How concerned are you about the injuries to the players who are a little diminished?
Cooper: You’d be asking the same question in round three of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This is what happens. It is this tight, this physical, and this demanding, both mentally and physically. This stuff is going to happen. If you walk into either one of those locker rooms, those players wouldn’t have it any other way. This is what we want. I am sure we are not the only ones navigating this. I am sure the US has it, too.
Brad Marchand is known for having a presence on the ice. There was some complaint from the Finnish side after the game that he committed goaltender interference. What were your thoughts?
Cooper: First of all, Brad is being Brad, and I like that Brad. But we watched that play, and we’ve been adamant with our players about the rules in this tournament and where they can be and can’t be. I understand the Bennett penalty and why it was called, but Marchy was out (of the crease). There is a factor when you’re pushed in. We thought he was trying to get out, and he got pushed back in. I had no question that the call would be made the way it was.
How did the adversity against the Czechs benefit you against the Finns?
Cooper: It’s a big cliché to say you have to have adversity to succeed. It is easy to say, until you are actually in the adversity, and then you’re like, “This sucks. I don’t like it.” But I’ve got a group that can really handle it. They’re comfortable being uncomfortable.
You don’t want to put yourself in those situations. It was our bad. We gave [Finland] two freebies. We lost a faceoff, put it on a world-class player’s stick, and it is in the net. And then we gave up a shorthanded goal.
To me, we are stubbing our own toes, but I just love how relentless we’ve become. There wasn’t a worry on the bench. There was just a drive. I thought we really leaned on them in the second period. We were fortunate to cut it to one, and now it was just one shot.
I was just thankful that the guys didn’t wait until the three-minute mark to tie it. They did it at the nine-minute mark. But there was a will and a want. We were hoping to tire [Finland] out and get the result. We did. It worked out.
Why was the last game the right time to unleash the Wilson, Bennett, and Marchand line?
Cooper: You can’t predict what is going to happen in these tournaments. Everyone is like, “Oh, Canada is going to get to the final.” It’s hard. It’s really hard to do. Other teams want to knock you out. There is never a walk in the park. There wasn’t a walk in the park in 2010 for Canada. There wasn’t a walk in the park for Canada in 2014. You have to do these things, but you have to be prepared to change things around in these short tournaments.
Putting [Celebrini-McDavid-MacKinnon] together — I didn’t expect to use that so early. Putting that [Marchand-Bennett-Wilson] together, I didn’t expect to put it together this late. Timing is everything. You have to wait for the right time to use it, if it is the right time. It worked out.
When you send the Wilson, Bennett, and Marchand line out there, what are you looking for from them?
Cooper: They can impact the way in an entirely different way than [Celebrini-McDavid-MacKinnon] do. But they are both massively effective. Everybody, in the big picture, is expecting one line to score all the time and the other one not to. It is only fitting that the work ethic of the other group was the line that scored the goal for us.
They’re lines that can tilt the ice in different ways. Everything is not always about what you put in the net and how many scoring chances you have. Some of it is about intimidation, leaning on teams, making them think, making them tired, and setting up shifts for the next group. That is what the line was fabulous for.
How critical will it be to have a line like the Bennett one against the US?
Cooper: Well, you’re making assumptions on that. But they were effective for us last night. As a staff, you can navigate around what is going to work and what is not. They were a pretty formidable line when together. We’ll see tomorrow.
With a team this talented, how much real coaching are you doing, and how much do you let them go find their own answers?
Cooper: I don’t know. You should be asking the [players] that. I coach the team. The players are a part of the team. It is all encompassing in one group.
I will tell you this: We can set up a power play, but I can’t sit here and teach Nate how to shoot it in the net. I can set up an entry, and I can put guys in positions to succeed, but I can’t teach Nick Suzuki to tip a puck the way he tipped the puck (against Czechia).
The big thing about these players is that they’re the best of the best. Who am I to get in the way and hide any of their talent? My job is to make sure I can bring the best out of them. I have my style in doing that, but I’ll be remiss to sit here and say I hold any of these guys back. They just have to play in a framework that works for us.
