Yzerman named executive director
Detroit Red Wings vice-president Steve Yzerman will get a chance to lead Team Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympics as executive director. The announcement was made yesterday afternoon in Ottawa.
“I am truly honoured and privileged to take on the role of executive director for Hockey Canada going into 2010,” said Yzerman. “I am also very excited about the group that we have in place, a group that has great experience at both the professional and international level. With support from Bob Nicholson, Johnny Misley and the Hockey Canada team, I know that we have the right mix in place to assemble a team that will make all Canadians proud in 2010.”
In his third season under the tutelage of GM Ken Holland and Assistant GM Jim Nill, Yzerman has quickly transformed from the face of the Red Wings franchise on the ice to a quick study in Hockey Management 101 off the ice. After just his first season in the front office, Yzerman won the gold medal at the 2007 IIHF World Championship as Team Canada’s GM. A year later, his team returned to the finals and won silver. He has gained valuable experience in leading Team Canada in the World Championships and has learned from the best 1-2 punch (Holland & Nill) in the NHL. Holland certainly agrees with Team Canada and fans across North America that Yzerman is the man for this job.
“In my opinion, he’s the right man to lead Canada into the Olympics because of his long playing career and because he’s been one of the faces of Canadian hockey for the past 10 to 15 years,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said Friday. “He’s one of the great players in Canadian hockey history. I’ve worked alongside him for the past 2 1/2 years, and I know he’s got tremendous passion for the game. I think he misses playing, but I know he’s enjoying this side of the game. He’s really deserving of being in charge of the Canadian Olympic hockey team. It’s just a natural.”
Yzerman knows the pressures that come with the job both as the GM from the last two World Championships and his time as a player. He played for Team Canada eight times throughout his career including a gold-medal performance in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Wings forward Kris Draper believes that Yzerman’s performance in 2002 cemented his status as a great leader.
“He’s going to put together one heck of a hockey team, I know that,” Draper said. “The determination, the character, the leadership that he had when they won in Salt Lake was something that, I think, just stamped his career as one of the greatest leaders in professional sports,” Draper said. “Now he gets to do it off ice.”
He will likely face even more pressure this time around as the Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, B.C. Yzerman understands the expectations that come with the most scrutinized job in Canada (okay, maybe the most scrutinized after Toronto’s GM) and is eager to face them head on.
“My message to Canadians is that I understand completely what the expectations of this team are,” Yzerman said at a news conference on Saturday. “I understand what the goal is. Each and every one of us up here … all fully understand the expectations. We understand the passion that all Canadians have and we share in that passion - we’re one in the same…Our goals are no different than yours. We understand that a gold medal is the expectation and we’re prepared for that.”
Holland and Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lorne were also named to the staff as associate directors and former executive director Wayne Gretzky will remain on staff as an adviser. In Yzerman’s previous two stints as Team Canada’s GM, Doug Armstrong has been at his side. Armstrong will return for the 2010 Olympics and has been named the Olympic team’s director of player personnel.
“The Red Wings pay [me], but I’m a Canadian, I’m going to give my heart and soul to the team and if I’ve gotta work longer days and longer hours, so be it — it’s an opportunity of a lifetime for all of us,” said Holland.
Wings fans will look forward to seeing Yzerman and Holland work their magic over the next 16 months. Team Canada management hopes to have its coaching staff in place by the end of the season so that they can hold a training camp this off-season.
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