Cooper expects ‘excruciatingly tough’ decisions with Canada’s Olympic roster

TORONTO — Jon Cooper’s plate is already full with his day job.

The Tampa Bay Lightning head coach has had to navigate a minefield peppered with injuries to key players through the first two months of the NHL schedule. That would normally occupy all of the two-time Stanley Cup winner’s professional bandwidth.

This season, however, is different.

The league and its players are poised to make a much-anticipated Olympic return at 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games following a 12-year absence.

And Cooper, who led Canada from behind the bench to a 4 Nations Face-Off victory and will assume the same role in Italy when the calendar flips to February, expects there will be tough calls when it comes down to formalizing the country’s roster.

“Well, it’s getting more as it gets closer,” he said Monday at Scotiabank Arena of the Olympics being on his mind before Tampa’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “Being the Canadian coach, you really, really get the best effort of the Canadians every time you’re in a game. I’m one of many that are watching these players, and I can’t stress enough the work that’s going into picking this team.

“Decisions are going to be tough, like excruciatingly tough, which is a good thing. That means the kids are playing well. Coming down the next couple of weeks here, this is crunch time.”

Those “kids” that Cooper was referencing are San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini and Chicago Blackhawks counterpart Connor Bedard.

Expected to be on the outside looking in back in October thanks to a logjam of forward talent, the young stars from North Vancouver, B.C., have forced their way into the conversation.

The 19-year-old Celebrini sat second in NHL scoring with 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists) — behind only Nathan MacKinnon — heading into Monday night’s action. The 20-year-old Bedard, meanwhile, occupied the No. 4 spot with 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists), just two back of Connor McDavid.

“It’s a good thing, though, isn’t it?” Cooper said of the duo making things hard for Canada’s brain trust. “I mean, good for them. And it’s just amazing that players that young can come in and have such a positive impact. I guess when they say it’s a young man’s game, it really is.

“These are extreme talents.”

Canada has plenty of that.

MacKinnon and McDavid have already been named to the roster along with Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, Sam Reinhart and Brayden Point.

Those six players helped Canada win the 4 Nations, which represented an appetizer ahead of the league rejoining the Olympic setup. The roster deadline for the 2026 Games in Italy is Dec. 31.

Cooper said that while the work continues on shaping the roster that will be expected to bring home gold, he’s had less contact with the players already in the fold compared to this time last year, ahead of the 4 Nations

“Now there’s relationships built,” he said. “Got a good footing on what’s going on moving forward.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2025.