Steve Simmons: Canadian players did what Wayne Gretzky never could by winning Olympic bronze (2024)

GANGNEUNG — For all the winning they did in their hockey careers, all the Stanley Cups and international championships, three legends named Wayne Gretzky, Patrick Roy and Raymond Bourque never won an Olympic medal.

To this day, they regret what happened 20 years ago in Nagano. They regret not taking their bronze-medal match with Finland seriously at the 1998 Winter Olympics. They still talk about it today — the medal they somehow left behind.

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Now Chris Kelly, Team Canada captain, has something Gretzky never won as a player. Maybe the only thing he never won.

He has an Olympic hockey medal. A bronze. Something he and his Team Canada teammates will have for the rest of their lives.

“I can’t believe I have something Gretzky didn’t get,” said defenceman Mat Robinson. “That by itself is pretty unbelievable.

“This whole experience, being here, it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

They were so close to having nothing to show for the Olympic hockey tournament. One day they thought they would be playing for gold and had the humiliation of losing to Germany. The next day, they woke up numb, wondering what went wrong the night before, knowing they had one last chance to get it right. And then there was a game to play.

It is that fragile, the difference between winning and losing at the Olympics. It’s that fragile emotionally. It’s that fragile tactically. “It’s very hard,” said Martin Erat, the Czech Republic captain. “We had a chance against Russia and we blew it. You go 24 hours from disappointment to playing for a medal. That’s the way it is.”

The famous shootout — without Gretzky shooting — that Canada lost to the Czech Republic and Dominik Hasek in the first Olympic tournament involving NHL players is still in conversation today. It wasn’t specifically brought to Team Canada’s attention Saturday that the NHL stars pulled a no-show against Finland in the bronze-medal game and came home from Nagano empty-handed.

Instead, there were other messages for this unusual cast that made up Team Canada. General manager Sean Burke made an emotional speech. There was an inspirational video made which brought some players to tears. The players were remarkably quiet most of the day — until some of their leaders spoke up loudly.

“Everyone woke up pretty devastated,” said forward Rob Klinkhammer. “I’m so proud of the guys coming together and rallying like that. I’m an Olympic medal winner now and I can’t believe it.

“Nothing needed to be said about last night. Everyone knew what we did. What we did wrong. It was just an effort thing. We didn’t have it for whatever reason. We didn’t want to feel that way again.”

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They didn’t want to leave and disband as they will Sunday with any regret. This is what happens with Olympic hockey teams and more so with this team of players scattered throughout leagues that aren’t the NHL. They come together quickly. They get to know each other. They become fast friends. And with one bounce, one loss, one misplay, it can all be over. The bounce and the loss came against Germany. The bounce back said much about this Canadian team.

They now have bronze, the third Canadian team to win such a medal in the Olympic hockey tournament, the colour of medal many predicted coming into the tournament, before Germany upset Team Sweden and Team Canada and almost everything seemed lost.

“We didn’t want to be that team that came here and disappointed,” said Andrew Ebbett, the Canadian forward. “No one wants fourth place. We’ve been talking about making our mark for the past month. We did that. Now we’ve got something you can show your kids, your grandkids.”

And Ebbett looked up to the stands, as did so many of the Canadian players, searched for his parents, found his dad and mom, and couldn’t believe their reaction. “I’ve never seen my dad that excited before,” said Ebbett. “To see him and my mom jumping up and down in the stands, that’s pretty cool.”

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For 37-year-old captain Kelly, who has won a Stanley Cup and played 833 games in the NHL, he left the best for last. Probably the last game of his career. He looked his age most of the tournament, but not Saturday night. He found his hands and his legs and scored twice in the 6-4 win, the only two goals he scored in the Olympics.

“This is up there,” he said when asked where the moment ranked in his career. “This is extremely special. It really showed the character of this group.

“We’re a proud group. Last night wasn’t our best effort. We know that. Everyone knows that. We wanted to come out and show what we could do. Canadians are proud people and there’s 25 proud guys here that want to represent their country in the right way.”

Ben Scrivens didn’t get to play much in the playoff round of the tournament after being injured, but he held onto the medal around his neck and he couldn’t stop smiling.

“This is forever,” he said. “This is something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”

Something Gretzky, Bourque and Roy wish they could claim.

• Email: ssimmons@postmedia.com | Twitter: @simmonssteve

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