Flyers coach Rick Tocchet joins Team Canada’s Olympic coaching staff
Canada won the 4 Nations Face-off in February, with Tocchet part of the same coaching group that will lead Canada in Milan.
While some of the Flyers head to tropical destinations in February during the league’s 19-day break, Rick Tocchet is hopping on a plane for a colder locale.
But he’s probably not going to be complaining.
The Flyers’ new head coach is heading to Italy to serve as an assistant for Canada at the 2026 Milan Olympics.
“It’s quite an honour to represent my country Canada as an assistant coach. I am truly thankful for the opportunity,” Tocchet told The Inquirer via text after it was announced on Monday.
Tocchet links back up with head coach Jon Cooper and fellow assistants Pete DeBoer, Bruce Cassidy, and Misha Donskov, goaltending coach David Alexander, director of performance analysis James Emery, and video coordinator Elliott Mondou. The group led Canada to victory at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
“This is a highly skilled group of coaches that bring impressive resumés to our staff,” Cooper said in Hockey Canada’s press release. “This group of coaches will provide consistency and a winning pedigree to our team, and I know our players will greatly benefit from this world-class coaching staff.
“I look forward to working alongside all seven as we look to replicate our 4 Nations success on the Olympic stage in February.”
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Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off, which started in Montreal and ended in Boston, on a Connor McDavid overtime goal against the United States. McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart, and Cale Makar, who were on the 4 Nations squad, were named to the Olympic roster in mid-June.
The NHL will be competing in the Olympics for the first time since 2014, the last time Canada won gold.
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Tocchet will be making his first trip to the sporting world’s largest stage. The former Flyers forward won two Canada Cups (1987 and 1991) while wearing the maple leaf, and played for Canada at the 1990 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
Hoping to join him in Milan for Canada are Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim, who were on the championship team coached by Toccet at the 4 Nations Face-Off. They also played for Canada at the 2025 World Championships, alongside Tyson Foerster and Flyers first-rounder Porter Martone, in May.
Sanheim went from extra defenseman to becoming a key cog for Cooper’s defense at 4 Nations, playing the opening shift of the championship game’s overtime. He kept the momentum going at Worlds, chipping in two goals and one assist with a plus-six rating while ranking second among Canadian defensemen in average ice time (18:33) across eight games.
“I think with how things turned out, it’s obviously going to be a focus of mine, going to be a motivation for me in the offseason to continue to push and try and make that team,” Sanheim said at his end-of-season presser before heading to Europe for Worlds.
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“It’s obviously going to be challenging, but to have the success that I did, I think it excites me and something that I want to be a part of. … I enjoy representing my country, and to be able to do it at the Olympic level, which would be super exciting, and something that I never imagined was even a possibility a few years ago.”
Konecny, who was in and out of Canada’s lineup at the 4 Nations Face-Off, put his name back in the conversation for the Olympics at Worlds. He tied MacKinnon for the team lead with 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists) over the eight games. He finished at plus-nine and assisted on Sanheim’s goal, the only one Canada could muster in a shocking quarterfinal loss to Denmark.
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament will begin on Feb. 11, with games played at the Milano Santa Giulia and Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arenas, and run through Feb. 22. It is the last event before the closing ceremony.
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Canada is in Group A with Switzerland, Czechia, and France. Flyers forward Rodrigo Ābols has already been named to Latvia’s roster, and will compete in Group C with the U.S., Germany, and Denmark. Group B will have defending gold medalist Finland, Slovakia, Italy, and Sweden. Flyers goalie Sam Ersson, who was in net for the Swedes when they won bronze at Worlds, is hoping for an Italian trip too. Russia will not be participating.
Tocchet and his team will open the tournament on Feb. 12 against Czechia (10:40 a.m.). USA Hockey starts its run the same day against Latvia (3:10 p.m.).