Canada’s lopsided 5-0 win over Czechia to open its men’s Olympic hockey tournament was a clinical display of defensive commitment, offensive skill and physical domination. It was an all-around effort and nearly the perfect way to start off the country’s return to best-on-best hockey.
Nearly.
The one negative in the victory was Josh Morrissey leaving the game with an injury in the second period. The No. 1 defenceman for the Winnipeg Jets in NHL play, Morrissey was injured and did attempt to return, but ultimately left in the second period after logging just 7:10 of ice time.
Since teams are allowed to dress an extra forward and defenceman at the Olympics (13 forwards, seven defencemen), the Canadians weren’t shorthanded without Morrissey. Instead, Shea Theodore’s role shifted from primarily a power-play contributor to a spot in the top-six rotation. He finished with 15:25 of ice time, which was the least of the remaining blueliners.
There was no update on Morrissey’s status from head coach Jon Cooper after the game, and Canada didn’t skate Friday ahead of its second game against Switzerland (3:10 p.m. ET). He was eventually scratched from the lineup with an injury, not taking to the ice for warmups. It would have been surprising if he did play, given Canada’s bigger games ahead and the availability of a ready replacement in Travis Sanheim.
Sportsnet scout Jason Bukala writes about how he thinks Team Canada would be affected with Morrissey missing the game against Switzerland.
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The men’s hockey tournament at Milano Cortina 2026 runs from Feb. 11-22. Follow along with all the scores and standings.
Scout’s Analysis
Josh Morrissey can’t buy a break when it comes to representing Canada on the biggest stage. At the 4 Nations Face-Off last year he had to miss the final due to illness, and now he’s injured at the Olympics. I’m sure he’s beyond frustrated, but I’m hoping his injury isn’t too serious and he will return before the end of the tournament.
The good news for Canada is that it does have a capable replacement for Morrissey in Travis Sanheim.
Sanheim leads all Philadelphia Flyers defencemen in average ice time (24:01), scoring six goals and 18 assists and he’s being deployed in all situations (1:14 per game on the power play and 3:08 on the penalty-kill). The six-foot-four, 223-pound left-shot defenceman isn’t overly physical, but he uses his size and length to front shooters and block shots. Sanheim has been credited with 32 hits and 108 shot blocks so far this season.
Sanheim is best described as a two-way defenceman who provides secondary offence, compared to Morrissey, who is a complete player and contributes much more offence than does Sanheim. The loss of Morrissey will mean players like Thomas Harley, Shea Theodore or Drew Doughty will be required to contribute more in his absence, but I don’t see Canada straying from its overall game plan.
One of the benefits of having Sanheim as a replacement is the fact that he can play both sides of the ice. That flexibility will allow the coaching staff to rest a player for a shift, knowing Sanheim can be called upon in a variety of roles.
In Canada’s opener, head coach Jon Cooper deployed his entire roster and gave opportunities to everyone. Considering that, I’m expecting Sanheim to get his share of ice time at even strength and likely slot into a penalty-killing role as well.
