Team Canada Opens Olympic Campaign with Statement Win, Cooper Praises Complete Effort
Team Canada wasted no time making their presence felt in the 2026 Winter Olympic hockey tournament, cruising to a dominant 5-0 shutout victory in their opening game. Head coach Jon Cooper, now in his second major international tournament at the helm, liked what he saw - and not just on the scoreboard.
“This group’s just comfortable with each other,” Cooper said postgame. “It’s been a year since the 4 Nations, but the guys remember. They’ve built something.”
And that chemistry showed. From the opening puck drop to the final whistle, Canada looked like a team that had been playing together far longer than a few pre-Olympic tune-ups. Every line found a way to contribute, the blue line stayed steady, and goaltender Jordan Binnington delivered a lights-out performance in net.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing early on. The game started with a bit of a feeling-out process, and Canada even had a goal called back - a moment that could’ve shifted momentum.
But then came the physical edge. Tom Wilson and Sam Bennett brought the kind of intensity that can tilt a game, and from there, the rest of the roster followed.
“A couple of the big boys - Wilson and Bennett - really pushed the game in our direction physically,” Cooper noted. “And then some of the other big boys took over.”
By the second period, Canada had found its rhythm. The forecheck was relentless, puck movement crisp, and the offensive zone time started piling up. The team didn’t just hold their lead - they expanded it with authority.
“I thought we got better as the game went on,” Cooper said. “That’s what I really liked. Hopefully we keep trending that way.”
At the heart of it all was Binnington, who turned away every shot he faced en route to an opening-game shutout. There was never any doubt in Cooper’s mind that the net belonged to him.
“I can’t predict how things will go, but I’ve had extreme confidence in the kid for the past year,” Cooper said. “He’s a proven winner to me. I have all the faith in the world in him, and I know our team does too.”
In fact, Cooper had his starting goalie penciled in long before the Olympic roster was even finalized.
“365 days,” he said when asked how long he’d known Binnington would start Game 1. “I think we played a year ago tonight. Maybe a little less, after the 4 Nations final.”
Cooper also touched on a rare postgame wrinkle - having to deliver his message to the team right there on the ice, due to the media obligations that follow a win.
“The winning team has to go second through the media gauntlet,” he said with a smile. “I probably won’t see them for 25 minutes. So my postgame happens on the ice.”
One concern coming out of the game was the status of defenseman Josh Morrissey, who left the game with an apparent injury but returned for a couple of shifts.
“I don’t have an update yet,” Cooper said. “It was tough to see him go.
But he came back and tried a couple of shifts. Hopefully that’s a positive sign.”
Canada’s tournament is off to a flying start, but Cooper knows the job is far from done. Still, in a game where every line showed up, the defense locked things down, and the goaltender pitched a shutout, there’s a lot to like - and even more to build on.