New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz was named to the Canadian national hockey team’s coaching staff as an assistant for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Hockey Canada announced on Monday.
Trotz will be an assistant coach — alongside Vegas Golden Knights head coach Pete DeBoer and Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy — to Canada head coach and Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss Jon Cooper, fresh off winning a second-straight Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning that included defeats of the Islanders in each of the semifinal stages.
This will be Trotz’s fourth time working with Team Canada, but it will be his first Olympic Games. He previously represented his home country as an assistant at the IIHF World Championship, winning gold (2003) and silver (2009), along with gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The 59-year-old is preparing for his fourth season with the Islanders where he holds a 115-67-24 regular-season record and a 28-21 postseason record that included two consecutive trips to the Stanely Cup semifinals — the team’s first trips to that stage of the playoffs since 1993. He already ranks third in Islanders history in wins, first in point percentage, and second in postseason wins.
A two-time Jack Adams Award winner, he ranks third in NHL history in games coached (1,730) and wins (877) fueled by previous stops with the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals.
The 2022 Beijing Olympics will take place from Feb. 4-20 at the Beijing National Indoor Stadium and The Wukesong Arena.
