Having an NHL coach and one of his team’s players on the same roster at the Winter Olympics can work both ways.
At least that’s the way coach Rick Tocchet sees it as the Team Canada roster for the 2026 Games will be announced at 12 noon Wednesday.
Tocchet, who will be an assistant coach for Canada, fully expects Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim to be named to the Canada lineup for play at Milano Cortina, Italy in February.
Sanheim is enjoying an exceptional year for Philadelphia. He’s been among the NHL’s top five/10 for ice time for much of the season and is a big reason why the Flyers have been holding onto a playoff spot for a lot of December.
The thing is, Tocchet knows what to expect from Sanheim and the player knows what to expect from his coach.
“He’s a guy who can play 25 minutes,” Tocchet said prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Canucks at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena. “It’s hard to find those guys. When he’s on his game, he’s a really tough defender, can wheel the net, a real good skater.”
Tocchet, who coached Vancouver last season, was on the 4-Nations Faceoff Tournament last February and had his first good look at Sanheim behind the Canada bench.
“All I remember from the 4-Nations was when he went in the lineup, he really played well,” Tocchet said.
Comfort level can be important. Working with head coach Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay), Tocchet knows how to use Sanheim in particular situations. That can be a big plus toward the end of tight games.
And Tocchet also built more relationships with other players at the 4-Nations event. Those can come in handy.
“I’m not going to lie, the 4-Nations helped me with relationships, too,” Tocchet said. “I’ll be honest with you, though, I’m in Flyer mode. For me, I’m all in right now with the Flyers. But once Feb. 6 is (here), I’m all Canada. I’ll be trying to win a gold medal.”
Tocchet also was asked about roster construction for Canada. Some believe the best alignment is to have some two-way players on the roster to complement the sharpshooters.
“I think from my experience, like playing in the Canada Cup, you look for puzzles,” Tocchet said. “There might be a top six guy that you have that might be pulled for a couple games. Then he gets pumped up, might be instant offense.”
>Start closing in
It might sound like a broken record but Tocchet continues to stress the need for his forwards to constantly push forward and create a strong presence in front of the opponent net.
When the Flyers resort to perimeter shooting, especially on the power play, the results aren’t too encouraging.
“I’m not going to lie, I think we’re one of the worst teams with net-front and screens and stuff,” Tocchet said. “We need some people to start going to the net. We have to start getting more interior play.”
There are things that Tocchet has appreciated over the past three games or so.
“Saying that, I do like the puck movement,” the coach said. “I love our ‘D,’ the way they move on the blue line. Things like that are good. We just have to start getting people in front.”
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