 |
Former Team Canada goaltender and current Phoenix Coyotes goaltending coach Sean Burke took the time to talk with 24 hours regarding his international playing days, what it takes to backstop Canada, and more on the soon-to-be men's national team roster announcement.
24 hours: Do you remember your national playing days very vividly?
Sean Burke: I do. Absolutely. I spent two full years before the '88 Olympics, and I spent another full years before the '92 Olympics, and a bunch of other tournaments along the way. I really have a lot of good memories from international hockey and from the Olympics, for sure.
24: What was your favourite moment?
SB: There's a number of them. I think anytime you put on the jersey for Canada and you represent them for international hockey, it's incredible. So I really couldn't pick one. I won the silver medal in '92, played the Russians for the gold. The whole experience of any of those events were pretty amazing.
24: How is it different mentally to play in an international tournament as opposed to an NHL team?
SB: In the NHL, it's a long season. It's a different mindset. When you play international, it's usually a tournament, it's two weeks long. It all comes down to that one tournament. International hockey is totally a different environment. You're representing your country. You're preparing for one event. It's something you have to experience to really be able to describe.
24: How did you go about preparing for the Olympics?
SB: Well my two times were kind of different. In '88, I was so young and in awe of everything. I just kind of took it all in and enjoyed it. It was in Canada so obviously there's some pressure playing in front of the home crowd. I was too young maybe and too inexperienced to think much about anything. In '92, I was more of a veteran guy, I had already been through one Olympics and felt a little bit more of responsibility I guess, leadership and all those things. But you didn't have it on home soil so there wasn't that pressure. It was a little bit different environment. But preparing for them, you just enjoy them. You work hard to get to that point, ou have to enjoy it while you're there
24: What about physically? Is there a different approach considering the amount of games in that small time frame?
SB: It was different in my situation because I wasn't playing in the NHL at the time, nor were 90 per cent of the guys. We were basically playing all exhibition games leading up to that. For these goaltenders right now, the Olympics is not on their minds when they are stepping out onto the NHL ice right now. They're stepping out onto the ice looking to get two points for their own team. When the Olympics come, they'll change focus and start to think about that tournament. I'm sure it's in the back of their minds, but there's too many other things to think about to worry about the Olympics just yet.
24: Is there a certain goaltending style that's more beneficial when facing powerhouse countries that can roll consistent offensive lines?
SB: I don't think that there is this time around. We're playing on the NHL-sized rink. If they are on the international rink, they might have to change the style a little bit, play deeper in the net, just little thing. But with it being in Canada and being in an NHL-sized there, anybody of the goaltenders that are going to represent Canada are quality player and they're not going to change their styles for this Olympic games.
24: If you were to pick the goaltenders for Canada, what would you base it on?
SB: Obviously experience. I don't think you want to go into an Olympic games for Canada in Canada with somebody who has very little experience. I think that's first and foremost something that can come back and hurt you in the end. But that's not really going to be an issue at all. I don't think you stray too far from the winning formula and that's to go with the guys who are playing well at this point in their careers and also has international experience and success as well.
24: What's your prediction on who's going to be the three Canada goalies?
SB: I don't really know, to be honest. I think with this being in Vancouver, Luongo is obviously a guy who would be a fan favourite right now. But at the end of the day, you can probably put two Canadian teams and have three Canadian goalies on each team and probably have two fairly competitive teams. There's a number of excellent Canadian goalies and whatever three they take, they're all going to be guys capable of winning.
24: Are you planning on watching the Luongo-Brodeur matchup this Wednesday?
SB: I don't know that at this point any kind of head-to-head battle between two goalies in one game is going to have much to do with how the Olympic roster shapes up or what the decision is at the end of the day. I think Team Canada probably has a great idea already who their three goalies are going to be and who they're going to play to begin with, or they have a good idea anyways. I think that maybe going into the Olympics if one of those guys gets really cold or has a tough spell, that might have something to do with them not starting but I don't see anybody that they pick is going to be a guy that they're not confident in to do the job and one game here or there is not going to make much of a difference.
24: Is it an advantage for a goalie like Luongo to not only play in his home country, but his home NHL city, or would the pressure work against him?
SB: I think it could work either way really. But what that comes down to is how you handle the pressure, how guys handle the fact that it's in Canada in front of the home crowd. Any of the guys we're talking about or any of the goalie that are going to go have all dealt with plenty of that in their career. Every country has good goaltender if you look through the rosters that they are going to go with. I don't think Canada will lose because of bad goaltending. They might not win, I mean somebody else might steal the show, but Canada's going will be excellent, and of any of the guys they take, I don't see any of them caving under the pressure. So I don't know if it's an advantage or disadvantage. It's going to come down to who in the end just comes up with the bigger game.
24: After Canada picks their goaltenders, is it a good strategy to give their top two guys one game each in the round robin to start off, or just stick with one guy throughout?
SB: Ideally, it's probably a good idea to have both guys play. Give the top two a game each, just to make sure you've got both guys in that game-ready mode. But on the other hand, it's a short tournament, you want the guy to obviously get hot and carry the ball and be your guy. I don't see you can go wrong in those first couple games of playing both guys and at least getting them both game ready.
24: What advice would you give to the starting netminders?
SB: The advice I would give is the advice they already know themselves, it's to relax and enjoy it. The competitive nature is going to come out. These aren't the kind of guys that are going to need to be motivated. The work has been put in, it'll come down to them competing hard and enjoying the experience, because that's going to be the last time for these guys whoever they are to play in the Olympics in Canada and to have that opportunity, it;s something special so enjoy it while you're there.