With Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter named to the Canadian Olympic team on Tuesday, and Slava Voynov named to the Russian team, the Kings will be represented by six players in Sochi next month. Jonathan Quick (United States), Dustin Brown (United States) and Anze Kopitar (Slovenia) also earned Olympic spots, while Head Equipment Manager Darren Granger will be one of two Team Canada equipment managers. General Manager Dean Lombardi also serves as part of the United States Men’s National Team Advisory Group.
On Tuesday morning, Jeff Carter discussed being named to the Canadian Olympic team for the first time in his career.
“Obviously it is exciting. I missed out on this four years ago. It is something I have been working towards the past four years. It is a huge opportunity for a Canadian kid to go over there and represent your country while playing with and against the best players in the world,” he said.
“I got a call this morning at 7 a.m. from (Peter) Chiarelli from Boston. I had no idea until that point which way it was going to go. It was obviously a good call to receive.”
Drew Doughty also spoke about his excitement on being named to the Canadian Olympic team.
On if he feels like a veteran on team Canada:
I don’t know about a vet. There are other guys that are older than me, more veteran than me, but I definitely have that last Olympic experience. So I have to use that. There’s a lot of guys who are new to the team, who have never played in the Olympics for us, so I definitely kind of have to step up to the plate and help show them the way.
On if it feels just as special being named an Olympian for the second time:
For sure, anytime you get to represent Canada and put on that jersey it’s the biggest honor ever, really. I’m so excited to be on that team and to finally be named. It’s a few months away, I have to focus on what I have to do here and focus on the Olympics when they come.
On if there is extra competition when he faces his Kings teammates in the Olympics:
Yeah, for sure. I don’t think we play Kopi. I don’t think he’s in our pool, I don’t think I’ll play against him. So I probably won’t see him, but you never know it could happen. He puts that team on his shoulders and he can make some magic happen, that’s for sure. If we do play him, I’m going to get Kopi a big hit. That’s for sure. If I get a chance to score on Quickie, I know where he’s weak. So, I’m sure I’ll win. [Reporter: Will you tell all your teammates where Jonathan Quick is weak?] I’m going to have to unfortunately. I remember the last Olympics we had a rundown of each player on the opposing team and if you played with them you kind of had to give their weaknesses and strengths of the player. So I might have to let them know about Quickie’s.
On Jeff Carter making the Canadian team:
I was pumped for him. I know Jeff really, really wanted to make it, obviously along with everyone else. I’m really happy for him. I’m really happy to be able to be on the team with him. We’re both two London boys, so we’ve known each other since we were young and we grew up just around the corner from each other. So for us to be on the team together it makes things really special and it’s a really special time for both of our families as well.
On how he was notified of making the team:
I got the call from Peter Chiarelli. I actually missed the first call. I was still sleeping in. I didn’t get woken up by the ring. I don’t know, I was in a deep dream or something. Then just called it right back. He told me the news, I was pumped and that was at 6:45 in the morning. I called back around 7:15 or 7:30 and didn’t get back to sleep after that. Just calling my parents and other people that are close to me and just letting them know about the news. Everyone was just happy for me and really proud.
On potentially being reunited with Duncan Keith in a defensive pairing:
I have no idea what they’re going to do, but obviously if I played with Duncs again that’d be great. I thought we were a really good pair at the last Olympics, but whatever situation they put me in – whether it’s just playing a few minutes or a lot of minutes – it really doesn’t matter to me. I’m just happy to be a part of that team and I’ll do whatever it takes to help them win a gold medal.
On the pressure for the Canadians to win gold again:
Canada expects nothing but gold when it comes to hockey. We definitely, I’m sure, feel that pressure. But at the same time, guys are on that team because they thrive under pressure. We’re just looking forward to the opportunity. Like I said, I’m sure just everyone is focusing on their club teams and playing hard for them. Then when the Olympics come around, we’re in that mindset. Winning the gold medal and doing the best we can for our country.
For more Olympic reaction – including Slava Voynov discussing last week what being named to the Olympics would mean to him – follow this link.
Rules for Blog Commenting
Repeated violations of the blog rules will result in site bans, commensurate with the nature and number of offenses.
Please flag any comments that violate the site rules for moderation. For immediate problems regarding problematic posts, please email zdooley@lakings.com.