Medal-winning Olympians return to Canucks practice
Posted February 25, 2014 3:25 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – After winning Olympic gold in Sochi, goalie Roberto Luongo and defenseman Dan Hamhuis were back on the ice with their Canucks teammates today. Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler also returned.
The four players went the distance in Russia, as Canada topped Sweden 3-0 in the gold medal game on Sunday morning. Luongo and Hamhuis didn’t play in the victory, while Sedin and Edler played key roles for the Swedes.
Hamhuis was participating in his first Olympics. “One thing I really enjoyed was just hanging out with the other Canadian athletes in our building and the lounges that we had, and then watching and cheering them on,” says the Smithers native.
Hamhuis served as Canada’s seventh defenseman and didn’t see much ice time during the tournament. Luongo played just one game and recorded a shutout over Austria.
The Canucks suffered seven straight losses heading into the Olympic break, and Luongo says getting away was a positive. “It was a tough couple of weeks there. It’s not easy when you’re not winning, it doesn’t matter how tough you are mentally, losing wears on you. I feel good, I feel energized, and I haven’t given up a goal in two-and-a-half weeks.”
American Ryan Kesler has also returned to Vancouver but did not participate in practice as he awaits MRI results on an injured hand. He was hurt blocking a shot in Sochi.
Injured defenseman Kevin Bieksa was back on the ice and is expected to play tomorrow versus the St. Louis Blues, and Alex Burrows was on the ice without his face shield for the first time since breaking his jaw.
Captain Henrik Sedin took a second consecutive personal day and is scheduled to return from Sweden tomorrow morning. He will likely be back in time to play against the Blues.
The Canucks sit 10th in the Western Conference standings with a record of 27-24-9 and 22 games to be played. They’re trying to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-2008 campaign.
