Canada hockey roster: Eric Staal, Owen Power headline former NHL players, prospects in 2022 Winter Olympics

The 2022 Canadian men's Olympic ice hockey roster was revealed Tuesday and it has some familiar names on it. Several long-tenured NHL veterans like five-time All-Star Eric Staal, Daniel Winnik and Jason Demers will suit up in Beijing, as will two of the game's brightest young stars in Owen Power and Mason McTavish.

There are no active NHL players on this year's Olympic team as the league opted not to send them to Beijing and decided to forgo the Olympic break and make up games postponed because of COVID-19. The NHL didn't send any players to the 2018 games, either, though three players from that 2018 team are making return trips in 2022.

Here is the Canadian men's hockey team's roster ahead of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. The men's ice hockey competition will begin Feb. 9.

BEIJING OLYMPICS: Why NHL players aren't competing in 2022 games

Canada Olympic hockey roster 2022

Unlike Team USA, Team Canada is laden with players with major NHL experience and Olympic experience. Seventeen of the 25 players selected to Team Canada have NHL experience, headlined by Eric Staal, who's been named to the All-Star game five times and has 1,293 games and nearly 1,100 points to his credit

Staal (2nd overall in 2003), along with Josh Ho-Sang (28th, 2014), Mason McTavish (3rd, 2021), Brandon Gormley (13th, 2010) and this year's first overall pick Owen Power are the former first-rounders on the roster.

There are also four former Olympians on the team. Staal represented Canada and took home gold in 2010, while Eric O'Dell, Maxim Noreau and Mat Robinson all suited up in 2018 and took home bronze medals.

Who coaches Canada's men's ice hockey team?

To go alongside the veteran NHL presences on Team Canada, there are several NHL vets who'll be on the bench as well.

Most notably is 2010 Stanley Cup winner Claude Julien, who was most recently fired by the Canadiens 18 games into last season. Prior to that, Julien had been an NHL head coach continually since 2002 and amassed a career record of 667-445-152 and made the playoffs 10 times as a coach. He was also an assistant for Team Canada in 2014 when they took home a gold medal

Among Julien's assistants include former Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton, who was relieved of his duties earlier this season after his team got off to a 1-9-2 start. He compiled a record of 87-92-26 and made the playoffs once in three full seasons as head coach. The other assistants include longtime Hockey Canada vet Tyler Dietrich and former NHL assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner

Former NHL forward Shane Doan is the team's general manager. 

Canada Olympics medal history

The Canadian men have historically been very successful, with 15 Olympic medals to their credit. Much of that was in the early period of the Olympic games, as they won gold in six of seven Olympic cycles from 1920-52. They won gold in 1952, which set up a 50-year gold medal drought before finally reclaiming the top spot in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

In addition to their early success, Team Canada has been good recently, as well. They've medaled in four out of the last six Olympic cycles, including a bronze in 2018, when the NHL decided not to send any of its players to compete.

Canada Olympics hockey schedule

Team Canada is one of the 12 teams that qualified for the Beijing Olympics. It will be playing in Group A. Its group-play opponents will be the United States, China and Germany.