Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews gets early spot on U.S. Olympic team
The Toronto Maple Leafs 'Captain America' will be part of the United States' bid for an Olympic title.
Article content
Auston Matthews, denied his chance to win the 4 Nations Face-Off final this past February in a showdown with Canada, was among the six Yanks named to their preliminary roster on Monday for the 2026 Games in Milano-Cortina.
Article content
Article content
At the 4 Nations, Matthews showed little sign of a suspected back injury he played through 2024-25 with and has said he intends to be 100% healthy for whatever comes next season.
Article content
Article content
He'll be joined by the scrappy Tkachuk brothers, Matthew (now competing for a Stanley Cup with Florida) and Brady of the Ottawa Senators.
Article content
Also revealed were defencemen Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins, with Vegas star Jack Eichel joining Matthews and the brothers up front.
Article content
Matthew Tkachuk and McAvoy both were hurt during the 4 Nations tournament, while Brady did join his brother in the penalty box in a notorious rough-and-tumble start to a game against Canada in the round-robin group stage.
Article content
'We've seen the unprecedented success of our U.S. teams on the international stage this past season,' American general manager Bill Guerin said of winning the world championship in Sweden last month. 'We need to keep our foot on the gas.
Article content
'We haven't won an Olympic gold in men's hockey since 1980 and we're out to change that.'
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Future of Sport in Canada Commission opens public survey ahead of summit
The Future of Sport in Canada Commission launched its public survey Monday to gather opinions on safe sport and improving the sport system ahead of its fall summit. Article content Among the first questions posed: Have you witnessed or experienced maltreatment in sport, and how big of a problem do you think maltreatment is in organized sport in Canada? Article content Article content Former Olympic skier Allison Forsyth, a founder of Generation Safe and now safe sport officer for Canada Soccer, says while she believes the commission is doing important work, some survey questions assume a level of experience with the national sport system. Article content Forsyth also asks if the person taking the survey knows the definition of maltreatment under the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport. Article content 'When I'm out here doing my work, there's many people in this country at the grassroots level that don't even know what safe sport means,' Forsyth said. 'The questions in the survey are very good, but very specific. Article content 'If it was sent to the public as their opportunity to contribute to the future of sport in Canada … it doesn't do enough to explain to people the foundation of safe sport, what maltreatment is, and what the universal code of conduct is.' Article content The survey is open until August and can be accessed through the website or the commission's social media posts. Article content She's also worked with provincial, university and club sport organizations in Canada, and wanted those levels to be more represented in the survey questions. Article content Article content 'My education and work is the people that matter the most, which is the children in sport at a grassroots level whose parents are entrusting their club to keep their child safe from maltreatment,' Forsyth said. Article content 'If I was a parent, and I am one of high-level hockey players in the youth programs, would I know any of this? The answer, in my opinion, is no because the universal code of conduct to address maltreatment in sport points back to the federal level of sport.'
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Ron Taylor, ex-MLB pitcher and longtime Blue Jays doctor, dead at 87
Dr. Ron Taylor, a two-time World Series-winning pitcher and longtime Toronto Blue Jays team physician, has died. He was 87. Article content The Blue Jays confirmed Taylor's death in a statement Monday. A cause of death was not provided. Article content Article content Taylor, who was born in Toronto on Dec. 13, 1937, played 10 seasons in the majors from 1962 to 1972 after signing with the Cleveland Indians in 1955. Article content Article content He threw 11 scoreless innings at Fenway Park in his big-league debut on April 11, 1962, before surrendering a 12th-inning grand slam in a 4-0 defeat. Article content He joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1963 and helped them win a World Series the following year. Article content He was a key member of the 1969 'Miracle Mets' championship team. He earned a win out of the bullpen against Atlanta in the National League Championship Series, then surrendered no hits in 2 1/3 innings with a save in two appearances in the World Series against the favoured Baltimore Orioles. Article content Taylor also pitched with Houston and San Diego. He had a career 45-43 record with a 3.93 earned-run average, 464 strikeouts and 74 saves. Article content After retiring in 1972, he returned to Toronto and received a medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1977. Article content He joined the Blue Jays as team physician in 1979 and earned the nickname 'Dr. Baseball' as he served in the role for 30 years, a span that included the team's World Series titles in 1992 and 1993. Article content Taylor was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He was appointed to the Order of Ontario by lieutenant governor James Bartleman in 2005. Article content
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada's Beauchemin-Pinard wins silver medal at judo world championships
BUDAPEST – Canada's Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard took the silver medal in the under-63-kilogram weight class at the world judo championships Monday after losing the final bout in extra time. Japan's Haruka Kaju, unbeaten since her World Judo Tour debut last year, withstood Beauchemin-Pinard's ground game and scored a pin for ippon — or full point — in 'golden score' sudden death. It was the second world championship silver for Beauchemin-Pinard, who also finished runner-up in 2022. The 30-year-old from Montreal also won bronze in the weight class at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 and 2020 Pan American championships. Beauchemin-Pinard, who had a bye in the first round, beat South Africa's Jasmine Martin, Slovenia's Kaja Kajzer, Mongolia's Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo and Brazil's Rafaela Silva en route to the final. Three of her four wins came by ippon, but she couldn't continue her dominance against the Japanese rising star. 'It's still really fresh and I think it's going to take me a few more days to digest this defeat, because I felt I could have beaten (Kaju),' Beauchemin-Pinard said. Still, Beauchemin-Pinard said she was proud to reach the podium. 'I'm thrilled with my result,' she said. 'Obviously, immediately after the fight, I was disappointed because the gold medal was well within reach. I felt like I'd lost the gold rather than won silver, but as the day went on, I realized that I had put in a great day's fighting.' In other action, François Gauthier-Drapeau of Alma, Que., lost his first bout in the under-81 kg category to Zaur Dvalashvili of Georgia. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025.
