OverDrive - Johnson on Nylander's injury spotlight, Canada's team approach and the roster outlook

Episode Date: February 10, 2026

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around Canada's outlook at the Winter Olympics, the team being around the village, the approach for the country, William Nylander's injury, the line combinations for the team and more.

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He joins us down the Maple Toyota Hotline. Johnny, where do you stand on this? You know, Canada, should they stay in the village, stay in a hotel? What kind of benefits come from staying in a hotel compared to being in the village? where do you stand on this topic? If it was me, guys, I would split it down the middle. I would want the experience of the village because it is uniquely Olympian

and I would take the first week, the round robin and hang in the village and be around other athletes and see what goes on there and have that experience. And then once we got to the playing game and the quarterfinals and elimination stuff, I'm going to a hotel where I know it will be quiet,

Will there be no parties for athletes who have finished their competitions where I can sleep on a grown-up-sized bed and not these little twin things they're on and not have a roommate? And then also maybe be with my family. All things that I would like to do to have my preparation be the most controlled so that I'm at my best when it matters most.

I would try to split it down the middle. If I had to do one or the other, I would leave early and not stay at all. But I think I'd like to stay for a few days. So Johnny, like there is... I have some of the fun, and then when it's time to get real serious, which is, you know, all the time, then go.

Yeah, so Johnny, there is an option for the guys to do something like that? Like, is that what's coming out of there? You can for a couple days stay in the village and then decide to take the hotel type of thing? So the way I understood it was that they all went to the village to start. They all spent whatever a couple days there. And then it was an easily... pitched that they were sort of allowed to choose individually when if and when they wanted to go.

But then that turned into, we'll make a decision as a team and everyone on the team will go at the same time or stay at the same time. And I think they've already gone. I think they've already decided they're out. And as of today, they're in the hotel. So I think it was initially pitched as whatever you need, whatever you want, you go get that experience. And then the group of players decided whatever we decide, let's not have some guys leaving some guys staying where they're in it or all leaving and I think they've all left well I like that I mean if you're going to do it you obviously can't be split up everyone's got to be connected and um you know that's no that's a big a big part of the conversation you know the few days leading up to the first game is how quickly can

a team come together what is reasonable in your mind johnny i mean these guys are all pros they've all played hockey their whole lives on different teams like what is reasonable for John Cooper to actually expect in terms of the lines connecting, the communication to be there for all these guys. You know, how much can they get in for the three or four days prior to them actually playing? I mean, I think the connections between these guys is hazy would be pretty tight, right? Whether it's all international play or drafts or playoffs or All-Star or whatever it might be, same agents, whatever. They're all pretty well connected. I think one of the real strengths of Team Canada is historically is that they have the ability,

to take these great players who are the best guys in their team. And then when they come to play for Team Canada, whether it's the World Juniors or at the Olympics, whatever, they take whatever role they're assigned and just roll with it. They don't pout. They don't make a scene. They do everything kind to get together and support each other in the name of being as good as they can for Canada.

So I think in that sense, it should not take that long to get along and gel and become harmonious. Plus, they have a lot of players that play to the Four Nations. went through that, I'll be a quick, very emotional run to that win. I think a little longer to get maybe chemistry on the ice. In the Four Nations, we didn't really see it. OLS into exactly consistent lines. And so it might take the first three games, the round-robin games, to figure out who's

going to play with who, how it all is going to shake out, and maybe some consistency there. But as far as getting along and getting together as a team, I would expect that almost immediately. Johnny, what is the purpose of shutting out the media of practice? Like, it's such a big event. There's such a delay. And, like, you guys are wheeling around outside the building. Did you not find that a little bit ridiculous? Yeah, it was so strange.

Like, like, what's the advantage now? They would tell you that they were practicing that day, oh, in the practice rink. And in that practice rink, there was, like, literally maybe a 10-foot deep by 50-foot-long. little cubby in the corner. That's where all the media has to go. And it's six feet from the boards and it's ice level. Like there's no stand in the practice rink. So I think what John Cooper was trying that having that many people hustling and shuffling around the boards, which only like and distracting, I don't buy it for a second. Like, who cares? Like you're there, you know, there's nothing secretive you're doing. Apparently they didn't really do much secretive. But

they weren't the first thing to do it. Sweden blacked out the media. it first. And it's almost like Canada said, well, they did it. So now we can do it. And it won't be a big deal except it's Canada. So it is. But then Jackie has done it since then. Like a whole bunch of teams have done it because they can. I don't know. They have to go through media anyways, oh? So you guys can tell me, I have never in my entire life been distracted by media at practice. I could not pay less attention if I tried to what media might be doing while I'm practicing or pregame skating or whatever. So I don't necessarily buy that, but they can.

So they did. It probably almost had the opposite effect because it became a story when they probably didn't want it to be. But there's no real good reason for them to do it other than they could. With Mike Johnson. So, Johnny, in terms of injury news over there, we were talking about William Neelander last hour. And Willie, you know, it's been a week since the Leaf's plate. He's been over there for a handful of days. and he's not practicing.

So Sweden's out there practicing and Willie's not practicing. He has been on the ice haze over here. Not today, but previously, previous today, he has been on the ice. So what do you make of this, though? Where does the responsibility lie with Willie? You know, if he's not at 100%, he's going to play. He's going to give it a shot. But where could this story go if, you know, he's really injured?

And how does it relate back to what he owes the Maple Leafs in terms of his own health down the stretch? So what is sort of like the correct answer and the practical answer are two different things, right? Like the right answer is like if you're not healthy and you're putting your body at rifts and you shouldn't play because you owe it to the Maple Leafs to not play and to be healthy for what you're trying to do in Toronto. They pay you. They're the reason why you're employed. You can't just go outside that relationship and say, I don't care if I hurt myself and ruin the rest of my season. I'm doing it anyways. That's not how it should go.

How it would go, though, is he will, if he's going to take a day off, they play Italy tomorrow, so they certainly don't need William Nylander for that game. And maybe he takes the first game or two off until he feels closer to 100%. But make no mistake, come next week, he's going to play. He's going to give it a whirl. And if that means he aggravates his groin or whatever's going on and he misses a week when he comes back to Toronto, so be it. And I think teams find themselves in a bind because this is so important to players,

and players have waited so long. I don't know if teams feel comfortable. Now we can say, oh, I can see, oh, rolling his eyes. Get out of there. You play for my team. You're not allowed to play. But I don't know how many organizations feel comfortable saying that to their best players who have waited so long for this.

They don't want to be viewed as the heavy or the bad guy telling their guys that they can't fulfill this dream. So I get it. It's tricky. Jack Hughes, right? He didn't play a game. He comes over here. All of a sudden he's pronounced healthy.

Is he healthy? He's going to play right. hasn't even played a game for New Jersey. If your jersey, you're like, well, wait a second, you shouldn't be there at all. But Gabe Landisog, same thing, but they're all going to play, and they're all going to play game one except for Willie, who may be aggravated something skating over here, but he'll hang until the end, and if he can get in for one, two, three games,

he will wait until then and get in whenever he can. Well, he's their most important forward, and that is another part of this. You know, he's their best player up front. You know, Lucas Raymond's good player, Bratz a good player. You know, Forrestberg's a good player. But they need them, man. And that, I'm sure, is a big factor here is, you know, I think it's, this is a legacy two weeks.

You know, it's not just about, you know, as a kid, you dreamt of it. This would be really cool. The brotherhood of being in the room. There's a legacy to this, especially in your home country, where, you know, if you're a kneelander and you can find a way to grind this out and play great and win a gold medal, you're a king. Yeah, you're a absolute God in Sweden. There's no way he's going to give that up. He's not going to do it.

No. And none of us would. Nobody would. Right. Right? Like, saying what he should do because that's sort of like, you know, the contractual obligations, none of us would abide that either. I'm not criticizing him. We would all do the same thing. Like, no, I'm going to play.

I'll deal with the fallout later. And you know how athletes think. We never think we're going to get hurt. We never think it's going to be worse. It'll only, I'll manage you. it, it won't get worse, it probably gets better. That's how we all always think. Even though we are naive to suggest that that's the case, we don't care, we try it anyways. So we'll see, yeah, it's sort of the one, he's the one guy that's kind of cropped up as injured since he's

come over here and no games have taken place. So it tells you something's obviously not feeling very good if he can't even get through a practice without feeling bothered by whatever's going on. Johnny, athletes, athletes know when they're being stupid too. Like you guys know we, ball. You know when you're hurt and you're just going out there and you're like, I know this isn't going to work, but I'm just going to try. Like there's also the stupid element, too, or if you're just being stupid, that's reckless, man. Yeah, but yes, but I guess, you know, you're hoping that you can tape it up.

But I guess if you're in this tournament, you're allowed to dress 20 skaters, right? So you're going to have 13 forwards, most likely in every game. So Willie could say, listen, I'm not feeling great, but. give me a shot tape it up give me a pill whatever I'll try it and if I can't make it then I'll just sit and watch as the 13th guy like you're not you know it gives you an out

that you're not really hurting the team either which makes it again harder like you can maybe talk yourself into well it's better for the team that you know whoever plays Marcus Johansson plays because he's healthy over me doesn't matter now because you don't have to make that choice

with the extra forward he's gonna play He's going to stay and try to play. And I would be stunned, given how well he played at the end of the run with the Maple Leafs. He looked amazing those last couple games. I did the game in Calgary. He was like another planet good that he would have done something over here in practice that would tweak it to the degree that it has that he won't be able to play for two full weeks. So, Johnny, where are you at with Team Canada?

I mean, what's your biggest storyline? Is it just as simple as low-hanging fruit of the goaltending? Is it the defensive depth? Is it what John Cooper deploys is his top three, four lines? Like what are you watching for come Thursday and moving forward? So first thing is, of course, the most obvious story, right? It's Jordan Middington. I'm assuming it's going to be him.

It's got to be a good test, right? Cheki is going to be good. They're going to be difficult to play against. And if he doesn't play well or the team doesn't get the result they want, then they'll make a decision right away. Like I think Logan Thompson probably plays against Switzerland. in the next game. So that's obviously something we're going to watch really closely.

What happens there? And the other part, to me, Noodles, is the fact that they got McDavid McKinnon, Crosby, one, two, three. And that Cid is not playing with Nathan McKinnon. They put Nick Suzuki on the wing and Sidney Crosby in the middle. And Crosby's playing with Stone and Marner, two of the best defensive wingers in the league. Is that going to be the ultimate sort of shut down, lock it down, defensive, counterattack team that takes good defense,

plays against other teams, best players, and then goes and scores. Like, Sid doesn't really do that. Not that he can't, but he doesn't really, and has really never done that role in his NHL career, specifically as a defensive guy. So that to me, Nehoul's, like, how does that one, two, three, those

three, and those are the three biggest stars, you know, for Canada in this tournament, and how they get deployed down the middle on all on separate lines. Yeah, that's an interesting one, because, you know, If it's strength up the middle of the ice and noodles, you talked about it yesterday.

What Cooper took out of the Four Nations was you can't play someone 22, 23 minutes. You know, it's just, it's too fast, it's too crazy. There's too much, you know, energy and anxiety in the building. So you may be. You need three lines men hazy. Exactly. And if you're going to do that, your three best options are those guys. You know, McDavid McKinnon, Sid.

But, you know, if he gets off that, and I think at some point in the tournament, he likely will, is that just the obvious one for you, Johnny, that it goes Sid to McKinnon? Yeah. I find an interesting, Marjohn's on his line. Like, Marshaun's not, like, at the Four Nations, he was like their 13th forward, basically. You could barely move, and he's been good this year,

but he's not a young guy, and he's playing in the top six. But, yeah, I guess, you know, Sid, Sid, McKinnon, Suzuki, if Suzuki can hold on, it's his first Olympic games, too. I mean, I expect a lot of movement between now and basically the medal round. Well, that's what we got in the Four Nations, right?

Like, it was a constant shuffle. And there was a bit more time in this tournament. Six, maybe seven games, depending on how things go. So they have more runway to figure things out. But that's a couple of things. Like, does Tom Wilson work with McDavid? Maybe, maybe not. Did Suzuki and Crosby stay sort of like Crosby in the middle of Suzuki on the wing?

Maybe, maybe not. Can Marchand play at this pace for two weeks? That's going to be seven games in. what? 10 days, 11 days, even though there's no travel, that's a lot. And like Brandon Hagel, who is one of the best five-on-five players in the league, and Coop's guy, he's a fourth liner. Sam Reinhardt, who his money is a fourth liner. So it's not like they don't have great options hanging around just in case, plus Sam Bennett,

plus Seth Jarvis. So, yeah, I don't expect, if it stays the same, then things are going shockingly well. And I can't imagine they'll be that smooth, so there will be some movement up front for sure. And on defense, you know, we'll see how it shakes out. You know, Morrissey and Theodore were together. You know,

how it shakes out after Tatea and McCarro will be interesting. Those guys will play 24, and then after that we'll see what comes to the rest of the defense. Is there a hot tub time machine for Jordan Bennington over there, or what? How do you think he's going to... Oh, it's a trillion-dollar question. So you want to believe there is, right? Because he's sort of done this, right?

He was great in the clutch when he won a cup. He was great in the clutch in the Four Nations. He's been probably the worst goalie, maybe the second worst goal in the league this year. Like he's like 82 out of 83. So his play in the NHL gives you no reason to think that, oh yeah, he'll flip the switch. And when they play Sweden in the semifinals,

that he'll be able to go, you know, 34 or 35. and win a 3-1 game. He hasn't shown. Of course he can, but the likelihood of it, likelihood of it is not great, except, I don't know. You know?

You don't know. He's obviously, he can do it, but he just hasn't shown it. Maybe Nudels could answer this today. Can you snap to it? Does the Canadian jersey do something to his focus? Does the organization of the team in front of him do something for the predictability?

I don't know. I think for sure, at least Logan Thompson will play probably against Switzerland no matter what. But, you know, Jordan Binnington, if he beats Czechia, he's probably the goaltender record the whole tournament. Because then he'll get,

wherever they play France in game three, and then he'll be on in the elimination games, and he'll be the guy. So if he wins to Thursday, he's the guy. If he loses, he probably doesn't play again. Yeah. Yeah, it's true.

I'll say you quick, man, and there's a history of that, right? Like, there's a history of that. Gujo and Broder. Yep, Broder in a long ago. It happens. so maybe they're preparing for that. All right, Johnny, well, enjoy yourself over there. I'm sure we'll do it again later in the week.

We're looking forward to it. All right, boys. Finally, I feel like I've been here for two weeks already. Walk you guys down in the Super Bowl. I'm like, let's get the games going already. I'm tired of talking about it. Let's see some action. Love it.

Can't wait. Enjoy buddy. Tell Duffy, he's dead to me. I'll never speak to that guy again. Him and his best friend, Biaza. I love it. Disgusting. I'll be sure to pass on the matter.

message. Yeah, please do. Thanks, John. All right, boys. Here's Mike Johnson. Yeah, it's a weird world, the Olympics, because Douthi's over there with Biazza. I sent him a text today. I go, I was serious.

I go, Jimmy, you do any, like, laugh-y-lap panels with Biazza? I'll never speak to you again. And as soon as I text him, that Rishog sent me a picture of those two basically walking arm-in-arm. Best friends. Streets of Milan. Oh, loving each other's company. having a great time. Having a great time.

That's a quick turnaround for JD. I will say that. Right from San Francisco, right to there. Yeah. I mean, that's good on him. That's a long haul. It is a long haul. Johnny joining us on the Maple Toyota hotline.

It's time to Toyota in the 2025 Prius. Go up to 72 kilometers on battery alone. Then seamlessly switch to hybrid mode. Check it out at Maple Toyota right near Canada's Wonderland in the Maple Auto Mall. I'm Dylan Playfair. And I'm Tyler Smith. We're putting loneliness in the penalty box by talking to some of our favorite athletes about the importance of friendship. This is Bromance.

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