Winter Olympics: Canada desperate for hockey success

Ice hockey star Wayne Gretzky shed some tears after Canada flopped to a seventh-place finish at the Olympics four years ago.

The 'Great One' made decisions as Team Canada boss - such as sticking with ageing players who won gold in 2002 - that were widely criticised.

Now, hockey-crazy Canada will be hoping new head coach Steve Yzerman will be shedding tears of joy when the last event of the Winter Olympics comes to its conclusion - the hockey gold medal game.

"At the end of the day, you have to win," Yzerman said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I know that."

The pressure-packed job was handed to Yzerman after Gretzky failed in Turin to recreate the chemistry the Canadians had at the Salt Lake City Games, where they snapped a half-century drought with hockey gold.

Gretzky was overcome with emotion after watching Russia beat his team in the 2006 quarterfinals.

Now, Gretzky is a special adviser behind the scenes. And the NHL's all-time leading scorer is a favourite among speculators to be the Olympic flame's final torchbearer during the Opening Ceremony tomorrow afternoon (NZ time).

But what's it like for the new man to have every move scrutinised by Canadian hockey fans?

"Depends what kind of mood I'm in," Yzerman joked. "Everybody has an opinion and none of them are wrong. But it's not like a fantasy team. You can't just look at stats."

Yzerman's credentials are tough to beat.

The 44-year-old from Cranbrook, British Columbia, won three Stanley Cups and is regarded as perhaps the best captain in NHL history. He experienced the high of helping Canada win gold in 2002 and the disappointment of a fourth-place finish at the 1998 Nagano Games in two of his eight international competitions as a player.

As general manager, Yzerman led Canada to gold at the 2007 world championships and silver the next year.

One of his players, San Jose Sharks centre Joe Thornton believes Yzerman's leadership will help Canada reach its gold-or-bust goal.

"As soon as Stevie walks in the room, he has a presence like (legendary players) Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux," Thornton said.

* TV coverage of the Opening Ceremony from Vancouver: 3pm Saturday (NZT) on Prime

- AP