We hope Team USA players like to block shots, because defensive-minded coach John Tortorella is taking charge of the American squad at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
“We’re excited to have John as head coach of our World Cup team,” Dean Lombardi, general manager of Team USA for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey said in a press release Monday. “He knows what it takes to win at the highest level and I know that our entire management group looks forward to working with him and his staff.”
Tortorella was fired as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks after a disappointing 2013-14 season. He hasn’t coached any team since that campaign. The 57-year-old Boston native’s most successful coaching seasons came with the Tampa Bay Lightning, whom he led from 2000-01 through 2007-08 and won a Stanley Cup title in 2003-04.
His international coaching experience includes being an assistant on the 2010 Olympic team.
The United States will be among the top contenders at the new World Cup tournament, which begins next September in Toronto. The U.S. is in Group A, along with Canada, the Czech Republic and Team Europe.
Tortorella is known for employing systems that focus on shot blocking, strong defense and physical play. The U.S. has used a similar approach at the Winter Olympics over the last decade, and the results have been positive (silver medal in 2010, loss to Canada in semifinals in 2014).
Thumbnail photo via John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
