Hockey Canada is naming Jon Cooper of Prince George, British Columbia as the head coach of the Olympic team for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo. Cooper is the current head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League.
Cooper has been very successful as the Lightning coach over the last dozen years. In 879 games, he has a record of 525 wins, 279 regulation losses, and 75 losses in extra time for 1125 points, and an excellent winning percentage of .640.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Cooper has also had great success. Twice the Lightning have won the Stanley Cup. In 2020, Tampa Bay beat the Dallas Stars four games to two at Rogers Place in Edmonton during the bubble, and in 2021, the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens in five games. At the American Hockey League level, Cooper also won a Calder Cup with the Norfolk Admirals in 2012.
At the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo, the NHL players will be returning to the Olympic Games. While the NHL participated in the Olympics, Canada won three gold medals. They were victorious at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
