Joe Thornton, Brad Pascall, Hnat Domenichelli to lead Canada’s management team for 2023 Spengler Cup
Recently retired forward Joe Thornton and Calgary Flames assistant GM Brad Pascall will co-manage Canada’s roster for the 2023 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
Hnat Domenichelli, who played for Canada in four Spengler Cups and with Switzerland at the 2010 Olympics, will serve as an assistant GM.
Thornton, 44, officially retired from the NHL on Saturday afternoon after last playing with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22. Drafted first overall in 1997 by the Boston Bruins, a big part of Thornton’s illustrious career revolves around Davos and the Spengler Cup. He first joined the famed Swiss club during the 2004-05 lockout, scoring 10 goals and 54 points in 40 games en route to a National League title. He also won the Spengler with Davos with a five-point run in five games.
Thornton would rejoin Davos for the 2012-13 lockout, putting up another five points during the tournament that year. Canada won gold that winter with a stacked lineup that included Matt Duchene, Patrice Bergeron, John Tavares, Jason Spezza and Ryan Smyth, while Davos also had Patrick Kane, Rick Nash, Loui Eriksson and Radek Dvorak.
With Team Canada, Thornton racked up some of the game’s most prestigious honors in international hockey. He helped Canada win gold at the 1997 world juniors before winning the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. That same season, he won silver at the World Championship, earning MVP honors with 16 points in the process. He’d stay quiet on the international scene for a few years before winning Olympic gold in 2010 and the World Cup in his final Team Canada appearance in 2016.
Thornton is expected to be a first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer when the time comes. In 24 NHL seasons, Thornton registered 430 goals and 1,539 points in 1,714 games. While he never managed to win the Stanley Cup, his results at every other level make him a no-brainer to join the game’s elite.
Canada is the most successful team in Spengler Cup history, winning the event 16 times – one more than host Davos. Canada failed to win a single game in 2022 for the first time ever, and last won the title in 2019 – with the 2020 and 2021 tournaments getting cancelled due to COVID-19.