Phoenix Coyotes goalie Mike Smith is one of Canada’s three goalies in Sochi, and with that he knows what the expectations are.
Smith tells the Coyotes’ website what he thinks of Canada’s chances are at the Olympic Games and he knows it’s gold or bust.
“The expectation is (to win) a gold medal. Anything else is a failure.” Smith said. “That pressure is fun to be a part of. I think everyone expects us to win gold. It’s gotten a lot harder over the years with how good everyone else has gotten and kind of caught up to Canada in a sense, but that makes it that much more fun.”
Those words might be blunt, but he’s not wrong.
Canada has arguably the best talent in Sochi and they are the odds on favorites to win gold. Add this along with Don Cherry saying it would be a “disaster” if Canada doesn’t win gold and you’ve got sky-high expectations.
He might not factor into whether or not Canada wins gold (he’s backing up Carey Price and Roberto Luongo), but Smith knows the stakes on the line.
