“I would have gone. It would have been my last chance to have this experience. “Like his teammate Brad Marchand the day before, Patrice Bergeron expressed Monday his” disappointment “at not being able to represent Canada at the Beijing Olympics in 2022.
The National Hockey League announced last week that due to COVID-19 outbreaks linked to the Omicron variant around the world, it would not release its players to participate in the Olympic tournament next February.
“I have lived it twice,” Bergeron told the media Monday afternoon. I find it a shame for the guys who never had the chance to participate and for whom it was perhaps the last opportunity. ”
“It’s disappointing as an athlete, he said sorry. As a competitor, you want to take part in these events. I have been there twice and came away with amazing memories. ”
Bergeron concedes that he had “some doubts” about his participation, given what is happening around the world. “I had told my wife about it, but this was my last chance to participate. ”
Canadian Brad Marchand protested against this decision on Sunday. He even went so far as to declare that the NHL “does not care about the Olympics because it does not bring them money”.
” It’s a business and we are resources, he said. Let’s call a spade a spade. They don’t want us to get hurt there, that’s part of it, but it should be the player’s choice to go to this tournament. ”