In less than a year the puck drops on the Ice Hockey portion of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, and already the defending champions have more than a slight reason to be concerned.

Canada goes into the tournament looking to gain their third gold medal in the event after an iconic victory on home ice in Vancouver. However, Canada’s group stage draw has already presented it with an obstacle, one which some would consider major, in terms of repeating that Gold medal performance.

It has long been said that in the sport of hockey, for Canada it is Gold and nothing else. This is again the mentality when Canada visits Sochi, the most hostile environment in which the program has ever set foot in with its modern era Olympic squad. This will be a new test for a Hockey Canada program thriving off 2010, amongst the biggest accomplishments the country has ever produced in their history – in any sport.

The Canadian team has never had such a weak group to start a tournament since the Olympics expanded to include professional players. In Nagano, Canada was grouped with Sweden and the United States, with the only weak link being Belarus. Salt Lake only saw a deeper pool for Canada, with Sweden, the Czech Republic and Germany all representing solid opposition. 2006, Canada’s biggest struggle in the group stage, contained Finland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy. Most recently in Vancouver, Canada was put up against the likes of the United States, Switzerland and Norway.

Norway represents the only group level holdover from 2010 – Canada’s other two group stage opponents are Finland and Austria. Among those teams Finland is the only one that can be categorized as elite opposition. While Norway may have a few recognizable faces and a number of players playing at a decent level in Europe, they are still inferior to the majority of teams in this competition. Furthermore, they lack any sort of star power. Austria have star power provided by Thomas Vanek and Michael Grabner, but are otherwise are probably the weakest team in the group.

The main problem for Canada in a group like this is competition. In the two Olympic games that Canada has won a Gold medal they have lost in the preliminary round both times. Each of these losses have helped the team to discover themselves as well as ultimately their starting goaltender. It is a possibility that Canada could lose to Finland in the group stage, but not incredibly likely. Finland is currently a team in transition with its big stars getting close to retirement age. This doesn’t mean Canada has to lose in order to win, but they need competition to find out important details about their squad.

This means Canada could escape to the playoff round without a major obstacle. Meanwhile, the other contenders will all have faced at least two high calibre teams before they turn their attention towards the one-game elimination portion of the tournament. That bye can be incredibly dangerous – it always has been. It has caused major havoc for the Canadian World Junior Team who have twice advanced to the semi-finals only to be completely outclassed by their opposition. The obvious difference being that the Canadian Olympic team is far more experienced and professional then the Juniors, so a wait between games shouldn’t be as big of a problem.

But ask Russia about how their quarter-final went at last years tournament. After advancing to the Quarter Finals they met a far hungrier Canadian team who absolutely destroyed them on every level of the competition. A Canadian team who was fresh off a bonus game against the Germans. The Russians were flat and clearly unprepared for Canada and a match-up that should have been an Olympic epic turned into a blowout.

The same could happen to Canada. They could be unprepared for their Quarter Final opponent who has played an extra game and exit the tournament far earlier than hoped. It could also carry over into a Semi-Final round, especially if Canada’s Quarter Final adversary isn’t particularly compelling. They could enter the major stages of the tournament without having faced adversity. Even Finland, who make no doubt are an elite team, would not be considered a medal favourite.

Obviously in a year’s time all of these questions will become answers, again if NHL players are even allowed to participate in Sochi. This group draw could benefit Canada, as they have a possibility to try different line combinations with little risk. However, the second the draw was released it was a red flag for several individuals who cover the flag.

A red flag that Canada will have to overcome to see them rise in Sochi.

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