Playoff beards have long been a ritual among pro hockey players. But Canadian Olympic hockey team general manager Steve Yzerman is known to prefer the smooth-shaven look.

While no official decision has been made, according to Hockey Canada, Yzerman asked players in 2010 not to wear any facial hair while skating for their country at the Vancouver Olympics.

Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson supported the decision by Yzerman to ask for no beards.

“He wants everyone to be respectable and we’ve never had an issue with this,” Nicholson said.

A no-beard request would not sit well with some fur-loving fans.

Jared Crozier, who describes himself online as a diehard Ottawa Senators fan, has called for the Olympic players to begin immediately growing their “playoff beards.”

To him, playoff beards have become symbolic of the Stanley Cup playoff battles, and he believes this tradition should be carried over into Team Canada’s fight for gold in Sochi. It would be a good “team-building exercise,” he suggests on the website senshot.com.

The Canadian Olympic Committee has no restrictions on any athlete wearing a beard at the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee has no problem either. The only sport that bans beards in Olympic competition is boxing.

Nicholson said that Hockey Canada has a written policy for the under-18 and under-20 junior teams that they cannot have beards during international competitions. There is a dress code for those players as well.

In 2010, Yzerman called everyone to discuss the matter. “Last time, we had ongoing calls with the players,” Nicholson explained.

At the recent world junior championships, all the Canadians wore jackets and ties to games, and the Hockey Canada boss noted that the Canadian team was the best-dressed team at the championships, held in Sweden.

Yzerman has come clean since he played for Team Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. At those Games, where the Canadian men won hockey gold, Yzerman wore facial hair that at least resembled a beard.

“That might have taken him all year to grow. He still can’t grow one,” Nicholson said, laughing.

Curiously, the San Jose Sharks’ Joe Thornton — who has saved lots of money on razor blades over the years — was a controversial snub when the Olympic roster was named this week. Looking at team photos from the 2010 Olympics, while there is certainly some 5 o’clock shadow on more than a few of the players, Thornton is the only one on the team with a true beard.

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Before any hair-raising complaints come in, we’re not suggesting for a minute that his beard had anything to do with the fact that Yzerman left him off the team this time. We’re sure it’s just a coincidence.