‘Exactly what you wanted’: Spokane Chiefs GM Matt Bardsley revels in ‘amazing’ Olympic men’s hockey final

Like many Americans, Spokane Chiefs general manager Matt Bardsley got up early on Sunday to watch the crowning jewel of the Milan Cortina Olympics – the men’s hockey final between the U.S. and Canada.

The game, featuring two squads full of NHL players, was emotional and hard-fought – and not decided until U.S. forward Jack Hughes scored 1 minute, 41 seconds into overtime, giving the U.S. men’s team its first Olympic gold since the “Miracle on Ice” team in 1980.

“It was an amazing game,” Bardsley said. “It’s kind of amazing how, down the stretch, there were so many overtime games, and then, sure enough, the gold medal game was an overtime game as well.”

Rooting interests aside, with the top players in the world eligible to play for their home countries for the first time since 2014, the quality of play – not just in the gold-medal game, but for the entire tournament – was nothing short of spectacular. It’s a boon for the game globally, and specifically in the U.S.

“I think it just speaks to just the global impact on the game of hockey,” Bardsley said. “There aren’t any weak countries anymore. Maybe some teams don’t have the depth of it, as with the Canadians and the Americans, but there’s still some high-end players on every roster. It’s great to see just how much the impact is overall and in the hockey world.”

While the U.S. and Canadian teams were populated entirely with NHL players, a few countries even carried players from the Western Hockey League.

“It speaks to the quality of our league,” Bardsley said. “I think with this new landscape, we see more and more Americans deciding to come to the Western league. Hopefully we’ll start to see that more so impact, you know, the U.S. World Junior teams, even the Olympic teams. I think we’ll start to see more CHL players on those rosters.”

Bardsley was in Kennewick last night to watch the Chiefs beat Tri-City 7-1 . But the late night and early turnaround didn’t deter him from setting his alarm to witness the spectacle of the gold-medal game.

“I was up at 5 a.m. to get up to watch the game,” he said.

Bardsley remembered how much the “Miracle on Ice” game meant to the growth of American hockey in the ’80s and ’90s, and thinks Sunday’s game will have a similar effect.

“USA Hockey (the sport’s governing body in the U.S.) has done a tremendous job over the years with their programs,” he said. “From youth hockey all the way up, and when you see the rosters and … (players) are just from everywhere in North America – whether you’re from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Florida, just everywhere. I think there’s a lot of young kids that get involved with the sport.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of young kids that were watching (on Sunday) and it makes them excited, and they certainly want to be part of it. I’m sure it’s gonna certainly have an effect.”

Bardsley said there was plenty of good-natured ribbing in the Chiefs office the last couple of weeks between the Americans and the Canadians on staff, especially within the coaching staff and the players.

Currently, the Chiefs have three Americans on the active roster: forwards Brody Gillespie (Vancouver, Washington), Tyus Sparks (Meridian, Idaho) and Gavin Burcar (Cota De Caza, California).

Bardsley believes the new rule allowing players to enter college hockey after playing in the WHL will entice more American players to join the league while still having the option to play in college down the road.

“We’re going to see more and more of the top-end Americans under 16 and 17 coming in the league,” he said. “They may decide at some point to continue on to NCAA, or maybe they just go right into the NHL or AHL. … Our focus is still trying to get guys ready for the NHL. We want them to sign contracts. If they’re not quite ready for pro hockey then, there’s certainly a great option with the NCAA.”

Bardsley feels it’s “massive” having hockey so prominently displayed in NBC’s coverage the past few weeks.

“It’s so big for the sport. … I mean, these are some of the best players in the world, and I think what was important is it shows just how competitive the guys are. These players are going to return back to their (NHL) teams this coming week and then they’re getting ready for a playoff run. They were playing hard – it wasn’t like it was just some all-star -type game. In some cases they were playing against teammates out there.”

He wholeheartedly supports the use of NHL players in the Olympics to sell the sport on the biggest possible stage.

“It just helps the brand of the NHL. There’s probably a lot of people that are just casual fans, and then watch the Olympics this week, and now are probably have a favorite player or favorite team now. So I think it’s huge.”

Unlike the other “big four” sports in America, international competition is not uncommon in hockey, with major competitions taking place each year for junior players.

Gillespie, forward Assanali Sarkenov (Kazakhstan) and goalies Carter Esler (Canada) and Linus Vieillard (Germany) have all represented their countries in international competition this season. Former Chiefs forward Tommaso De Luca, who played in Spokane in the 2022-23 season and now plays in the Swiss National League, played for Team Italy in the Olympics.

“That was real exciting,” Bardsley said. “Once he was named to the team, we reached out to Tommy. I know he was excited to represent his country and to see him out there playing against some of his favorite players growing up – that was really cool.”

And even though he’s been in the industry for a long time, a game and tournament like this made Bardsley feel like a fan again.

“To watch it at that level, where everyone was probably hoping it was going to be Canada and U.S., and for it to go all the way down to overtime. I mean, it was just an incredible game. And regardless of who you’re rooting for, it was exactly what you wanted – that type of a moment. It just puts the NHL on the map, even more so than it was before. They gained a lot more fans that maybe they didn’t have before.”