Steve Yzerman was a member of the Canadian team that won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics. (Larry MacDougal/Canadian Press)Steve Yzerman will be handed the responsibility of rebuilding the Canadian Olympic men's hockey team into a gold-medal winning squad.
Hockey Canada is expected to announce Saturday that Yzerman will serve as executive director of Team Canada for the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The team's management staff for the 2010 Games will also be announced at the afternoon news conference in Ottawa.
Yzerman, currently a vice-president with the Detroit Red Wings, was general manager of the Canadian teams that won silver and gold medals at the last two world hockey championships.
The former Wings forward replaces Wayne Gretzky, who was the executive director for the Canadian team that won gold at Salt Lake City in 2002 and failed to win a medal in Turin, Italy, in 2006.
Yzerman's appointment was one of the worst-kept secrets in hockey.
"I don't think it's any secret that [Yzerman] is obviously going to take over the team," Gretzky told the Ottawa Sun this week. "I'm always somehow and some way going to be connected with Team Canada because I've been around so much and so often. But quite frankly, I'll have a minimal role."
Yzerman led the Wings to three Stanley Cups during his 21-year career in the NHL before retiring in 2006 as the sixth-leading scorer in league history with 1,755 career points.
The future Hall of Famer was also a member of the Canadian Olympic team that won a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Games.
With filkes from the Canadian Press
