canada has the most olympic men's hockey gold medals.
who has the most olympic men's hockey gold medals?
canada
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for the first 40 years of the tournament, canada did not have a national team, instead choosing to send a club team, typically the allan cup winner. in 1960, the kitchener-waterloo dutchmen became the final club team to represent canada at the olympics. in 1962, canada implemented a national team program, led by father david bauer. between 1920 and 1952, seven olympic ice hockey tournaments were held and canada won six gold medals and a silver in 1936. the soviet union began competing in 1956 and frequently defeated the canadian team. the soviets won seven gold medals in nine tournaments; during that period canada won a silver and two bronze medals. the olympic games were originally intended for amateur athletes, so the players of the national hockey league (nhl) and other professional leagues were not allowed to compete. many of canada's top players were professional, so the canadian amateur hockey association (caha) pushed for the ability to use professional and amateur players. the international olympic committee (ioc) refused, and canada withdrew from the 1972 and 1976 olympics in protest. in 1986, the ioc voted to allow all athletes to compete in olympic games, starting in 1988. the nhl decided not to allow all players to participate in 1988, 1992 or 1994, because doing so would force the league to halt play during the olympics. an agreement was reached in 1995 that allowed nhl players to compete in the olympics, starting with the 1998 games in nagano, japan. national teams are co-ordinated by hockey canada and players are chosen by the team's management staff. in 2018, nhl players were not allowed to participate.
list of olympic men's ice hockey players for canada