Armstrong: Smaller Olympic ice 'won't affect' Canada's roster decisions

Team Canada men's Olympic hockey general manager Doug Armstrong isn't going to let the smaller ice surface in Milan impact any roster selections, though it may require some extra film review.

"It won't affect how we choose the roster, but it will be interesting," Armstrong told CBC's Karissa Donkin. "We'll have to get out the old VHS tapes and look at the Aud and the old Boston Gardens to see how to play in that smaller barn."

The IIHF has reportedly approved an ice sheet in Milan that measures 196.85 feet by 85.3 feet - over 3 feet shorter than the standard 200 feet by 85 feet NHL rink. Most European IIHF rinks are roughly the same length but significantly wider, measuring 197 feet by 98.5 feet.

Despite construction delays, the arena in Milan is expected to be ready for test events in January.

Olympic rosters don't need to be submitted until Dec. 31, but Armstrong said Canada's management group will hash out the majority of the squad during a three-day meeting beginning Sunday in Florida.

"We're hoping to walk out of this meeting with a large portion of the group going from pencil to pen," Armstrong told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "The players have had two months to show their wares and now after this, we're really going to home in on the final selection process, take this to the coaches, and find out where they believe the holes are in our group for things that they may need - whether that's penalty killers, power-play people, faceoffs - and sort of use the last month to confirm that our pen players stay in pen, which we hope they will. We think they will. That's been the history of these selection processes.

"And then round out the rest. And make sure if we have injuries from that group, we have a list that we're comfortable with to continue to monitor for replacements."

The men's Olympic tournament begins Feb. 11.