The idea of a national team was the brainchild of Father David Bauer who in 1962 successfully presented the concept to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA).
[1] Bauer, who was then with St. Mark's College and the University of British Columbia, put together the Canadian team, which included Brian Conacher, Roger Bourbonnais, Marshall Johnston, and goaltender Seth Martin who had won the world championship with the Trail Smoke Eaters in 1961.
Team Canada performed well and finished the tournament with five wins and two losses, but lost 3–2 to the Soviet Union for the opportunity to play in the gold medal game.
Based on goal differential, Canada was placed third in the World Championships behind the Sweden, with Czechoslovakia in fourth.
Olympic officials calculated the standing on different tie-breaking rules that based the goal differential over the entire tournament – not just among teams involved in the medal round.