The Canadian national team placed fourth at the 1964 Winter Olympics. The CAHA chose to establish a permanent Canadian national team based in Winnipeg, then merged players from the Olympics into the 1964 Allan Cup champions Winnipeg Maroons and added the best available players from across Canada. By the following February, the national team roster had grown to 33 players to accommodate those who had schooling and employment commitments. The CAHA divided the team into two groups and scheduled exhibition tours for both groups in advance of the 1965 World Championships, and Fleury travelled to Finland with the second group. After Canada failed to win the 1965 World Championships, Fleury agreed with a recommendation by David Bauer to skip the 1966 World Championships to regroup and give the players more time to develop as a team.