At approximately 11:20 AM on one week ago today, the Team Canada brain trust gathered together at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke, Ontario to announce their roster for the upcoming Olympics in Sochi. At approximately 11:21 AM, the rest of Canada gathered together to express their outrage over which players had been snubbed by the group. While I am not necessarily "outraged", I am surprised by some of the choices, shocked by a few of the omissions, and more curious than ever to see how this team will compete in Russia.The three goaltenders representing Team Canada in Sochi are Carey Price, Roberto Luongo and Mike Smith. These three were the obvious choices for many hockey analysts despite the fact that neither of the three has won a Stanley Cup or the Vezina trophy. While all three are elite goaltenders in the NHL, this does point to one area of the game where Canadians seem to be weaker than our opponents; there is no shortage of elite goal scorers and defencemen in Canada, but, the closer Martin Brodeur gets to retirement, the more obvious it is becoming that Canada no longer has a standout number one goaltender.
Marc Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins is probably the most notable omission for this category. He is once again leading the NHL in wins with 26 on the season, is ranked 11th with a 2.24 goals against average, won the Stanley Cup in 2009 with Pittsburgh and was the third goaltender at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. "Flower", as he is affectionately called by his teammates, is still considered by many to be an elite goaltender during the regular season; however, spotty performances in the playoffs the last three seasons have caused many to question his ability to handle the pressure of being between the pipes. It is likely that Fleury will continue to be overlooked on the international scene until he once again proves that he can be successful in the postseason.
The eight defenceman named to the team are Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, Shea Weber, Jay Bowmeester, Dan Hamhuis, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
Duncan Keith is probably the strongest defenceman of the group: he has two Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks and won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2010. At the Vancouver Olympics, Babcock paired Keith with Drew Doughty, and, with fellow Blackhawk Brent Seabrook not on the roster, many have speculated that he will once again go with this matchup in Sochi. These two will likely be paired against the other team’s top line and are expected to be among the highest ranked players for Time on Ice (TOI).
The most contentious choice for team Canada was the current winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy, P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens. While he is known for his offensive abilities on the power play, defensive lapses in his own zone were cause for concern among many of the Team Canada brass given the larger ice surface, which is usually less forgiving for defencemen.
The two most notable omissions from the roster are Brent Seabrook of the Chicago Blackhawks and Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks. Both played in Vancouver in 2010, and Brent Seabrook has developed excellent chemistry with Duncan Keith in Chicago. These two left shooters were left off the roster in favour of the right shooting Dan Hamhuis of the Vancouver Canucks and Marc-Edouard of the San Jose Sharks. From the beginning, Babcock has stated that he would prefer to take four right shooting defencemen and four left shooting defencemen, a choice that has unfortunately left Seabrook and Boyle looking in from the outside.
Canada seems to have an unlimited selection when it comes to talented, offensively gifted forwards. In fact since the 2005 draft, six of the first overall selections have been Canadian, and, every one of them was a forward. The fourteen forwards named to Team Canada are Sidney Crosby, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews, Jamie Benn, Jeff Carter, Matt Duchene, Chris Kunitz, Patrick Sharp, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares. These players combine for an impressive eleven Stanley Cups, seventeen individual NHL awards, and five are current captains while two are former captains. It is a group that can score and that knows how to win, but, most importantly, they are young, fast, skilled players, something Canada was missing in 2006 in Turin Italy, the last time the Olympics were played on the larger international sized ice.
I was probably the most surprised by the choice to include Rick Nash on the roster. In 2010, Nash played on the third line with Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews and excelled as a hard hitting, shutdown forward. At 6ft 4in and 218lbs, Nash can be a tough opponent, he plays well in the corner and difficult areas of the ice and, with his long reach and strength, he can be hard to knock off the puck. That being said, Nash is not having a good season offensively with only twenty points in thirty games, and I am not sure his hard hitting style will be as effective on the larger international ice surface as it was in Vancouver on an NHL-sized arena.
Martin St. Louis currently plays right wing for the Tampa Bay Lightning under General Manager and Executive Director of Team Canada, Steve Yzerman, and, at thirty-eight years of age, this is likely the last opportunity for St. Louis to represent his country in the Olympics. While none of this is enough to offer him a roster spot on the team, St. Louis made history last season when, at the age of thirty-seven, he became the oldest player to win the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring at the end of the regular season. St. Louis is once again leading the Lightning in scoring with forty-three points in forty-six games this season and, when Stamkos got injured in early November, St. Louis became a steadying presence for his team helping them to a 15-10-4 record. All that, combined with the fact that St. Louis is still considered by many to be one of the best play makers in the league, makes you wonder what more he would have to do to be named to the roster.
James Neal is an offensive threat every time he is on the ice, he has one of the most precise shots in the NHL, and his quick release is stuff of nightmares for goaltenders. Many have assumed that Neal is first line to replace Steven Stamkos should he not be available at the Olympics since they both have similar playing styles and are both considered snipers in the NHL. It has also been assumed that, at least at the start of the tournament, Stamkos will play on the top line with Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz, a role that Neal could certainly fill should Stamkos not be ready in time. While I am disappointed that Neal wasn't selected for Team Canada, Canada just has too many young, talented forwards available at their disposal. Most countries would love to invite a player of his caliber to the Olympics but, unfortunately for Neal, in Canada, players with his skill are a dime a dozen.
Now that the Team Canada roster has been announced, how does it compare to my roster you ask?
The main difference is that I listed a 23-man roster, whereas Team Canada selected 25 players to participate in the Sochi Olympics. In place of Rick Nash, I had forward Mike Richards on my roster as the aggressive hard hitting forward. I also chose Tyler Seguin and Jordan Eberle over forwards Steven Stamkos, Patrick Marleau and Matt Duchene. At defence, I had Brent Seabrook and Dan Boyle in place of Jay Bowmeester, Dan Hamhuis and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, though as I mentioned earlier, had Canada not been as particular about right and left shots, it is likely Seabrook and/or Boyle would be on the roster. Like many other analysts I had Carey Price and Roberto Luongo as my first two goaltenders, but I decided to go with the long shot Josh Harding because I am a sucker for feel good stories and I wanted to give him a chance to compete on the international stage despite having Multiple Sclerosis.
While I might not have gotten my feel good story with Harding, I certainly did with forward Chris Kunitz. Kunitz was never scouted for major junior hockey, never given the opportunity to represent his country in World Junior tournament over Christmas and was not drafted to the NHL. Instead he played Junior A hockey in his hometown of Saskatchewan and played collegiate hockey at Ferris State University. On April 1, 2003 Kunitz’s dreams were finally realized when he signed with the Anaheim Ducks as a free agent. He would eventually win a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007, and in 2009 was traded to Pittsburgh where he would win another Cup that same year. It was in Pittsburgh that Kunitz finally found his hockey feet and, for the better part of four seasons, he has been playing on the Penguins top line with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Now, at thirty-four years of age, Kunitz, who is relatively unknown on the international scene, is being given the honour to represent his country in Sochi. Many have questioned Kunitz’s place on the team, but I can’t help but cheer for someone who has continued to smile while everyone questioned his abilities at hockey, and who has never stopped working to get to where he is today.On February 13, the puck drops for Canada as they face Norway in Sochi. This means that we have thirty days to analyze line combinations, to discuss healthy scratches, and to figure out who should replace injured players, as we get ready to gather together as one nation and watch our boys defend their gold medal.
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