Sochi Olympics: Here's my roster for Team Canada, what's yours?

Team Canada is set to announce their roster for the Sochi Olympics on Tuesday morning so my friend and coworker Eric has challenged me to set my own roster to see how it compares.

As a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, my fine line is obviously the combination of Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby and James Neal. Coach Dan Bylsma has been pairing these three together recently and offensively they have produced a hat trick, a late game tying goal and beautiful highlight reel plays. In fact they account for approximately 44% of the Penguins goals this season. There is so much talent on this line, and so many scoring opportunities, they would be hard to maintain and control. They could also form part of the Team Canada's top power play unit.

My second line includes teammates, and Olympic returnees, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf alongside New York Islanders captain John Tavares. Perry and Getzlaf are currently linemates on the Anaheim Ducks' top line and have combined for 42 goals in 43 games so far this season. Tavares, known for his speed and high end skill, is currently 5th in scoring with 46 points in 42 games. He also helped Team Canada win the Spengler Cup during the lockout last year, giving him experience on the international sized ice. This line would give Canada a one two punch offensively, making match-ups challenging for the opposing teams.

My third line consists of the more defensively minded players Jonathan Toews and Mike Richards, along with Richards LA Kings teammate Jeff Carter. Both Richards and Toews played on Team Canada's third line in Vancouver and thrived on the defensive checking style of play. These two will also likely play large roles on Team Canada's penalty kill, and both have excellent face-off percentages. I have added Jeff Carter to this line so that he can be an offensive threat, allowing for Canada to have scoring contributions from every line. Carter and Richards have also played alongside one another for years, first in Philadelphia and more recently in Los Angeles; their chemistry is undeniable and they are often able to find one another on the ice.

The fourth line again sees teammates playing together with Tyler Seguin centering Jamie Benn and Edmonton Oiler Jordan Eberle. Neither Benn nor Seguin was invited to the training camp this summer, though I think both have played their way into the conversation and onto the team. Following a tough loss in game 6 of the Stanley cup finals last season and unexpected trade to Dallas during the summer, Seguin has flourished and is having a career year. He has been placed back at centre and is producing in almost every game this season. Seguin also played for team Canada last year in the Spengler Cup, and led his Swiss team EHC Biel in scoring during the lockout. The larger ice surface favours Seguin's quick hands and speed. No one has benefited more from Seguin's rebound season than Jamie Benn, his linemate in Dallas. Benn is exceedingly talented and, with 36 points in 41 games, he definitely has a scoring touch; however, Benn is also a character player who is not afraid to drop the gloves to defend himself or his teammates. Teams that win, usually do so on the backs of these types of players. Even though he currently has an injured knee, Eberle is on my team because he is Captain Clutch when it comes to Team Canada. During his world junior career, Eberle was known for scoring big goals in big moments, and he was one of the main contributors when Canada won gold in 2009 and silver in 2010.

My thirteenth forward is Patrice Bergeron. While Team Canada is already deep with centres in my roster, Bergeron is one of the best defensive forwards in the game. He can provide Canada with important face-off wins and play a huge part of the team's penalty kill.

Like many fans, I tend to focus more on goal scoring than defensive play, so I have less knowledge when it comes to Canada's top defensemen. My top four defensemen are all returnees from the Vancouver Olympics, Shea Weber, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. These four have a combined 5 Stanley Cups since 2010 and all play huge minutes for their NHL teams. In 2010, Keith and Doughty developed good chemistry playing together, though I currently have Doughty playing with Weber and Keith playing with this usual defensive partner and fellow Blackhawk Brent Seabrook.

The next three defensemen on my roster are PK Subban, Alex Pietrangelo and Dan Boyle. With his precise one-timer, I would use Subban mainly as the quarterback on the team's power play, but he is also a tough player who can easily get under the skin of his opponents. He is type of player teams love to hate, who can rally his teammates and bring energy to the rink. I will confess I don't know very much about Pietrangelo, but I selected him since he plays for one of the most defensive teams in the league and is currently coached by Ken Hitchcock, one of Team Canada's assistant coaches in Sochi. Dan Boyle will likely slot in as my 7th defenseman, at least at first, but he brings leadership and experience to the team and will be an invaluable teacher to the younger Subban and Pietrangelo.

I have stayed with the popular choices for my top two goalies and chosen Carey Price and Roberto Luongo. With Luongo coming off an injury recently, and Price playing well for the Canadiens, I would slot Price in as the number 1, but give both an opportunity in net during the round robin portion of the tournament. I have strayed from popular choice with my third selection and chosen Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding. He has a league leading 1.65 goals against average and is currently 8th with 18 wins on the season, but the main reason I have chosen him is because I am a bit of a sucker for happy endings. Harding was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and, while most would have stopped playing professional sports, he pushed through and went on to win the Bill Masterton Trophy last season as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication. Being given the opportunity to play for Canada, and to win gold in Sochi, is the icing on the cake, and I just can't resist the feel good storybook ending that would be for Harding.

Penguins fans might be surprised that I did not select Marc Andre Fleury as one of my goaltenders, and I did so rather selfishly. My faith in Fleury has never waivered, and while I think he could handle the pressures of playing in Sochi and give Canada an excellent chance to win, he has shouldered a heavy workload this season for the Penguins and I think a two week break will help the netminder relax and get ready to take on the second half of the season and, hopefully, another deep playoff run.

I have now outlined my roster, how does it compare to yours? I can't wait to see how it compares to that of the Team Canada brass on Tuesday, and then to cheer on the Team in Russia in February.