TEAM CANADA
Here’s a look at who we would choose for Team Canada
With the roster set to be released Tuesday, Damien Cox makes his selections for the Sochi men’s squad,
Now that Bobby (Mr. Intensity) Ryan and Brian (This Is On The Record?) Burke have the audience nice and warmed up, let’s get ready for the real deal. Team Canada, and the controversy won’t just be over one player. Try at least a half-dozen. Or 10. If there were 40 roster spots available for the Team Canada roster set to be released on Tuesday, we’d still have spirited dinner table arguments, partly because Canada has that many good players, and partly because so many Canadians are so invested in this game.
But a 25-man roster? Let the fistfights begin.
Look, this national argument actually started four years ago, even before Sidney Crosby scored his golden goal on Ryan Miller to end the Vancouver Olympic hockey tournament.
Way back then there were pundits forecasting which Canadian-born players would represent the country in the next Olympics, scheduled for Sochi, Russia.
Back in 2010, it was about imagining which youngsters would grow into fullblown NHL stars over the course of four years. Nobody was guessing that Olympian winger Dany Heatley would grow old before his time and not even be in the conversation by 2014. Or that MarcAndre Fleury would have such postseason stumbles that he wouldn’t even be invited to the orientation camp.
But now we’re there, and we can see what happened. We know Father Time did eventually catch up with Martin Brodeur. We know horrible luck caught up with Chris Pronger.
But at least 13 members of that 2010 team are still locks this time, which only leaves room for 12 new faces.
Which also means lots of exclusions, many of whom will be seen as unjustly left out, just like Mark Messier in 1998. We already know that if P.K. Subban isn’t picked, Geoff Molson has a public statement ready to go.
Heating the process up will be social media, where 140 characters make indignation more blunt and caustic.
Fans want their heroes on the team, and are particularly sensitive to the suggestion that their favourite team’s franchise player isn’t good enough to go to Sochi.
After all, if that’s true, where does that leave their team?
Already, you’re hearing that Jeff Skinner must be on the team. Taylor Hall, too. And Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux, Jamie Benn and Logan Couture. Well, they all can’t be. Moreover, it’s unlikely Steve Yzerman and Co. will analyze this situation, a quick jaunt to disorganized Sochi for a quick, intense competition on the larger international ice surface, and decide only the youngest, most inexperienced team will do.
Despite all of the obvious landmines, we’ll give picking the team a shot. You know, just to help Stevie Y and Mike Babcock a bit:
GOAL (3)
Carey Price (Montreal), Roberto Luongo (Vancouver), Mike Smith (Phoenix).
Luongo is the incumbent, but Price deserves to be No. 1 just as much or more. That’s the battle still to be fought. Smith, recently a victim of the “butt goal,” barely beats out Chicago’s Corey Crawford. The other orientation (road hockey) camp netminder, Braden Holtby, fell out of contention early.
DEFENCE (8)
Drew Doughty (Los Angeles), Duncan Keith (Chicago), Shea Weber (Nashville), Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis), Jay Bouwmeester (St. Louis), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose), P.K. Subban (Montreal), Brent Seabrook (Chicago).
With eight spots available, this actually wasn’t that hard. The toughest part was leaving Dan Boyle off. Kris Letang has had too uneven a season. Really like the fact you’ve got two set pairs in Keith-Seabrook and Pietrangelo-Bouwmeester. After all conversation, Subban makes it, but it won’t be easy for him to get ice time ahead of Doughty, Weber and Pietrangelo.
CENTRE (5)
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh), Jonathan Toews (Chicago), Patrice Bergeron (Boston), John Tavares (N.Y. Islanders), Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim).
What a group. One of the very best Canada has ever assembled. When you consider Joe Thornton, fourth in NHL scoring, can’t crack this team at centre ice, you understand this will be the strength of the 2014 team. Crosby should be the captain, but Toews could be and nobody would bat an eyelash.
RIGHT WING (4)
Corey Perry (Anaheim), Rick Nash (N.Y. Rangers), Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay), Steve Stamkos (Tampa Bay).
Okay, so this is where the cheating begins. I’m putting Stamkos on the roster in this position knowing there’s a darn good chance I’ll have to replace him before the Olympics. Keep that motor idling, Tyler Seguin. You too, Claude Giroux. Yes, Nash is having a lousy offensive season. But he’s a big body with loads of experience on the big ice who was great head-to-head against
Alex Ovechkin in Vancouver. Perry is a gimmee, and St. Louis, back after being left off in 2010, just can’t be denied.
LEFT WING (5)
Mike Richards (Los Angeles), Patrick Marleau (San Jose), Milan Lucic (Boston), Patrick Sharp (Chicago), Chris Kunitz (Pittsburgh).
More cheating by moving Richards to the left side. You need quality penalty killers, good faceoff men and guys willing to block a shot, wherever you have to put them.
Didn’t want to put Kunitz on until there was just no choice. Lucic won’t be bothered by the big ice as some suggest and can physically dominate like no other power forward in the game some nights. Marleau? Just so good at both ends. So there you have it. But not making the grade is no insult. Here’s a look at Team Canada 2:
Goal: Corey Crawford, Marc-Andre Fleury, Josh Harding.
Defence: Dion Phaneuf, Dan Boyle, Mike Green, Kris Letang, Dan Hamhuis, Travis Hamonic, Marc Methot.
Centre: Joe Thornton, Claude Giroux, Tyler Seguin, Eric Staal, Jeff Carter.
Right wing: Jeff Skinner, James Neal, Brent Burns, Jordan Eberle.
Left wing: Logan Couture, Matt Duchene, Taylor Hall, Jamie Benn, Brad Marchand.