It’s Gold or Bust for Canada’s Olympic Men’s Hockey Team PART TWO
Posted: February 6, 2010 by Bryan
In preparation for the Winter Olympics, Hockey Canada held a summer orientation camp in August 2009 for prospective members of Canada’s Men’s Hockey Team. Following the opening of the NHL season in October, Team Canada’s brain trust lead by Steve Yzerman, NHL Hall of Famer and the team’s Executive Director, monitored the play of those who had attended the orientation camp. After much thought and deliberation, Mr. Yzerman and his management team announced the roster for the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team on December 30th. Broken down by position, the team includes the following players.
Goaltenders
Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils)
Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks)
Defence
Dan Boyle (San Jose Sharks)
Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings)
Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks)
Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim Ducks)
Chris Pronger (Philadelphia Flyers)
Brent Seabrook (Chicago Blackhawks)
Shea Webber (Nashville Predators)
Forwards
Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks)
Dany Heatley (San Jose Sharks)
Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames)
Patrick Marleau (San Jose Sharks)
Brenden Morrow (Dallas Stars)
Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks)
Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers)
Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes)
Joe Thornton (San Jose Sharks)
Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)
Team Canada, by all accounts, is deep and talented. All 23 players have international experience, including 53 gold medals, eight Olympians and as a group, the players have played in 702 international games, 13, 136 NHL regular season games and 1,219 NHL play-off games.
Eight years ago Team Canada won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. With the 7th place finish at the Winter Olympics at Turin, Italy in 2006 and the back-to-back loses to the Russians in the IIHF World Champions in 2008 and 2009, Canadians are clambering for better results at this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Many hockey observers feel that Team Canada’s toughest competition for gold will come from the Russians and Swedes. In a recent interview on TSN (Television Sports Network), Rick Nash of Team Canada said it best when he said “6 or 7 teams have a chance to win. It’s the team that jells the fastest that will have the opportunity to win the gold.” Leaving nothing to chance, Team Canada’s forward lines were tested by the coaching staff at the summer orientation camp in Calgary and all players were sent a written program outlining the team’s system so it can hit the ground running when the hockey games begin.
While Mr. Yzerman and his management team have assembled a talented group that can play any style of game, in the end it’s up to the players. How well Team Canada withstands the enormous pressure of playing at home in Vancouver and the high expectations for a storybook finish will tell the tale.
Bob Dawson, SONAHHR (Ottawa, Ontario)
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