Two weeks since we asked you to step into Steve Yzerman's shoes and name Canada's Olympic roster.

Plenty of readers have taken up the challenge. (If you haven't yet, here's your chance.)

So it's time to review the results so far.

We'll keep compiling your suggestions, and do another tally just before the real team is named on New Year's Eve.

Here's the About.com projected roster. Now let's see who you picked.

Read more...

In sending Nikita Filatov back to Russia, the Columbus Blue Jackets have conceded that their 18-year-old hotshot isn't ready for the NHL.

The Phoenix Coyotes reached a simlar conclusion with Kyle Turris a few weeks ago, shipping last year's heralded rookie to the American Hockey League.

That kind of patience is increasingly rare in today's NHL, where so many teams can't face reality: their over-hyped kids aren't ready to conquer the world.

The current youth movement dates to 2005, and the end of the lockout.

The "new" NHL got a jump start from one of the all-time great rookie classes.

Ovechkin, Crosby, Carter, Getzlaf, Boyes, Richards, Keith, Vanek, Perry... all arrived with immediate impact.

Since then, the leap from junior hockey to the NHL has become commonplace. No more wasted years in the minors. The modern prospect is NHL-ready on arrival.

Plus, he arrives with a dirt-cheap, entry-level contract. Very attractive in these salary-capped times.

But the youth movement ain't all it's cracked up to be. Consider a few prominent examples:

• Carey Price. (20-year-old rookie in 2007-08)
  Asking him to be a goaltending hero at that age goes down as one of Bob Gainey's brutal mistakes as GM of the Montreal Canadiens. Jury's still out on whether he'll ever be a true number-one goalie.

• Steve Mason. (20-year-old rookie in 2008-09)
  The Rookie of the Year is off to a wobbly start in Columbus. Is it ridiculous to suggest a year or two in the minors might have produced a more consistent goalie?

• Sam Gagner. (18-year-old rookie in 2007-08)
  Thrown into the Oilers' lineup as an undersized teenager. Is it any wonder he's still trying to find his game?

• Dion Phaneuf. (20-year-old rookie in 2005-06)
  Performance has yet to match the world-class hype that greeted his arrival. Skilled but erratic. Another guy who could have used a year or so in the minors.

• Luke Schenn (pictured). (19-year-old rookie in 2008-09)
  Desperate to give fans hope for the future, the Maple Leafs showcased Schenn by giving him a regular job straight out of junior hockey. Now he's this season's favorite whipping boy.

Developing and nurturing a prospect is one of a core functions of an NHL team. Maybe the experts are convinced that on-the-job training is the best way to bring a guy along, no matter how ugly it sometimes looks.

But the results in many cases look mixed (Phaneuf), ineffectual (Schenn), or downright disastrous (Price).

(Photo: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

"They Shamed Their Country"
- Front page headline in Sweden, Feb. 21, 2002. The accompanying article included photos of every player on the Olympic hockey team, identified by name and NHL salary.

A great upset requires more than an unlikely winner and a shocked loser.

The truly historic upset needs a big stage and a memorable defining moment.

It has to tell a story that "no scriptwriter would ever dare," as broadcaster Al Michaels once said.

If it was any other tournament, if the game hadn't been so close, if there hadn't been so much at stake, Belarus beating Sweden might have been nothing more than a mild surprise.

Just a bad day at the office for the Swedes. These things happen.

But the stage was the 2002 Winter Olympics. And the defining moment was the ugliest of winning goals.

The Swedes looked to be the class of the field at Salt Lake City, and their strong preliminary round earned them a favorable draw in the quarterfinals.

The path through the medal round looked promising; the gold medal was in view.

Then came Belarus.

What an unforgettable afternoon it turned out to be. You could almost feel the hockey world hold its breath as that fateful puck bounced high off the head of goaltender Tommy Salo.

"It was luck. It was like the [Australian] short-track skater. Everybody fell down and he got first. Basically the same thing happened here."
- Ruslan Salei, the only NHL player on the Belarus team, on their victory over Sweden.

History isn't fair. Everyone remembers Salo looking foolish in 2002. Not nearly as many recall him leading Sweden to Olympic gold in 1994.

And we should acknowledge that several other members of the 2002 Swedish team stuck around to claim their redemption four years later.

But for an entire generation of hockey fans, the phrase "Sweden-Belarus-Tommy-Salo" will always be the very definition of stunning upset.

See also:
Team of the Decade
Olympic Hockey History
Olympic Hockey History in Photos

(Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)

The Red Wings are the obvious choice, and with good reason.

In a funny way, the frequency of disappointment in Detroit is a sure sign of how good this team has been.

The Wings have been on the wrong end of some huge playoff upsets. Their recent opening-round flops include 2001 (to Los Angeles), 2003 (Anaheim), and 2006 (Edmonton).

When you're a championship contender every year, an occasional stunning defeat is inevitable.

Don't feel too badly for Detroit fans. Their decade also included three trips to the Stanley Cup Final and a pair of championships.

Going back to the turn of the century, no other franchise comes close to matching the Wings' 82-game consistency, or the frequency with which they followed it up in May and June.

See also:
Detroit Red Wings Franchise Profile
The Story of the Detroit Octopus
Origin of Detroit's "Winged Wheel" Logo

Photo: Goaltender Dominik Hasek contemplates a Red Wings tradition during the 2002 Stanley Cup Final. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)