Canada Stays the Course for the Turin Olympics
If you want to know what kind of hockey team Canada is sending to the 2006 Winter Olympics, look no further than the 2004 World Cup.
Of the 23 players named to the Olympic roster on Wednesday, 18 are back from the team that won the 2004 tournament. Another two - defensemen Rob Blake and Chris Pronger - were originally named to the World Cup team but did not play because of injury. Canada went undefeated in that event, and the management team obviously decided not to mess with success.
The newcomers are goaltender Marty Turco, and forwards Rick Nash and Todd Bertuzzi. Pittsburgh rookie Sidney Crosby did not make the team.
Ten members of the 2002 Olympic team are back looking for a second gold medal, including five of the seven defensemen and the new team captain, Joe Sakic.
Postscript: As expected, the naming of Canada's team only fuels the debate over who should be on it. Most of the day-after analysis asks whether the guys who did it before can do it again. "Going with veterans a risky gamble for Canada," suggests Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun, in one typical headline.
It is certainly worth wondering how Todd Bertuzzi and Shane Doan make the team on merit, and whether Eric Staal might be a better pick than either of them. But while I've seen enough of Bertuzzi to be underwhelmed, I can't say I've seen enough of the Carolina Hurricanes to know Staal's merits beyond his goal scoring.
Canada's management and coaching team know these players better than any of us, and have a track record to prove it. In any case, the debate is overblown, much huffing and puffing over a tiny handful of roster spots. If Canada fails to win gold, it likely won't be because Adam Foote was on the ice instead of Brian McCabe.
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