2006 Olympic Hockey: Bring Your Young Legs
The ice maker in Torino has delivered a timely reminder regarding the 2006 Olympic hockey tournament: 2002 is over. Salt Lake City is history.
Dan Craig says he refused a request to bury a Canadian "loonie" in the ice at the main hockey venue.
Canada's one-dollar coin - nicknamed for the image of a loon on its face - has been credited with magical powers since the 2002 Winter Games, when the (Canadian) ice maker buried one beneath center ice. It's existence was known only to Team Canada players and staff until Wayne Gretzky gave it a star turn at his celebratory press conference.
It's appropriate that the old talisman be retired. Fewer than half of Canada's players are returnees from Salt Lake City. Team USA brings back just nine of the 22 players who won the silver medal four years ago.
Yes, there are long-serving veterans at the core of every team - like Chelios and Modano for the Americans; Sakic and Brodeur for Canada; Sundin and Forsberg for Sweden; Hasek and Jagr for the Czechs. But consider the toll of the tournament:
Fatigue and attrition will be as much a part of Olympic hockey as power plays and big saves. The gold medalist will likely be the country that can coax an Olympian effort from its youngest players.
As the schedule wears on, look for Torino's hockey hero to emerge from the ranks of first-time Olympians - Canada's Vincent Lecavalier or the USA's Erik Cole sound like good candidates. It might even be a guy most casual fans have never heard of. Jason Blake? Robyn Regehr? David Vyborny? Opportunity knocks.
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