Who would play for Canada if you were picking the Olympic team? Join the discussion by submitting your roster picks at he bottom of this page.
Team Canada will face enormous pressure at the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament, and anything short of a Gold Medal will be considered failure. Who's up to the challenge?
Here's our early pick of players to represent Canada in 2010 Olympic hockey. Players are listed by name, age as of February, 2010, and NHL team.
Below is the list of invitees to Team Canada's summer evaluation camp.
Goaltenders
- Martin Brodeur, 37 (New Jersey Devils)
- Roberto Luongo, 30 (Vancouver Canucks)
- Marc-Andre Fleury, 25 (Pittsburgh Penguins)
With Brodeur's age, Luongo's recent unreliability, and Fleury's youth, the number-one job appears to be up for grabs.
Carolina's Cam Ward was our pick for third goalie until Fleury won the Stanley Cup, suggesting that the inconsistencies of youth might finally be behind him.
Besides, Ward and the Hurricanes are off to a dreadful start in the 2009-10 NHL season.
GM Steve Yzerman says the third goaltender has to be a guy who can play now, rather than an intern. So young stars like Steve Mason of the Blue Jackets probably won't be considered.
Defense
- Scott Niedermayer, 36 (Anaheim Ducks)
- Chris Pronger, 35 (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Shea Weber, 24 (Nashville Predators)
- Jay Bouwmeester, 26 (Calgary Flames)
- Duncan Keith 26 (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Dan Boyle, 33 (San Jose Sharks)
- Robyn Regehr, 29 (Calgary Flames)
Niedermayer and Pronger are the experienced leaders. Bouwmeester's good start in Calgary locks up a job for him, and Weber might be the best all-around player in the group.
The bottom three are still fighting for their jobs.
Plenty of folks will favor Dion Phaneuf over Regehr. But given Phaneuf's highs and lows over the last couple of years, we'll stick with the solid stay-at-home type, especially with the tournament being played on NHL-sized ice.
Green was a playoff disappointment and too often looks weak in his own zone, so he loses his place for now.
Alternate candidates:
- Brent Burns in Minnesota (highly regarded, but plagued by concussion troubles in 2008-09)
- Mike Green in Washington (on the bubble, needs high point production and low turnovers)
- Dion Phaneuf in Calgary (must prove he's fully recovered from a mistake-prone 2008-09 season)
- Drew Doughty in Los Angeles (young, but playing a big role with the Kings)
- Brent Seabrook in Chicago (makes a good tandem with Keith)
Forwards
- Sidney Crosby, 21 (Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Rick Nash, 25 (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Jarome Iginla, 32 (Calgary Flames)
- Shane Doan, 33 (Phoenix Coyotes)
- Mike Richards, 25 (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Brenden Morrow, 31 (Dallas Stars)
- Dany Heatley, 29 (Ottawa Senators)
- Martin St. Louis, 34 (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Joe Thornton, 30 (San Jose Sharks)
- Ryan Getzlaf, 24 (Anaheim Ducks)
- Patrick Marleau, 30 (San Jose Sharks)
- Jeff Carter, 25 (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Eric Staal, 25 (Carolina Hurricanes)
Nash, Crosby, Iginla, and Doan are absolute locks to make the team, assuming good health. Richards will almost certainly be there too.
Heatley is a weapon from the left side, which enhances his value.
Scorers who can adjust to checking roles have the advantage, which helps Morrow make the cut.
Thornton remains, despite his suspect playoff record. He played well as a third-line center on Team Canada 2004, and could be invaluable as a set-up man if given a world-class finisher. Who would you go with in place of Thornton? Jonathan Toews? Jordan Staal? Someone will have to convincingly steal that spot from him.
Dropped since the summer are are Simon Gagne of the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa's Vincent Lecavalier. Both are off to poor starts offensively and Gagne's groin surgery spoils any chance to play his way back into contention.
With his solid track record, Eric Staal remains for now. But he must recover from his early-season slump.
Leading alternate candidates -
- Boston's Marc Savard (given his style, he has to play center, and this team is loaded at center)
- Ryan Smyth in L.A. (great international track record, but must continue scoring to have a chance)
- Chicago's Jonathan Toews (return from a concussion will be closely watched)
- Tampa's Steven Stamkos (NHL's highest-scoring Canadian as of November 5)
- Anaheim's Corey Perry (could steal a spot from Carter or Staal)
Team Canada will be named December 31. But official rosters aren't submitted until the Games begin on February 13, 2010. So roster changes can be made up until then.
See Also: USA Olympic Hockey Team: Projected Men's Roster for 2010
Team Canada Summer Training Camp Invitees:
Goaltenders: Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils), Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks), Marc-André Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins), Steve Mason (Columbus Blue Jackets), Cam Ward (Carolina Hurricanes).
Defense: Jay Bouwmeester (Calgary Flames), Dan Boyle (San Jose Sharks), Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim Ducks), Chris Pronger (Philadelphia Flyers), Robyn Regehr (Calgary Flames), Dion Phaneuf (Calgary Flames), Marc Staal (New York Rangers), Shea Weber (Nashville Predators), François Beauchemin (Toronto Maple Leafs), Brent Burns (Minnesota Wild), Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings), Stéphane Robidas (Dallas Stars), Mike Green (Washington Capitals), Dan Hamhuis (Nashville Predators), Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks), Brent Seabrook (Chicago Blackhawks).
Forwards: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Shane Doan (Phoenix Coyotes), Simon Gagné (Philadelphia Flyers), Dany Heatley (Ottawa Senators), Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames), Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets), Joe Sakic (Colorado Avalanche), Martin St-Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning), Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes), Joe Thornton (San Jose Sharks), Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay Lightning), Ryan Smyth (Colorado Avalanche), Jeff Carter (Philadelphia Flyers), Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks), Milan Lucic (Boston Bruins), Patrick Marleau (San Jose Sharks), Andy McDonald (St. Louis Blues), Brenden Morrow (Dallas Stars), Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks), Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers), Derek Roy (Buffalo Sabres), Patrick Sharp (Chicago Blackhawks), Jordan Staal (Pittsburgh Penguins) Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Dan Cleary (Detroit Red Wings).
