It isn't my job to be writing on here about Canada's Olympic experience. I am the Oilers writer, and I should be happy with that. After all, March 3rd is the NHL trade deadline, and everyone knows the Oilers will be making as many deals as possible. I have oh so much to talk about Oilers-wise right now. But for some reason, I just can't seem to focus. The Olympics are on my mind. Forgive me for sharing the following thoughts:
Canada's men's hockey team has played well enough to be 1-1-0-1. In respect to the loss against Team USA, my worst fears were realized. Ryan Miller is my favorite goalie in the NHL right now, and I believe he is best in the world. I also seem to remember mentioning in a blog a few months ago how I wouldn't include Martin Brodeur on my Team Canada, as he is clearly past his prime. Swap goalies that game, and Canada would have murdered Team USA. It wouldn't have been even close. We're talking an 8 - 1 score.
There is good news in all of this: Canada gets another game to tune the lines and find some chemistry, and Roberto Luongo, the real #1 goalie on the team, will be given a chance to shine. I really don't think it makes much difference if Canada has to play Team Russia after Team Germany. After all, the road to the gold would have went through Russia at some point anyway. It might as well be during the quarter final.
Do you know what I was thinking about while watching Canada lose to the USA? Wayne Gretzky. Wayne Gretzky was not the most offensively gifted player in the history of NHL. Mario Lemieux had more skill; even Gretz says that. But the difference between Mario and Wayne...actually the difference between Wayne and every other player (with the exception of maybe Mark Messier) is how much Gretzky hated to lose. It wasn't that he just hated losing playoff games; he didn't like losing pre-season games either. This guy's level of compete was off the chart. Whereas Mario could score at will, depending on his mood each game, Gretzky was driven to be the best always; in all situations. He would get 200+ points in a season because he worked his ass off for all 80 games.
A hockey team is more than just one player; we all know that. The players on Team Canada all want to win, and it is obvious how great the pressure of having the entire country depending on them is. Somewhere deep inside, these players need to channel their inner Gretzkys. They need to refuse to lose. They need to ignore the hype, the pressure, and the expectations, and they need to own this tournament.
I spent my evening tonight watching a Canadian pair win the ice dancing gold. Ice dancing. A sport notorious for being fixed in the direction of eastern-block countries. A sport where no North American team has ever won gold. And the pair that did it for Canada, Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue, aged 22 and 20 respectively, won because they refused to lose. They are the youngest gold medal winners of all time in ice dance. They had the pressure of the whole country on their shoulders going into their final dance. But they didn't let that pressure sink them; they used the attention of the country as motivation to rise above and beyond anything they've done previously. They refused to lose.
Canada's Olympic Team has had a so-so games thus far, but there have been bright spots. A moment of resonance was listening to the heart-broken Mellisa Hollingsworth apologize to Canada for finishing fifth in Skeleton racing. She could have said, "oh well." She could have ignored Canadians, or excused her performance. She didn't. She got in front of a mic, explained that she was devastated and disappointed. Sometimes people who "refuse to lose," do just that, but just how much respect did that woman gain from Canadians at that moment? She demonstrated just how much succeeding for her country meant to her. Mellisa is more than golden to Canadians now, and we are more than proud of her. I guarantee you a group of Canadians will donate gold, to be melted down and turned into a medal that will mean more than 100 Olympic ones.
Dear Hockey Canada: This is not time for crying. There are no reasons to point fingers. No purpose for making excuses. No logic in reliving what can not be changed. Refuse to lose, or pack up and go home. Start with Team Germany. Then pound the Russians. Then own and dominate any other team that gets in the way. Don't say, "we can do it." Say, "we WILL do it."
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»