Follow me on Twitter!:
@ColinDJD
Given that much of the current hockey talk is focused on the 2014 Olympic rosters, it would only be fitting that we discuss which Calgary Flames players could hit the ice in Sochi.
However, before we move into the Flames roster, I’d like to share a roster for Team Canada which many believe we should all expect to watch. It’s quite a beautiful thing, I must say!
Forwards:
Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Steven Stamkos
Jonathan Toews - Claude Giroux - Corey Perry
Jamie Benn - Patrice Bergeron - Martin St. Louis
Eric Staal - John Tavares - Tyler Seguin
Defensemen:
Shea Weber - Marc Staal
Drew Doughty - Alex Pietrangelo
Duncan Keith- Brent Seabrook
Goaltenders:
Carey Price
Roberto Luongo
Cam Ward
Brodeur - Perhaps gets the call out of respect, if he wants to play...
This roster should certainly be fun to watch. I am sure there will be several changes made to the above lines, but for the most part I would expect these players to be on the ice. Canada will be icing a very strong team and have the talent to grab another gold since the Vancouver Games in 2010.
Now, back to the discussion concerning the Calgary Flames. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the Calgary Flames currently have 19 Canadian, 4 American, 2 Czechoslovakian, 2 Finnish, 1 Swedish, and 1 Swiss player on their current roster.
Unfortunately, the biggest nationality of players for the Flames (Canadian/American) will be, as displayed above, very tough teams to make and with that being said, there isn’t a single player from the Flames who will even receive an invite to their respective camps.
The players who will receive invites to Olympic Camps and further, who could very well represent their countries from the Calgary Flames are as follows; Baertschi, Berra(Swiss), Hudler(Czech), Kiprusoff, Ramo(Finnish).
While not a very large list of potential Olympians for Calgary, it should be noted that with a young team in the middle (or the start) of a rebuild, it’s not surprising that they don’t have any more representation. Despite that comment, those who will be invited as noted above have a good chance of playing some Olympic hockey on some good teams! Baertschi in particular should be slotted in the Swiss top 6 forwards, while Berra could be 2nd starter behind the Ducks’ Hiller. Here is roughly what we could see for them:
Forwards:
Bärtschi - Romy - Brunner
Vermin - Plüss - Niederreiter
Bodenmann - Gardner - Hollenstein
Suri - Ambühl - Moser
Defensemen:
Sbisa - Diaz
Josi - Weber
Streit - du Bois
Furrer - Bezina
Goaltenders:
Hiller
Berra
Gerber/Conz
Next up you have your Finnish team where “about to retire” Kiprusoff and “best tender in the KHL” Ramo, will battle for a goaltending spot behind the likes of Rask, Rinne, and Lehtonen. Some tough guys to try and battle for a spot - that is for sure. While I do not anticipate Ramo being able to outperform guys like Rask and Rinne, I could see Kiprusoff displaying his experience and skillset at the Olympic level and making a claim for a spot.
Last of the Flames potential Olympians is Czech Jiri Hudler. Hudler will have some tough competition as well, as the Czech team is expected to be a strong competitor in 2014. Here is the roster which could be expected, and you can see just how much competition Hudler will truly have if he’s to hit the ice.
Forwards:
Milan Michálek - David Krejčí - Aleš Hemský
Radim Vrbata - Tomáš Plekanec - Martin Havlát
Patrik Eliáš - Roman Červenka - Jakub Voráček
Martin Erat - Martin Hanzal - Vladimír Sobotka
Tomáš Fleischmann, Jaromir Jagr, Jiri Hudler
Defensemen:
Zbyněk Michálek - Marek Židlický
Roman Polák - Rostislav Klesla
Ladislav Šmíd - Jakub Nakládal/Filip Kuba
Petr Čáslava, Jan Hejda
Goaltenders:
Ondřej Pavelec
Tomáš Vokoun
Jakub Kovář/Alexander Salák
I’m sure there is a name among that list that many of you are a little disappointed is no longer a part of the Calgary Flames…at least I am. I have always liked Cervenka(as I mentioned many times), and I really hoped he would stick around for the Flames as he showed a lot of potential. Nevertheless, he has moved on from the NHL for personal reasons and should be expected to hit the ice in Sochi with the rest of his Czech teammates.
Whether Hudler can challenge for a spot on the wing on this team is debatable, but I wouldn’t count the veteran winger out. If Jagr makes the team, I could see the two being paired together given their previous successes as line mates.
Well that’s all for today folks, hope you enjoyed the discussion!
As always, thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»