The Sharks have six players on their roster that have been invited to Olympic training camps for the 2014 Sochi games in Russia to represent three different countries.

For team Canada Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Dan Boyle have been invited to camp. For the U.S.A Joe Pavelski and for Finland the Shark’s Vezina nominee Antti Niemi has chosen.

Each team has invited upwards of fifty players and is allowed twenty-five on their rosters for the games so about half of the players invited will make it.

The NHL will stop play of the regular season from February 9th to the 25th to accommodate the world’s best players participating in Sochi. The debate will always go on whether sending NHL players is a good thing or not and from a team’s point of view there will always be a valid argument for both sides.

On one side the NHL schedule is very grueling itself plus adding in an extra two months for playoffs and it is no wonder we haven’t seen repeat Cup champs since Detroit did it in 1997 and 1998. The wear and tear on these athletes both physically and mentally is tumultuous and the off-season gets that much smaller the further a team goes in the post-season. For certain players adding an extra 10 games give or take could mean the difference between their NHL team moving on to another round in the playoffs…or not.

Remember in hockey you can’t run out of bounds and in many cases it is tough to find the bench, just ask Gregory Campbell from the Bruins what it is like to stay on the ice for a full minute after blocking a shot and breaking a bone in your foot while killing a penalty. Adding on the Olympics which is the highest level of hockey played anytime anywhere would further drain players on both the physical and mental side.

If all six Sharks were to participate in Sochi that would make things pretty tough for a deep run in the playoffs; especially considering that Thornton and Boyle are both on the downsides of their careers and youth isn’t on their side. If six of the team’s top players who log key minutes were spent from the Games there would certainly be a backlash from San Jose fans, and it would be tough to argue with them.

Then there is the obvious that if players suffered injuries that affected them and their team for the rest of the season the anti-games people would have an even louder voice.

The pro side of course is that what players learn from performing at that higher level can’t be taught. They learn how their countries best players elevate their game and how top athletes prepare themselves for big contests. In many cases these guys play at a level they didn’t know they could achieve or rise to. They often come back to their teams with a better understanding of the sacrifice it takes to win and these lessons are with them for the rest of their careers.

Mario Lemieux once said he didn’t know how to win until he played with Wayne Gretzky in the 1987 Canada Cup (now called the World Cup.) He credited being on that team around the likes of Gretzky and Messier for teaching him the necessary steps to win in big games. A few years after that tournament Lemieux led his team to back to back Stanley Cups.

I don’t think that the Sharks have to worry about six of the team’s best players participating in the games. For Canada I believe the only two who have a real shot at making the club are Logan Couture and Dan Boyle and it would be no surprise if there were no Sharks on Team Canada; unlike the 2010 games in Vancouver where four Sharks won gold. Keep in mind the games will be played in Russia which means the ice surface will be bigger.

The 200 X 100 foot surface means that young legs with high RPM’s will be in demand. Thornton doesn’t quite fit that description plus he is a true center man who isn’t as versatile at moving to the wing like many of the next generation centers in the league. Also Canada is pretty stacked up the middle with players like Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Claude Giroux, Eric and Jordan Staal, and John Tavares.

This description fits Couture pretty well because he is comfortable playing on the wing and he is also known to be a great defensive forward who takes care of his own end first.

Boyle and Vlasic are long shots to crack the Canadian roster with strong players like Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Shea Weber as locks on the point.

Joe Pavelski on the other hand I would consider a lock for the U.S team. He also can take care of the defensive side of things and can win big face-offs for his team. Joe can play the wing in a pinch and the point with the man advantage. Versatile players like that are at a premium when it comes to tournaments like this.

Antti Niemi should also be a shoe in for the Finnish team. He had the best year of his career and seems to still be on the upside. Niemi’s calm demeanor can be a great influence on any team even if he is in a back-up role.

The games are a great time of year and the level of play is raised for our enjoyment. National pride is at an all-time high and upsets are more common in the games than they are in seven game series’ which makes them all that more exciting to watch.

Sorry for the late blog but we recently had an addition to our family and sleep along with anything else productive has been hard to come by in the Gore house.

Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore

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