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To lead off here is a funny light hearted jab that Head Coach Dan Bylsma took at Hockey Canada's Olympic Orientation Camp
Now on to the main topic
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TSN recently published their list of players that they believe will make Hockey Canada’s final roster for the Olympic Games in Sochi. Their rationale in selecting their list was based on who they thought Canada’s brass would select, not necessarily who they would pick to represent Canada.
Any list like this is sure to instigate conversation; you can never have everybody agree with you.
The Penguins have two players on TSN’s final roster; the first is potential Captain Sidney Crosby. The second player is not who you think it would be, Kris Letang was left off the team by this panel. TSN had Chris Kunitz on the top line with Crosby.
Earlier in the summer I wrote about
realistic expectations for Chris Kunitz
and how he is coming off personal bests in PDO and shooting percentage. Kunitz was red hot for much of the 2012-2013 abbreviated season. Will he be able to continue at his torrid pace for the Penguins in order to get a look for Hockey Canada’s final roster?
Personally I think that is going to be an uphill battle.
Make no mistake; Crosby has great chemistry with Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz that is very obvious. However, should Hockey Canada bring along Kunitz for his chemistry reasons with Crosby?
I’m American and ultimately I will be pulling for the United States come Olympic time but as somebody looking at this from strictly a hockey standpoint, I do not think Canada should include Kunitz.
Crosby is the best player in the world and part of the reason is that he makes others around him better. This should be no different if Taylor Hall (for example) or Chris Kunitz were on his line. From a statistical standpoint Crosby had a pedestrian 2010 Olympics in Vancouver by his standard. He had 7 points in 7 games. That has led to this whole “chemistry” discussion as it pertains to Crosby in international play. The perception is that Crosby should be producing closer to his 1.41 points per game average in the NHL regular season. The reality is that only the late Pavel Demitra was producing at that kind of rate in the last Olympics with 10 points in 7 games.
These short tournaments like the Olympics are a tough thing to gauge. It boils down to who gets hot for that 2 week stretch. It’s not a dynamic you can plan for; there are ebbs and flows to every hockey player’s season. Also you can have players who are experiencing positive chemistry, but also not being rewarded on the stat sheet given the short sample size of an Olympic tournament.
The funny thing is that Canada could select Kunitz and he could have himself a whale of a tournament, but you could say that about any player selected in my opinion.
With all that said do not believe Canada should consider Chris Kunitz for a position Crosby’s wing. I do not believe that Yzerman should over think things. They should select the best players to fill a top 6 role. I don’t believe Chris Kunitz is one of the best 4 wingers in Canada. Perhaps if Kunitz was one of the league’s better penalty killers you could start to sway me on this issue, but he is not. He is an even strength player who is excellent in what he brings to the Penguins, but probably not the best option for Canada.
If anybody deserves to make the team based on chemistry with another player it is reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Martin St. Louis.
Thanks for reading!
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