Merry Christmas to the entire hockey world out there. I’ve been trying to find the right time to name my official Canadian Olympic roster. As most hockey fans are aware, putting together a roster to represent Canada is no easy task. You could probably create three separate teams that would be competitive in the upcoming Olympic Tournament. After studying numerous Canadian players I still find myself struggling to complete my roster. Please feel free to chime in with any suggestions or opinions. Sources tell me the team is all but picked and the only thing that would change the existing roster at this point is injuries. The Executive committee for Canada will assemble in Western Canada this week to put the finishing touches on the roster.
Forwards
Rick Nash Sidney Crosby Jarome Iginla
Brenden Morrow Ryan Getzlaf Corey Perry
Dany Heatley Joe Thornton Patrick Marleau
? ?? Jonathan Toews Shane Doan?
There are a number of bubble players still remaining including Mike Richards, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Mike Fisher or even a Martin St. Louis.) I’ve heard Dallas forward Brad Richards name recently as well but his chances don’t appear to be great. Feel free to help me fill out my 12 forwards.
Defense
Scott Niedermayer (Captain) Shea Weber
Chris Pronger Dan Boyle
Duncan Keith Brent Seabrook
One of the following three D-men will make the roster as the seventh defenseman. For me it’s Kings D-man Drew Doughty. Having seen him play live on several occasions he’s a guy I would have a hard time leaving off my roster.
Drew Doughty
Jay Bouwmeester
Mike Green
It’s pretty obvious the following three goalies are automatics.
Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
Marc-Andre Fleury
Berglund Searching for Ice Time and Consistenc….
I recently mentioned the Blues organization won’t be going anywhere without the young highly drafted players on the roster showing progress. These are the players expected to carry the franchise moving forward and if a few of these kids don’t turn out it could spell some trouble for the St. Louis Blues.
While Erik Johnson and David Perron have at times shown flashes of greatness and T.J. Oshie appears to be re-discovering his “A” game, Patrik Berglund has for the most part been invisible.
Until the recent road trip where the Swedish native pieced together some pretty solid hockey there hasn’t been too much to get excited about this season regarding Berglund.
The last two games in Edmonton and Calgary Berglund was as confident as we’ve seen him all season. You could sense the confidence in his game grow as he was making plays early in both games.
In reality Berglund needs to take some accountability for the lack of production in his game for much of the season. The coaching staff lost confidence in him early in the year and he really struggled recovering. If there’s one thing Berglund can control it’s how hard he competes on the puck and his effort has been questioned on more than one occasion this year.
One of the more difficult parts of covering this hockey club has been seeing his enormous talent be unused for a decent chunk of the season. I don’t completely blame the coaching staff for scratching him as often as they have but I also realized he’s a kid that makes the Blues better when he’s confident and making plays. When he’s tentative and has the deer in the headlights look he’s can be useless. In recent weeks I suggested he go to Peoria for a few games when he was sitting on most nights and it appeared his game was missing.
It’s been a struggle for Berglund to find his game and create any true rhythm as he’s been bouncing in and out of the lineup for much of the season.
In my opinion Berglund is a player that needs to play with offensive minded players to allow his natural ability to take over. There have been too many times this year when he’s struggled playing a third or fourth line role.
In my opinion you have to put players where they succeed and where they can best utilize their strengths. Berglund’s strengths are playing an offensive role where he’s obviously a much more effective player. It goes without saying that you have to earn opportunities as a young player and Berglund hasn’t always made the most of the chances he’s received.
When you compare how Berglund has been used this season prior to the last two games there have been too many times when he’s been underutilized. Last season Berglund averaged 14:43 per game compared to 12:47 this season. He’s also seen his PP time dip from 3:14 last season to 1:56 this year. When looking at the Blues forwards only Brad Winchester and Cam Janssen average less ice time than Berglund this season. As a result he’s scored only five goals on the year compared to 12 at this time a year ago.
In.Edmonton and.Calgary where Berglund may have played his best games of the season we got a glimpse of what he’s capable of bringing to the table when he’s skating and making plays. Berglund’s size combined with his ability to hang onto the puck allows him to buy time and space. He’s shown he can be a player that sees the ice well and can be incredibly patient. He also might have the hardest and quickest snap/wrist shot on the team. When he uses his size to get to the front of the net and supports down low he can be a very difficult matchup for many D-men in the league.
Berglund also won 60% of his face-offs against Calgary. Showing the ability to win face-offs is another way for him to earn valuable ice time. There have been nights this season when he’s been awful on the draw.
At the end of the day what Berglund needs is to do is show he can bring it every night. How determined of a hockey player can this kid be? There hs been the theory thrown around that his priority in the summer needs to be re-directed toward his conditioning. He didn't exactly light the world on fire during off ice testing during training camp. He may need to train harder in the off-season, but for me the kid needs ice time. He’s shown when he plays decent minutes in a role that best suits his skills he can help this team win hockey games.
Blues Clues!
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Because of delays in Alberta the Blues didn’t arrive back in St. Louis until 5:30 Thursday morning.
The Blues blocked 22 shots In Calgary with Brewer and Colaiacovo leading the way with five each.
The Blues will be watching Wisconsin D-man John Ramage closely at the World Juniors. There was some consideration by the Blues to draft him a year ago and if he puts together a good showing the next few weeks he will greatly increase his chances of getting chosen in the 2010 NHL entry draft.
Sources say D-man Roman Polak has all but been named to the Czech Olympic team. Czech officials were recently in St. Louis watching Polak.
It’s amazing how one little tweak here and there can do to help the PP. Alex Steen’s ability to get shots off quick and through traffic is a dimension missing for much of the year.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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