Many Blues the players arrived in Sochi yesterday, and this morning, quite a few teams hit the ice for their first practice.
For Team USA which includes Blues captain, David Backes, alternate captain, T.J. Oshie, and defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, practiced this morning and there were a few interesting line combinations for the U.S. as well.
The 'St. Louis Haters' line, which is centered by Vancouver Canuck's forward, Ryan Kesler has a lot of grit and skill on it. The wingers are L.A. Kings forward and captain, Dustin Brown, as well as Chicago Blackhawks star, Patrick Kane.
David Backes and T.J. Oshie are going to be doing their thing on the same line in Sochi, along with the captain of Team USA, Zach Parise. This line has the capability to be very dangerous, with all three players possessing a very strong two way game, they could be used as the top shut down unit. Not to mention their ability to control the puck very well, this could very well be the line that is most relied upon for the States.
Kevin Shattenkirk is paired with Paul Martin, a good thing for Shattenkirk, as Martin will allow him to play his offensive game. Martin is a stay-at-home defender and will basically be what Barret Jackman is to Shattenkirk.
I still expect Miller to be the starter for team USA. At least he'll likely get the reigns first.
Team Canada is home to Blues GM Doug Armstrong, Blues head coach, Ken Hitchcock, and the Blues two best defensemen, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester. From the Canadians practice today, both Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester will remain on the same pair. That's a no-brainer there by Mike Babcock, Canada's head coach.
News from team Sweden's practice is that Alexander Steen will be playing top line minutes, as he's paired with Detroit's, Henrik Zetterberg and Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog. Meanwhile, Patrik Berglund will center Sweden's third line. He's sitting middle between two Detroit Red Wings, Gustav Nyquist and Daniel Alfredsson. Just letting you know, it's still weird writing Alfredsson as a Red Wing.
Not a lot out of team Russia's practice, but early reports indicate that Vladimir Tarasenko will be on the wing with Toronto's Nikolai Kulemin and Columbus' Artem Anisimov. I personally hope that this will change. I really want to see what Tarasenko can do with a center like Malkin. Also, why break up the chemistry Tarasenko had with Ilya Kovalchuk and Viktor Tikhonov when he played with SKA St. Petersburg during the lock out?
Jaroslav Halak is still going to be the starter for team Slovakia. They don't have a goalie ready to take the reigns from him just yet.
Former Blues prospect, Jori Lehtera, who plays for team Finland, is set to be on the Finn's fourth line with Jarkko Immonen and Leo Komarov.
Follow me on twitter @Blues_Buzz to keep up with the Blues players during the Olympics in Sochi!