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If you thought the debate about Team USA’s roster got heated a few days ago, just wait for the bombshell that is about to be dropped on Tuesday when Hockey Canada announces its roster for Sochi.
When you have a pool of hockey talent that could arguably field two medal worthy rosters, you are certainly going to have players left off the team that are more than worthy of selection.
With that in mind here is the roster I would put forth for Canada at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics:
FORWARDS
Stamkos-Crosby-Tavares
What is not to like about this line? You have one of the best finishers in hockey being set up on the off wing by arguably the best passer in hockey. The right winger on this line is no slouch either.
Each member of this line has a high compete level and high skill. Crosby and Tavares are two of the best players in the world around the net and will cause the opposition all sorts of trouble down low in the zone.
Crosby elevates the play of his teammates, that is what he does, what happens when his teammates are all world players like Stamkos and Tavares?
Its true that all 3 of these players are centers but I fail to see an issue with either Stamkos or Tavares moving to the wing for 12 days.
This is a video game dream line that will actually translate into real life success.
Sharp-Toews-Duchene
You have one of the best duos in all of hockey in Toews/Sharp and you throw them super-charged spark plug like Duchene on the right wing.
Patrick Sharp is currently the league’s hottest goal scorer and there is absolutely no reason to keep the 2 time Stanley Cup Champion off of the Sochi roster. Sharp also brings much needed versatility for a short tournament like the Olympics as he can also play the center position.
Jonathan Toews is Jonathan Toews. No need to go into detail about him.
Matt Duchene will crush it on Olympic sized ice. He has speed to burn and hands to match. What a great compliment to championship caliber duo like Toews and Sharp.
Kunitz-Getzlaf-Perry
I can’t think of a potential 3rd line at an international tournament that would be more of a pain in the ass to play against than this one. Ryan Getzlaf is currently having one of the best seasons of his career and his natural familiarity with former MVP Corey Perry makes for an obvious potent combination.
The surprise here is Chris Kunitz not playing with Sidney Crosby. Here’s the deal, contrary to belief Chris Kunitz is actually still a pretty damn good hockey player without Sidney Crosby. This is a guy who has won two Stanley Cups on two different teams, both times while playing in the top 6. He is easy to play with. He makes life easier for his linemates. This has been a constant theme throughout his career.
Right now Kunitz has 23 goals, Perry has 22, and Getzlaf has 20. Only Patrick Sharp has more goals as a Canadian this year in the NHL (25). Kunitz and Getzlaf are tied for 3rd in NHL scoring with 47 points apiece, only Crosby (63) and Kane (54) are better. Only Alexander Ovechkin (12) has more power play goals than Kunitz this year (11).
This line could be utilized as a scoring line or it could easily be used as a more defensive unit. The combination of sandpaper and skill on this line is terrific.
Benn-Bergeron-Giroux
This is where picking the final forward spots of this roster gets extremely tricky and it is where some really awesome players are going to be left off.
If Patrice Bergeron is your 4th line center you are doing pretty damn good. Bergeron is one of the most complete players in hockey and he is going to provide any defensive specialty work that Team Canada needs.
Claude Giroux had a rough start to this season but he is playing very good hockey and still deserves a spot on the roster. His vision with the puck is amongst the best in hockey. It would have been easy for Giroux and the Flyers to continue their downward spiral, but Giroux has provided solid leadership and even better on ice play to right the ship in Philadelphia. The have climbed all the way from last place to where they are currently the 2nd place team in the Metropolitan Division. Giroux has been the catalyst.
Jamie Benn may not have been invited to the original orientation camp in the summer but he has done more than enough to supplant some of the roster holdovers from 2010. The key with the wingers on this line is that if there are any injuries, they are more than capable of bumping up and not missing a beat. Benn can skate and Benn can wire the puck. He is part of the young core for Canada and this experience will bode well for Benn and Canada moving forward.
St. Louis-Hall
Your extra forwards on the roster have one guy from the old guard and one guy from the new guard. Both have speed to play on the open ice and both are capable of contributing offensively if somebody were to struggle or go down due to injury.
St. Louis is more than deserving of his spot. He is the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner and plays a complete game. He thrives in time and space and what better setup for him than to have an Olympic sized sheet of ice? Losing Stamkos did not slow St. Louis down, he is still an effective player, a very good player. Having St. Louis in the locker room is never a negative.
Taylor Hall is a player that probably is not on most people’s roster, I understand that. I went with raw skill and speed with the last forward spot. There are so many responsible two way players on Team Canada that you can afford to go outside the box and take a young speedster like Hall along the way. Hall is also a natural winger on a squad that has a lot of centers already. The experience is certainly not going to hurt Hall, who will be a Team Canada fixture for years to come.
DEFENSE
Keith-Doughty
Since these two paired up to lead Canada to a Gold Medal in 2010 all they have done is combine for 3 of the last 4 Stanley Cups. This is an awesome top pairing.
Doughty led defensemen in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs in scoring with 16 points and also has a Norris nomination on his resume.
Duncan Keith actually won the Norris Trophy in 2010 (same year Doughty was nominated).
Both of these players play in all situations and do so very successfully.
You have a left handed player and a right handed player.
Perfect top pairing.
Bouwmeester-Pietrangelo
This shutdown pair from the Blues have been money in the bank since Bouwmeester went from Calgary to St. Louis.
Bouwmeester has been buried in a sea of mediocrity, spending most of his career with the Flames and the Panthers. Since coming to St. Louis his talented skill set has been allowed to shine.
Just like the top pairing this duo has a right and a left handed shot.
Vlasic-Weber
Shea Weber in a “bottom pairing…, times are not tough on the Canadian blue line.
Marc Edouard Vlasic has earned his role with his high quality of play on the Sharks blue line. He is dependable and a low risk player, exactly the kind of defenseman that coach Mike Babcock eluded to when he said he wanted to be able to trust his players on the ice.
Shea Weber blew a puck through the net last Olympics, what will he have for an encore in Sochi?
Subban-Seabrook
Subban is the reigning Norris Trophy winner, and he is an extra for Team Canada. The same reason Vlasic is in the top 6 is why Subban is an extra, trust. Subban is dynamic and he would certainly thrive on the larger surface, but Subban carries more risk than the 6 players ahead of him. Canada will certainly not be struggling to find offense with their lineup so Subban’s risk reward style of play is not a necessity like it would be on almost any other country’s roster.
Brent Seabrook is a championship caliber defenseman who would also be a regular on any other country’s roster. His wealth of championship caliber experience includes his 2 Stanley Cup Championships as well as his Gold Medal from 2010. His well rounded game makes for a perfect fit as an extra for Team Canada. He brings a w
Goaltending
Luongo Price Fleury
No Canadian goaltender has a better EVSV% over the past 3 years than Roberto Luongo. Luongo has posted an impressive EVSV% of .930% during that time frame.
It was Luongo’s job to lose and I don’t believe he has lost it.
Carey Price is the #2 guy for Canada and he is no stranger to pressure or the spotlight playing in Montreal.
Marc Andre Fleury has had a great regular season to this point. The Penguins have been beat up and injured on defense and Fleury has been a nice bright spot for the Penguins during this stretch of injuries.
The spotlight has been on Fleury since his very underwhelming playoff run from last year and he has responded as well as he could. This third goalie position could easily go to Mike Smith all the same, but at the end of the day if Canada needs their third goalie they are in a lot of trouble anyways.
There is no roster that could be assembled that could make everybody happy in regards to shaping a Canadian roster.
The talent that has been omitted here is ridiculous. You have players like Eric Staal, Rick Nash, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, James Neal, Milan Lucic, Tyler Seguin, Jeff Carter, Jordan Eberle, Mike Richards, and Andrew Ladd left off the forward roster.
Defensemen such as Kris Letang, Dan Boyle, Dan Hamhuis, Mike Green, Marc Staal and Dion Phaneuf are also left off the team.
It's crazy.
At the end of the day the picks I made include players who are well rounded and can skate on the big surface. These are players who are also having a solid 2013-2014 season.
Those were my parameters when choosing the team.
That’s my Team Canada, it is a Gold Medal worthy squad.
What does your team look like?
Thanks for reading!
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