Busy day for me today, but I thought I would quickly weigh in on some of the things going on in the NHL and Olympics, including the debut of three of the five Coyotes participating in the games.
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Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson kicked off the Olympics in style with a two assist first period in Sweden's defeat of the Czech Republic 4-2 this afternoon.
While it is very exciting for Coyotes fans and supporters to get to see OEL on the Olympic stage, it's even better that perhaps the best kept secret in the NHL will finally get the league wide respect he deserves, but may be denied by the relative anonymity of the Phoenix franchise in comparison to other more 'traditional' hockey-market teams.
This is not to say people don't know him - because they do, especially if they are more than casual NHL fans - but it is my prediction that this tournament will be when he finally becomes a household name.
Considering he is not mentioned as much in the Norris Trophy discussions (there were some half-way awards handed out on various hockey publications) as he should be, hopefully these Olympics can go a long way in correcting this oversight.
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Curiously the Czech Republic sat Ondrej Pavelic , who plays goal for the Jets, in favor of two KHL goalies I have never heard of. I don't know why he did this, but I point it out because its weird and because the goalies they did start looked pretty brutal.
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Loyal reader of my column Mike Babcock has apparently decided to start Carey Price in tomorrow's Canada v. Norway matchup. I could probably start behind this team and get the win against Norway, but it is always nice to see someone like Babcock take your advice.
I am hopeful that Price gets to start all of the important games and even though Luongo is said to be getting the start Friday, I remain steadfast in my belief that Price gives Canada the best chance at Gold.
Phoenix goalie Mike Smith is doubtful, barring injury, to get any game action.
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Notable in the Czech/Sweden game is that Blues forward Patrik Bergland picked up a goal in the victory for the Swedes. This is notable because I have him in my hockey pool and he is killing me. Hopefully he can build on this goal and Olympics and come back to the NHL in March and not be the worst player I picked in my pool.
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Besides Smith and Ekman-Larsson, there are three other members of the Phoenix Coyotes who are participating in these Olympics.
Zbynek Michalek and Martin Hanzal both made the Czech Republic team. Michalek picked up an assist in today's loss to Sweden and Martin Hanzel did not dress. I think Hanzal brings a lot to the Coyotes and has the potential to be a star player in the NHL. I do not know why the Czech's sat him anymore than I understand why they wouldn't start their clear-cut best goalie. In light of 126 year old Petr Nedved being on the team and in the line-up, Hanzal's scratch makes even less sense.
The other member of the Coyotes playing in the Olympics is Lauri Korpikoski, who plays for Finland.
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I was happy today to see that the USA named Jonathan Quick as its starter for their first game over Ryan Miller. I am sure the USA will do what Canada is doing and start each one in the relatively meaningless early games and then decide from there.
Personally, I think what Quick has done in the NHL for the last few seasons makes him easily superior to Miller, but there is a lot of sentiment for Miller because of how he played last Olympics.
This sentiment (sometimes called "loyalty") is, in my opinion, not a good way to run a hockey team. I don't care if Luongo or Miller were the stars of the last Olympics because that was four years ago. I think loyalty has its place in sports, but often when practiced, it seems to bring about unintended results. Whether its Mats Sundin refusing to waive his no trade clause, or the Oilers inexplicably bringing back Ryan Smith over and over (at least it seems that way) the results are usually disappointing.
Even in Phoenix you could make a good argument that the Coyotes would be better off with whatever they can get in a trade for Shane Doan than in having him continue to play for them. He almost certainly will retire a Coyote, but the team could be hurting its future by keeping him.
So, I think that Price and Quick should both be the starters of their respective teams no matter what Luongo and Miller may have done in the past. To me, I don't care about the past. Am I cynical? A jerk? What are your thoughts on the subject?
Thanks for reading
Twitter:@Coyotes1234