The Pittsburgh Penguins are a proud NHL team as they have seven Olympians competing in Sochi for the 2014 Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament.
The seven players are scattered amongst four nations. Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz are with Canada, Jussi Jokinen and Olli Maatta are with Finland, Evgeni Malkin is with Russia, and then there is the American duo of Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik.
Which one of these Penguins Olympians means the most to its team’s success at these Winter Games?
Sidney Crosby may be the best player on the planet, but when you consider the center depth that Canada has they could still forge ahead without Crosby and the injured Steven Stamkos just fine.
Chris Kunitz has been electric next to Crosby for the past 2 seasons, but there is little doubt that a guy like Matt Duchene could step in and provide quality minutes on the top line.
Jussi Jokinen has had a great season for the Penguins and given the injuries to Mikko Koivu and Valeri Filpulla the other forwards on Team Finland are going to have to step up and make plays. Jokinen is currently slotted on the 3rd line with Juhamatti Aaltonen and Petri Kontiola. I can’t pretend to know much about either of his linemates but I am fairly confident that Jokinen will be the best layer on that line and he will have to carry the load for them to be successful. Do not discount Jokinen’s ability in the shootout. The way the Olympics are set up it does not allow for a lot of overtime action. The shootout is a reality and Jokinen is excellent at it.
Olli Maatta is the young pup on Finland’s defense and what a pleasant surprise it must have been for the Fins to be able to rely on him so soon. The projections have Olli Maatta on the top pairing with Philadelphia Flyer Kimmo Timonen. That is a huge responsibility for such a young player. However, I do not believe the responsibility is too big for the calm and collected Maatta. One of Maatta’s biggest strengths is his hockey IQ and that IQ makes it easier to navigate the larger Olympic sized ice surface. Anticipation eliminates the need to overwork yourself physically. Team Finland will have some of the best goaltending in the tournament with Tuukka Rask, but it will be players like Maatta who are able to facilitate his success to the next level.
Paul Martin is a very good defenseman, something that I think is lost on a lot of people who don’t watch him on a regular basis. Paul Martin is a jack of all trades, he does everything well. His true strength is how he thinks the game. His physical skills are all above average, but he does not excel in any one area. Martin will be able to use his smarts and his simplistic approach to the game to feed the puck to his forwards with speed. That will be an important factor. The more times Phil Kessel and Patrick Kane can wheel it up the ice with speed, the better. Paul Martin is able to assist in both special teams areas and do a very nice job. Martin is quietly effective, but his impact is usually a huge positive for the team he plays on.
Brooks Orpik is not the same guy he once was but he still gives you everything he has. Orpik has a plethora of experience playing against the NHL’s top players on a nightly basis. Orpik has been a fixture with Paul Martin on the Penguins but it remains to be seen if that partnership will continue into Olympic action. Orpik is one of the older players on Team USA and even though he does not have an official letter on his jersey he is certainly one of the more respected players in their locker room.
Evgeni Malkin will be Russia’s top center and he will be playing alongside Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin. The Russians have one of the best top 6 forward units in the entire Olympic Games. The Russians have a huge question mark as it pertains to their defense corp. which in turn could neuter the effectiveness of their goaltending. The Russians will most likely live and die with the play of their top 6 forwards. Malkin being the center on the top line puts him right in the middle of the pressure cooker. If Malkin gets hot that could single handedly springboard the Russian team to victory. Evgeni Malkin has the ability to take games over, he will have more time and space to do so. Malkin also has the benefit of recently playing on the larger ice surface as he competed in the KHL during the NHL lockout.
Each of the Penguins Olympians have the potential to play a big role with their respective counties but for my money I believe that it is Evgeni Malkin who is most important to his team’s success. If Malkin goes cold, so do Russia’s Olympic hopes. The Russians desperately need a quality performance from their men’s hockey team in Sochi, Evgeni Malkin is going to have a huge role in whether or not that happens.
Thanks for reading!