2014 Canadian Men's Olympic Hockey Roster - V1

The National Hockey League in the National Hockey League Players Association are going to be talking to the International Olympic Committee in regards to their participation in the upcoming Olympics.  Right now they're looking to get a better deal from the IOC. They're looking for them better access to the players and the rights to display images from the games.  In essence they're looking to get the same access as if they were one of the official sponsors.  If the NHL and the NHLPA decide to go it will be a commitment for only the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia.  Because of the time difference it will be like a test drive to see if it will work and then decide later about the logistics for the games in South Korea.  If the NHL does go over to Russia it will likely shut the league down for at least two weeks and most likely up to 18 days.

Now the news only a year away the two major networks are going to be giving their preliminary rosters and lease for the Canadian team. TSN posted thier list last night from Ray Ferraro and Sportsnet's Mark Spector has his . As it is undecided how many players they plan on taking or have available to be named on the team right now I am including an extra " taxi squad" of players to take a long because of the extensive travel andhide different.  The NHL is looking to have rosters expand 25 cent depending on the final decision will dictate how many extra forwards and defencemen they take with them.

I'm going to presume the team Canada will opt to go with a much younger roster of them they have in the past.  So with that in mind here is my first draft of their roster and pulls a line combinations for the

Canadian National Team

Forwards:

LW-Steven Stamkos         C- Sidney Crosby          RW-Jeff Skinner

LW-Eric Staal                     C- Jonathan Toews        RW-Rick Nash

LW-Jamie Benn                 C- Claude Giroux           RW-Jordan Eberle 

LW-Patrice Bergeron        C- John Tavares             RW- Mike Richards

Defence:
Shea Weber        Alex Pietrangelo
Drew Doughty      Kris Letang
Marc Staal           Duncan Keith

Goalie:
Carey Price
Roberto Luongo
Marc-Andre Fleury

Taxi Squad:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Jason Spezza
Jordan Staal
Taylor Hall
Brent Seabrook
Tyler Seguin
Justin Schultz

It could be Crosby-Staal's and Nash again. There is a chance all 3 Staal's could make the team.

Because they will be playing on leave or dry surface they will be needed team moves fast and mobile.  If this were being played in North America on NHL size rinks there would likely be more "grit" in the player selected.  The Olympic team can not necessarily be an All-Star team and must also have a role players. Players that are willing to buy into a specific system or player ruled that they're not accustomed to is key to success.  Players like Mike Richards and Jordan Staal may not be your prototypical scorers but could provide a defensive conscience that is needed on a third or fourth line.  That is why is so difficult to come up with the team that has such high and talent available to them.  Excellent players will be left off, sometimes is just a numbers game.  As far as the goalies are concerned it will probably depend on who is playing the best during the first part of next season to determining who will be the starter and who'll be backups.  There are probably five goalies from Canada that are worthy of one of the three available spots their play of the beginning of the season may be the determining factor of who makes the team.

A lot can happen within a year and this is just the first draft some time will tell what additions or subtractions will be made that I am interested in seeing how my list will stack up against those of the list put forth by TSN and Sportsnet respectively.

Feel free to include your roster in the comments section to compare to my list and the other lists put out by the networks.

Best And Worst

Best: Jimmie Johnson finished 6th extending his lead in the NASSCAR Chase. He was in 30th position with as little as 15 laps remaining at Talladega when all it took was Ryan Newman to flip his car repeatedly and have it come to rest on its roof requiring them to flip the car over and cut the top off to get Newman out. another crash that he narrowly avoided that saw Mark Martin end up on his roof for a moment and then car after car run out of gas. not too bad to be able to get out of that place in one piece and have your two closest rivals have trouble on the last few laps.


Worst: Ryan Newman...His car flipped repeatedly and he had to be cut out of it. People are always praising NASCAR for how safe the cars are that someone can actually survive a crash like that and actually walk away. Maybe the focus should not be so much that the car can withstand that impact and be more on avoid having these cars put in a situation where it is not only possibility of happening but almost guaranteed. Restrictor plates merely restrict the drivers to drive safely and prevent passing making for un-exciting racing. Lets be clear, flipping cars and crashes are not racing that is a demolition derby...2 very different sports.

Best: Brett Favre went back to Green Bay, he played the Packers, he beat the Packers. he was boo’d by Packers fans. There it’s done, please let it be done. The story has run its course, the intrigue is no longer there if it was ever there to begin with. The fans got their say so now it is up to the media to JUST LET IT GO, let the Vikings become a regular football team and let Favre become just another 1 of 30 starting QB’s in the NFL.

Worst: The fact that the Lions couldn't beat the Rams, the Titans won a game with Vince Young at QB, and JaMarcus Russell makes soooo much money in Oakland and is basically useless. There is nothing worse then watching an overpaid under-achieving un-motivated player. Why is it that the most undeserving people always seem to fall ass backward into good situations or get all the benefits??

Best: The bankruptcy judge has approved the Phoenix Coyotes’ sale to NHL. That is one major hurdle towards getting this team out of the news for all the wrong reasons and perhaps some acknowledgement to the fact that they are actually playing half decent on the ice.

Worst: The NHLPA for, well I don’t know. Not being able to keep its own house in order I Suppose. Yet another high ranking employee has either resigned and/or been dismissed and it is once again a rudderless ship. As annoying as it is to hear about it is just as bad for the NHL and any potential talks in the future regarding the next CBA. the sooner this gets fixed and out of the public the better. Fans are tired of it, I am sure the players and the NHL are tired of it and it had better not be a reason that there is another work stoppage. The sport probably isn’t strong enough to bounce back from another potential PR nightmare.

Best: Cliff Lee pitches tonight in the World Series. Hopefully sending the series back to New York for a game 6. If he pitches like he did in game 1 it will be things that World Series lore is built on. His last time out he looked like a throwback to the way a pitcher looked in the 1960’s. If he loses then the title will go to the Yankees, which is not good and the baseball season is done for another year, also not good.

\Worst: David Beckham will return to Milan on loan from Galaxy...how can you be on loan to another team? This is yet another reason why soccer sucks. You don’t see Derek Jeter loaned to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (This is actually a real team, they are associated with the Arizona Diamondbacks...awesome) of the Japan Baseball League.

The Kitchener Coyotes??

Undeserved market... this is what you are going to hear from Jim Balsillie now and into the future. The future that I speak of involves the Phoenix Coyotes and the news that they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. We all knew for some time that things were bad in the desert but I don’t think many knew that it was just this bad.

The RIM (Research in Motion) CEO made his intentions known in a media release on Tuesday stating that a $212.5 million (US) offer was on the table to purchase the team. One of the condition was that the team would relocate to an unspecified region in Southern Ontario.

I am all for this move. Take a team from a struggling US market and place them back in Canada in, as we we have heard before, an undeserved market. If it is true that there were talks about a possible second team in Toronto then a team in Southern Ontario isn’t far fetched. Only question is, just because it may be a viable and a good market and the NHLPA would probably be in favor of it, will Gary Bettman want to allow Jim Balsillie into the league. It almost seems that there is a personal vendetta from Bettman and it may be getting in the way of business.

The NHL and the Board of Governors will have some things to say about this for sure and this is sure to be an interesting story not only on sports talk shows but also for the court reporters. Even if Balsillie gets the team, which is not a sure thing, be assured that the NHL is going to throw up some bumps saying that any team movement needs league approval and no doubt use the NHL shield as a battery ram to flex it’s muscle. The potential for a lengthy battle is very probable. This will be very interesting to follow and see what direction this takes. I will be sure to keep an eye on this going forward.

I have also yet to announce the selection of a new favorite team from the west...I had it down to the Blues and the Kings...does a team in the Golden Horseshoe make a re-emergence on the list? Stay tuned.