 |
| Marc-André Fleury |
Les Wiseman
Movie Entertainment
February 2010
A lot of people in Vancouver and Whistler oppose the 2010 Winter Games. But such is the allure of hockey that those who take in nothing else of the Games this month will be glued to their TVs when the puck drops at Canada Hockey Place on Feb. 16 for the men’s hockey tournament.
Because hockey is a big-time spectacle, and managers want to build anticipation while leaving their options open to make last-minute tweaks and accommodations for injury, there was a great deal of media hype leading up to the announcement of the Team Canada roster last December. In fact, though announced, the final team will not be confirmed until registration on Feb 12.
At this level of play, there are no duff players. The 46 men invited to Hockey
Canada orientation camp in August were all NHL stars. The final 23 who form the team are those whose skill sets mesh to form what Canadians are hoping will be the greatest hockey team ever and will have the honour of bringing home the gold on what is, in effect, our home ice.
Then, there is the matter of coming in a disgraceful seventh at the Turin Olympic Games in 2006. The fans and the players would like to see that humiliation avenged, or at least forgotten, in the excitement of a 2010 win. Canada is a hockey country, which makes a respectable placement on the podium a matter of national honour.
At the top level of Team Canada is legendary former Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, who is executive director. The head coach is Mike Babcock, the current head coach of the Wings who, in 2004, took Canada’s national men’s team to the gold medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in Prague. Montreal Canadiens great Jean Béliveau, 78, a 10-time Stanley Cup champion, has been named honorary captain.
So who are the players on Team Canada as of the Dec. 30 roster announcement?
FORWARDS
• The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby is one of the 13 forwards selected. Last spring, at 21, he became the youngest team captain ever to lead his team to the Stanley Cup.
• Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla is a man with something to prove. He was Team Canada captain when it finished in seventh place in Turin.
• Six-foot-four Rick Nash, captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets, is also nursing some resentment, having been on Team Canada when it tanked in Italy.
• Carolina Hurricanes centre Eric Staal beat out his younger brother, Penguin Jordan Stall, for inclusion in Team Canada.
• Other forwards in the final 13 include Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers; Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins; Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks; Brenden Morrow of the Dallas Stars; Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks; and, three San Jose Sharks: Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau.
DEFENCE
• The Ducks’ Scott Niedermayer won gold at the 2002 Olympics. He’s the captain of the 2010 team.
• The Flyers’ Chris Pronger is a veteran of the Winter Games. He played with Wayne Gretzky in 1998 and also joined the team for 2002 and 2006. At six-foot-six, Pronger has maybe the longest reach in pro hockey, which makes him an ideal defenceman.
• Other defencemen who made the cut are Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, both of the Blackhawks; Dan Boyle of the Sharks; Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings; and, the Nashville Predators’ Shea Weber.
GOAL
• There were three goalies chosen. No question there are politics involved and for that reason Vancouver Canucks captain Roberto Luongo, 30, a huge fan favourite, is one.
• Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, the all-time NHL leader in shutouts, regular-season games won and minutes played, fended off a battery of shots at Salt Lake City in 2002 and helped Team Canada take home its first Olympic gold in half a century.
• Marc-André Fleury of the Penguins is the young turk at 25. In the minor leagues only four years ago, Fleury came into his own in the Stanley Cup final in 2008, which his team won.
On Feb. 16, Team Canada faces off against the Norwegians. Two days later it meets Switzerland. Game 3 is against the United States. After that, it’s anybody’s guess. But a Canadian win on home ice would raise the national spirit and do much to quell the negativity surrounding the Games