Barney's Alter Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Something Spezza CP selects Sen for Olympics (CP) - Wayne Gretzky has said the 2006 Olympic men's hockey team will be much tougher to select than four years ago and judging from the varying nominations from CP's hockey writers, he appears to be right. CP's Bill Beacon, Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, Jim Morris, Donna Spencer and Neil Stevens played Gretzky for a day and came up with their Olympic team. Hockey Canada must name its final 23-man roster by Dec. 22. It will likely do so Dec. 21 in Vancouver. Here's a look at CP's team and other players on the bubble: THEY'RE IN All of these players got at least two votes from our panel and made the 23-man roster: Goal: Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Jose Theodore. Defence: Rob Blake, Scott Niedermayer, Adam Foote, Chris Pronger, Ed Jovanovski, Wade Redden, Scott Hannan. Forwards: Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Simon Gagne, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Dany Heatley, Shane Doan, Ryan Smyth, Kris Draper, Jason Spezza. ON THE BUBBLE These players all got some mention from our panel but not enough to crack the lineup. Goal: Marty Turco, Curtis Joseph. Defence: Robyn Regehr, Dan Boyle, Bryan McCabe, Dion Phaneuf, Jay Bouwmeester. Forwards: Martin St. Louis, Rick Nash, Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Tanguay, Daniel Briere, Sidney Crosby, Keith Primeau, Eric Staal, Paul Kariya. ON THE WAY UP Spezza and Heatley: The lethal partnership in Ottawa will be hard to keep off the team if they keep up their torrid pace. Heatley has improved greatly since disappointing at the IIHF world championship last May while Spezza is making a case even though he wasn't among the 37 players invited to Canada's Olympic camp in August. Theodore: His recent play suggests he should be the No. 3 goalie over Turco. He has shown he can play his best in big games and was second in the NHL with 10 wins entering play Thursday. Briere: The pint-sized Sabres centre is among league leaders in scoring and would be great on the big international ice with the strict application of obstruction penalties. He shone as well on 2003 and 2004 men's world championship teams. Staal: Surprised many when included on Canada's long list but he has shown why he belongs. A longshot because of his inexperience and the depth at centre but what a season he's had so far. McCabe: Perhaps the most dangerous offensive defenceman right now in the NHL but his defensive shortcomings haunt him. He sports a minus-5 rating. Not being invited to Canada's August camp also hurts him. Joseph: Cujo is the main reason the Coyotes are competing and his .925 save percentage ranks him among league leaders. Crosby: The kid's all right. On pace for 97-point season entering Thursday's game and showing he's the real deal. But 2010 is a more reasonable expectation for his first taste of the Olympics. ON THE WAY DOWN St. Louis: Defending Hart Trophy winner doesn't look like himself, which is strange considering the new NHL befits his size and skill. Bertuzzi: Has struggled early on but is showing signs of waking up. Don't be surprised if he plays his way onto the team. Nash: Hardly his fault but his injury-riddled season, first the ankle and now the knee, may simply keep him off the team because of a lack of playing time. Too bad, because he was the best player at the world championship last May. Mike Peca: Slow start and concussion has likely ended his chance of beating out Draper for checker job. WISH YOU WERE HERE These players weren't named to the 81-player long list but in hindsight probably should have been: Manny Legace, G: Among league leaders in GAA and save percentage and more importantly, leads the league with 11 wins. Rod Brind'Amour, F: Solid two-way play and 14 points (8-6) in 14 games a big reason why Carolina is surprising the experts. J.S. Giguere, G: Wasn't pleased to be left off the long list and is letting his play do the talking. Cory Stillman, W: Lighting it up (five goals, 13 assists) playing alongside Staal. Mike Rathje, D: Among league leaders with plus-12 rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test4VitalSigns Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I disagree on leaving out Crosby...he should be going as it will do wonders for his personal experience and help in future Olympics and will help win the 2006 gold as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladirushfan80 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 glad to see Yzerman & Draper in there!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mully_53 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Damn right.....By far my favorite hockey to watch....I can't wait until the olympics start....Too other country's: sorry bout your luck but Canada is poised for a repeat......No matter who gets on the team the people chosing will take slack.....Canada realistically could ice 3 teams and every one of them would be competitive and have a shot at gold.....Alot of ppl argued Lemeuix's envolvement and felt Joe Thorton should have been on the Salt Lake City team......No matter who play's and who sits we will all be watching as proud Canadian's routing for the Red and White.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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