OT: Canadian Hockey team announced at 11am today

Submitted by jaggs on

Yzerman et. al due to announce Team Canada at 11am today.
LINK - http://www.tsn.ca/live/hockeycanada/

Who do you like? My set-up looks like this:

Forward:

Neal Kunitz Crosby Tavares 

Perry Getzlaf St. Louis Carter

Stamkos Toews Sharp

Duchene Bergeron Benn

Giroux Marleau  Skinner Nash

Defence: 

Keith Weber

Bouwmeester Doughty

Pieterangelo Subban

Seabrook Vlasic Hamuis

Goalie:

Luongo Price Smith

 

Notables left out: Eric Staal, Rick Nash, Jeff Carter, Patrick Marleau, Mike Richards, Chris Kunitz, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Taylor Hall, Dan Boyle, Dan Hamuis, Marc-Andre Fleury

What say you hockey fans?

EDIT: ANNOUNCE THE GODDAMN TEAM ALREADY! This makes me as a Canadian so frustrated. Are they so full of themselves that they think we want to wait 30 minutes to hear teh announcement.

goblueram

January 7th, 2014 at 9:31 AM ^

"...Pavelski threw one in front, Kane a shot off of him, they score!  Zach Parise out of a net mouth scramble and the game is tied!"

USA will eliminate Canada this year.  Book it. 

goblueram

January 7th, 2014 at 9:55 AM ^

That's a good point.  It's the whole fit and creating a team thing versus individual talent.  I guess for Canada they have no shortage of scorers.  For the US, it had to be hard to ignore Bobby Ryan's production the past few years.

Just by my own eye test though, I think players of the Hossa, Nash (big forwards, great shots), Franzen (ha! I wish) mold are just too good to pass on.  

DenverRob

January 7th, 2014 at 9:53 AM ^

I don't like bigger slower players on the huge Olympic ice surface. Not that Nash is slow it's just that speed is not his game. I like your team I don't think Neal or benn make it though.

goblueram

January 7th, 2014 at 9:57 AM ^

Now that is a good counter argument to my Nash, Hossa, Franzen point above.  According to that ESPN article, the US management really stressed the point about speed on the big ice when selecting their team as well, and that hurt Bobby Ryan.  It might do the same to Nash for Canada. 

Trebor

January 7th, 2014 at 11:05 AM ^

Ugh, I still can't believe they talked about picking a fast team, and then went and picked Brooks Orpik over Keith Yandle. Orpik skates like he's in a barrel of molasses and he's terrible when he's not running into players and knocking them over on sheer size alone. He's a new-age Derian Hatcher, only less talented.

Wolverine In Iowa

January 7th, 2014 at 10:26 AM ^

CSB\ I was at a hotel in Des Moines during the Canada-Russia playoff game in the 2010 Olympics, and there were a zillion Canadian Firestone tire dealers (lots of dudes from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, etc.) there on a visit to the Firestone ag tire factory in DSM.  Needless to say, the bar at the hotel got dried up (with me helping) while Canada beat the shit out of Russia.

The game was kind of early, as I recall, and so I am not sure how many Canucks ended up at the various strip joints or arrested, but we was all kinds of fucked up. /CSB

woodfeld

January 7th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^

It's amazing how much better the US is than Canada when it comes to goalies.  The US has Miller, Quick, Howard, Schneider, Bishop, etc.  Granted, all you need is one and Price may just that.

woodfeld

January 7th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^

That kind of feels a little too much "what have you done for me lately?" at least in regards to Quick.  I'm sure the injury doesn't help but the guy has a 94% save percentage between the last 2 playoff seasons combined.  Meanwhile, the Canadian goalies have been some of the most high variance goalies out there, especially Luongo and Fleury.  Maybe it's just me, but I feel much more confident with the group of US goalies than the Canadian ones.

kdhoffma

January 7th, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^

As wood said, Quick's SV% over the past two playoff's has been .946 over 20 games in '12, and .934 over 18 games in '13.

Price has played 4 playoff games the past two years, SV% of .894.  Luongo: .904 over 5 games, Smith posted a .944 in the '12 playoffs over 16 games.

Quick seems to have a distinct statistical advantage when it counts.

clarkiefromcanada

January 7th, 2014 at 9:06 PM ^

I cannot believe you included Jimmy Howard in this mix of "much better" US goalies. Srsly.

Nice player but far from exceptional. I guess his one all star appearance and four games in 2007-2008 to get his name on the cup is credibility enough?

 

DenverRob

January 7th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^

Where is Claude giroux? Playing better than almost everyone else.



As much as I hate Crosby he is so good that he got Kunitz on the Olympic team, which is absurd. Kunitz is a 50/60 point guy playing with one of the best. Imagine a line with stamkos tavares and Crosby.

JeepinBen

January 7th, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^

from: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/chi-blackhawks-olympics-20140107,0,6354779.story

Ten Chicago Blackhawks will represent their countries in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, next month.

Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith were named to Team Canada on Tuesday, completing the selection process for Olympic rosters.

Earlier Tuesday, Marian Hossa and Michal Handzus were named to the Team Slovakia roster. Also, the Hawks' Johnny Oduya, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Marcus Kruger named to Sweden's Olympic hockey roster

They join the previously named Patrick Kane (Team USA) and Michal Rozsival (Czech Republic).

Goaltender Corey Crawford and defenseman Brent Seabrook were candidates to make Team Canada but were not among those chosen.