The roster for team Canada's olympic orientation camp was released today, as expected a star studded line up but with some interesting snubs. Here's the roster-
Forwards- Patrice Bergeron, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Eric Staal, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Toews, Jeff Carter, Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux, Mike Richards, Jordan Staal, John Tavares, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Chris Kunitz, Brad Marchand, Andrew Ladd, Taylor Hall, Milan Lucic, Patrick Sharp, Corey Perry, Rick Nash, Jordan Eberle, James Neal, Martin St.Louis
Defensemen- Karl Alzner, Drew Doughty, Travis Hamonic, Marc Methot, Brent Seabrook, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jay Bouwmeester, Mike Green, Duncan Keith, Dion Phaneuf, Marc Staal, Shea Weber, Dan Boyle, Dan Hamhuis, Kris Letang, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban
Goaltenders- Corey Crawford, Carey Price, Roberto Luongo, Mike Smith, Braden Holtby
Lets start from the crease and work our way out. To me, Carey Price and Roberto Luongo are two locks. When Price is focused and zoned in he can win games, period. Luongo is a prior Olympian and the Canadian brass are familiar with his work. He'll have to play well in the early season to solidify his spot, but it's his to lose. I was shocked to see Cam Ward left off of the orientation camp roster, and I could see him starting the year lights out and earning a spot. Until then, Holtby is my third guy. James Reimer was a dark horse of mine and a guy I thought deserving of a chance at camp. Martin Brodeur is aging and M-A Fleury has lost all faith in himself so they lost there camp spots.
On D, Weber and Keith are absolute locks. Doughty isn't far behind them, as with Seabrook and Letang. The 6 and 7 hole will be a battle, with Phaneuf, Boyle, Subban, Green and Pietrangelo fighting it out. I say Pietrangelo wins out and has a great showing at the Olympics, with either Subban or the experienced Boyle as the 7th man. Dan Girardi deserved a shot at camp, the man's a warrior. Brian Campbell would have brought a nice element and Francois Beauchemin had a killer season.
Finally the toughest part, forward. Crosby, Stamkos, Toews and Giroux are the locks for me. Perry, Getzlaf, Eric Staal, Tavares, St.Louis, Richards, Carter, Bergeron and Nash form the next tier. Neal, Eberle, Lucic, Hall, and Thornton won't make it easy for anyone. Trying to guess who makes the team after the obvious four guys is a crap shoot, Canada is so deep here it could go many ways. Jamie Benn is one guy that could steal a spot without a camp invite. Joffrey Lupul, Jeff Skinner and Jarome Iginla are all players that could compete at the world stage but Canada is just too deep.
My early guess, without putting much thought into line combos, is that the line up looks something like this-
Stamkos/Crosby/St.Louis
E. Staal/Getzlaf/Perry
Nash/Toews/Giroux
Richards/Bergeron/Tavares
Carter
Weber/Seabrook
Doughty/Keith
Letang/Pietrangelo
Boyle
Price/Luongo/Holtby
There are so many variables but there's a rough estimate. This should be fun to watch pan out, Canada will ice an immense level of talent and leadership. Thank you so much for checking out this blog and come back soon to see a piece on Matt Duchene as the first instalment of my new series! Let me know what player you want reviewed after Duchene on twitter or in the comments. Give me a follow on twitter @JohannesHockey for the latest news and updates. -J
Forwards- Patrice Bergeron, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Eric Staal, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Toews, Jeff Carter, Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux, Mike Richards, Jordan Staal, John Tavares, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Chris Kunitz, Brad Marchand, Andrew Ladd, Taylor Hall, Milan Lucic, Patrick Sharp, Corey Perry, Rick Nash, Jordan Eberle, James Neal, Martin St.Louis
Defensemen- Karl Alzner, Drew Doughty, Travis Hamonic, Marc Methot, Brent Seabrook, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jay Bouwmeester, Mike Green, Duncan Keith, Dion Phaneuf, Marc Staal, Shea Weber, Dan Boyle, Dan Hamhuis, Kris Letang, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban
Goaltenders- Corey Crawford, Carey Price, Roberto Luongo, Mike Smith, Braden Holtby
Lets start from the crease and work our way out. To me, Carey Price and Roberto Luongo are two locks. When Price is focused and zoned in he can win games, period. Luongo is a prior Olympian and the Canadian brass are familiar with his work. He'll have to play well in the early season to solidify his spot, but it's his to lose. I was shocked to see Cam Ward left off of the orientation camp roster, and I could see him starting the year lights out and earning a spot. Until then, Holtby is my third guy. James Reimer was a dark horse of mine and a guy I thought deserving of a chance at camp. Martin Brodeur is aging and M-A Fleury has lost all faith in himself so they lost there camp spots.
On D, Weber and Keith are absolute locks. Doughty isn't far behind them, as with Seabrook and Letang. The 6 and 7 hole will be a battle, with Phaneuf, Boyle, Subban, Green and Pietrangelo fighting it out. I say Pietrangelo wins out and has a great showing at the Olympics, with either Subban or the experienced Boyle as the 7th man. Dan Girardi deserved a shot at camp, the man's a warrior. Brian Campbell would have brought a nice element and Francois Beauchemin had a killer season.
Finally the toughest part, forward. Crosby, Stamkos, Toews and Giroux are the locks for me. Perry, Getzlaf, Eric Staal, Tavares, St.Louis, Richards, Carter, Bergeron and Nash form the next tier. Neal, Eberle, Lucic, Hall, and Thornton won't make it easy for anyone. Trying to guess who makes the team after the obvious four guys is a crap shoot, Canada is so deep here it could go many ways. Jamie Benn is one guy that could steal a spot without a camp invite. Joffrey Lupul, Jeff Skinner and Jarome Iginla are all players that could compete at the world stage but Canada is just too deep.
My early guess, without putting much thought into line combos, is that the line up looks something like this-
Stamkos/Crosby/St.Louis
E. Staal/Getzlaf/Perry
Nash/Toews/Giroux
Richards/Bergeron/Tavares
Carter
Weber/Seabrook
Doughty/Keith
Letang/Pietrangelo
Boyle
Price/Luongo/Holtby
There are so many variables but there's a rough estimate. This should be fun to watch pan out, Canada will ice an immense level of talent and leadership. Thank you so much for checking out this blog and come back soon to see a piece on Matt Duchene as the first instalment of my new series! Let me know what player you want reviewed after Duchene on twitter or in the comments. Give me a follow on twitter @JohannesHockey for the latest news and updates. -J