The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Only in Canada would a story about 46 players getting together for what's no more than a training camp for a hockey tournament six months away would get front page attention. The anticipation is here. It seems almost a foregone conclusion, after the disappointing 2006 Olympics and back-to-back losses at the World Hockey Championships , that Canada will ultimately get the chance to show they're the best in the world again at the 2010 Olympics on their home turf.

But it won't be an easy task. The Russians in particular have a legitimate shot at capturing gold and there's even talk that the overall skill level in Canada can't match them. Shudder the thought! But what I enjoy most at this stage of the game is trying to figure out who will make the team. The roster won't be announced until slightly before Christmas and a lot can happen from now until then, but there are few locks and it's hard to gauge what GM Steve Yzerman will look for when assembling the team. He could field an all-star lineup or decide to put a few muckers and grinders at the cost of skill to try to negate the other teams' opportunities. In any case, here's my roster of 23 Team Canada players:

Forwards:
Iginla - Crosby - Gagne
Nash - Lecavalier - Heatley
E. Staal - Getzlaf - Toews
Morrow - Thornton - Carter
Richards

Defence:
Pronger - Niedermayer
Boyle - Phaneuf
Bouwmeester - Green
Weber

Goalies:
Luongo
Brodeur
Fleury

I bet when December rolls around, my list may not even look remotely close to what I've picked. And of course, there could be a player or two not even invited to camp that may play their way on their team (Steven Stamkos? John Tavares?). Heck, I'm even hoping Jason Spezza might elevate his play to a true elite level, perhaps using the motivation of not being offered an initial spot in the camp to help him get there. In any case, good times!