2010 Olympic Hockey

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Pierre McGuire unveils his picks for Canada's Olympic team

McGuire's Team Canada Lines
Goaltenders
Brodeur
Luongo
Price
Defence Pairings
Bouwmeester - Niedermayer
Phaneuf - Weber
Burns - Green
Boyle
Forward Lines
Crosby ? Lecavalier - Iginla
Heatley ? Getzlaf - Nash
Carter ? Thornton - Gagne
Morrow ? Richards - Doan
Savard

The 23-man roster that will represent Canada at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver has been set, or so it would seem if hockey analyst and former player/coach Pierre McGuire were executive director of Canada's men's hockey team.
With 365 days before the puck drops in the opening game of the tournament, McGuire unveiled the players he believes should make up the men's national team - a list that includes 12 members of the old guard.
In the blue paint, Martin Brodeur was selected to be the starting goaltender for the country's Olympic team. The 36-year-old has missed most of the 2008-09 NHL campaign following elbow surgery in November but with the Montreal native on the mend, McGuire feels his resume is too deep to ignore.
"A staple in the Canadian net since the 2002 Salt Lake City games, Martin Brodeur is Canada's ultimate pressure-treated goaltender, winning three Stanley Cups, Olympic gold and a World Cup during a glittering professional career."

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McGuire admitted that there were some very tough omissions when he completed his list.
?I think you have to start in goal, when you consider Carey Price and Steve Mason. I don't think anyone is going to debate Martin Brodeur or Roberto Luongo are going to be there so who gets to be the third guy. I give Carey Price the edge because he's from BC. He's played in that rink before.?
McGuire also had a very difficult choice to make for his final forward spot.
?When you look at the forward position it's Shane Doan versus Jonathan Toews. Toews is a great leader and when you look at his performance in Leksand,Sweden during the World Juniors was unbelievable. But I've watched Shane Doan play in international competitions; I've watched him be a leader. I know he has 22 goals this year for Phoenix. He's done all the little things right so I give him a bit of a veteran edge because of all the pressure that's going to be on this team in Vancouver. I think Doan can settle everything down and that's why he gets a bit of an edge.?

[3074326]

What do you think about the roster? Always like getting your opinion on hockey things, if you couldn't tell.

[jimotis4heisman]

Originally Posted by 3074326

What do you think about the roster? Always like getting your opinion on hockey things, if you couldn't tell.

its not the set in stone roster, its pierres sent in stone roster...

the obvious talking point is brendan morrows health, the lack of captain canada joe sakic, etc.

iim not sure on the approach, do you line up a bunch of all stars and try and out gun the world? or do you put together a typical team with two scoring lines, a checking line and a 4th line? who is the coach, blah blah....

itll will be interesting for stevie y. is that enough of a cop out answer?

[3074326]

That's enough for now.

[jimotis4heisman]

Schedule for Olympic hockey tournament released

Canada will begin the quest for gold in men's hockey on home ice against Norway when the highly anticipated Olympic hockey tournament begins in just under one year's time on February 16th.
The International Ice Hockey Federation released the preliminary schedule for the Games on Friday.
Canada takes on Switzerland on February 18th before closing out the round-robin portion of the tournament against rival United States on February 21st. That last day will also feature traditional rivals Russia against the Czech Republic and Sweden taking on Finland.
All of Canada's preliminary round games will be played at Canada Hockey Place at 1:30 pm ET (10:30 am PT) except for the final round robin game, which is scheduled to start at 1:45 pm ET (10:45 am PT). Should Canada qualify directly for the quarter-finals, that game would begin at 1:30 pm ET (10:30 am PT) on February 24th. The semifinal game would see Canada play at 3:30 pm ET (12:30 pm PT). The bronze medal match is scheduled for 4:00 pm ET (1:00 pm PT) on February 27th while the gold medal game is scheduled to be played on the final day of the Olympic Games, February 28th, at 9:15 am ET (6:15 am PT).
Ninety years after their first Olympic game, the United States and Switzerland will open the men's event at Canada Hockey Place. At the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, the Americans defeated the Swiss 29-0 in what was then the first ever Olympic ice hockey game for both nations.
Sweden will open its quest for a second straight gold medal against Germany on day two of the men's tournament.


continued...

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CTV Olympics - USA Hockey officially taps Wilson as Olympic coach

USA Hockey officially named Ron Wilson head coach of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team on Monday morning.

Wilson, the current head coach of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, will also serve as the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team at the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship April 24-May 10 in Berne and Zurich-Kloten, Switzerland.
Wilson led the U.S. to the gold medal in the first-ever World Cup of Hockey in 1996 and is the second-winningest active coach in the National Hockey League.
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CTV Olympics - Ruff, Hitchcock, Lemaire to assist Babcock

Lindy Ruff, Ken Hitchcock and Jacques Lemaire will be assistant coaches to Mike Babcock on Canada's 2010 men's Olympic hockey team, sources tell CTVOlympics.ca.
The team's executive director, Steve Yzerman, is expected to officially introduce all four coaches in a news conference Thursday morning in Montreal, including Red Wings coach Mike Babcock as head coach.

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CTV Olympics - McGuire talks Team Canada forwards
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/new...lks+defencemen

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CTV Olympics - The veteran behind the bench

He was standing in the visiting coaches office in the Pengrowth Saddledome, putting forward a unique theory about the 2010 men's Winter Olympics hockey tournament and what Canada can expect from the opposition.
This was Ken Hitchcock, the thoughtful Columbus Blue Jackets coach, who doesn't mind tilting against occasional windmills - or conventional thought.
"I see this as being very much a North American style of game - NHL players playing on NHL surfaces with international rules," said Hitchcock, one of Canada's three assistants for 2010 Games in Vancouver. "Size will matter. There will be more shots on goal - lots more. There is going to be more physical play. There is going to be more dump-and-chase.
"You can't stand back in the neutral zone in a small rink because the rink is tighter, so it's easier to chip the puck in and then go in and get it again. You can't do that stuff."

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and more discussion of the international game, how it effected torin, how its boring, slow, played in the neutral zone, not as physical and generally lame...

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tickets-(check)