Olympic team announcements coming soon...

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 2:20 am

I believe next week is when the teams are going to be announced. If I'm not mistaken, Team USA will be announced on Monday during the Stars-Wild broadcast on OLN. I remember John Davidson saying that about a month ago.

Here's my rosters for Team USA and Canada...

TEAM USA
Goalies: Rick DiPietro, Robert Esche, Ryan Miller

Defensemen: Bryan Berard, Chris Chelios, Brian Leetch, John-Michael Liles, Paul Mara, Brian Rafalski, Mathieu Schneider

Forwards: Tony Amonte, Jason Blake, Erik Cole, Craig Conroy, Chris Drury, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Bill Guerin, Mike Modano, Mark Parrish, Brian Rolston, Doug Weight, Mike York

Last Cut: Derian Hatcher

TEAM CANADA
Goalies: Martin Brodeur, Curtis Joseph, Marty Turco

Defensemen: Rob Blake, Ed Jovanovski, Bryan McCabe, Scott Niedermayer, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger, Wade Redden

Forwards: Todd Bertuzzi, Sidney Crosby, Simon Gagne, Dany Heatley, Jarome Iginla, Vincent Lecavalier, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Brad Richards, Joe Sakic, Jason Spezza, Alex Tanguay, Joe Thornton

Last Cut: Eric Staal

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 3:04 pm

Team USA announcement coming tonight!

I see Mike Knuble being mentioned as a candidate for the American side. I thought he was from Toronto...not sure what his situation is that makes him eligible for Team USA. Is he in the same boat as Hull and Deadmarsh were? I'd say he's a shoe-in if he's considered an American. I'd put him in over either Parrish or Amonte. With guys like Tkachuk, LeClair, and Roenick on the downside of their career and experiencing nagging injuries, this team needs to turn to new guys like Cole, Gionta and Knuble. The Americans definitely need an influx of new talent because Canada is going to be loaded for years to come with guys like Crosby, Spezza, Staal, and Nash leading the way.

On defense, Derian Hatcher...I know he had some hard feelings over getting left off the 2002 team so I don't know if he wants to play or not. I think he or Chelios will get that 7th defenseman spot. I see Aaron Miller is still a good bet to be on the blueline. I could see him go in over Mara. They've got plenty of offensive guys between Leetch, Rafalski, Schneider, Berard and Liles...they need a defensive specialist like Miller, Chelios and/or Hatcher.

In net, it looks pretty grim...depending on (Ryan) Miller's health, John Grahame would be my choice for the third goalie spot in his place. I think DiPietro should go in as the #1 with Esche as the backup. I'm hoping that in the future Al Montoya or Jimmy Howard emerge as a top flight goalie to be the #1 for Team USA in 2010 at Vancouver if the NHL is still going to participate in the Olympics.

The Canadians should run away and hide in this tournament but you never know if one of the other teams can play well for the couple weeks of the tournament and steal away the gold. It's a common belief that Canada could skate two or three teams and medal with at least two of them. It just depends on how the puck bounces but those guys go into the tournament as the heavy favorite and have the most to lose.

Before the teams are announced this week, here are my medal picks:
Gold-Canada
Silver-Czech Republic
Bronze-Sweden
4th-Finland
5th-USA
6th-Russia

Team Canada's announcement coming Wednesday...

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 4:14 pm

An item I haven't seen yet...apparently teams will be able to carry a taxi squad of three players in case of injury. This could allow the Americans to put Tkachuk on the team and take him off and replace him with a guy on the taxi squad if his ribs are healed by February or he decides to gain some more weight again.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=147239&hubname=nhl

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:20 am

Just announced, here's Team USA...

Goalies: DiPietro, Esche, Grahame
Defensemen: Chelios, Hatcher, Leopold, Liles, Miller, Rafalski, Schneider
Forwards: Blake, Cole, Conroy, Drury, Gionta, Gomez, Guerin, Knuble, Modano, Parrish, Rolston, Tkachuk, Weight

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:27 am

Immediate reactions, no Brian Leetch. A bit of a surprise. No shocker with the goalies...it was probably between Grahame and Ryan Miller for the third spot. Solid defense but no one compares to the type of talent Canada has. Up front, they'll have speed and they've got some guys who can play both ends of the ice. Just don't know if they've got the overall firepower to match Canada, the Czechs and the Swedes. I'm holding firm with a fifth place finish.

The three man taxi squad could include Leetch, Bryan Berard or Paul Mara and I'd put two forwards on there as well...Tony Amonte and Mike York would be my choices. These would be the "break glass in case of emergency" guys.

My lineup for Team USA...
Tkachuk-Modano-Guerin
Rolston-Weight-Knuble
Drury-Conroy-Parrish
Blake-Gomez-Gionta

Hatcher-Rafalski
Schneider-Miller
Chelios-Liles

DiPietro
Esche

Scratches: Cole, Grahame, Leopold

Cross Traffic · Post by **Cross Traffic** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 3:59 am

What a damn joke!

Chelios is slow and will be a pylon for opposing teams with the weak D the US has.

Tkachoke....JR has a damn right to be pissed, he is healthy unlike that out of shape slacker. Being snubbed has lit a fire under JR's ass, 2 points against the Nucks so far tonight.

Guerin...another stupid idea, he has done crap this season.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:55 am

roenick is garbage

tkachuk with broken knuckles is still a better player than roenick. bout time they got rid of his deadweight ass from team USA

USA has no shot in olympics, outmanned at every position, goaltending is bordeline avg, while canoooks have about 6 goalies they could call on, but Team USA look to be the world beater in World Juniors.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 3:15 am

Bill Guerin was the only choice i question

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:37 pm

Team Canada to be announced later today (4:30 to be exact)...still a lot of questions surrounding who's in and who's out. I'm a homer but Shanahan deserves a long look. He scored his 20th goal last night. A lot of people were calling him over the hill and he's be the Wings most consistent goal scorer this year and has taken over some of the leadership role with Yzerman being in and out of the lineup. I'm a Cujo supporter as well...I'd like to see him get onto the team. Luongo has had an off year and even Brodeur has been shaky. As far as I'm concerned, the two best Canadian goalies right now are Marty Turco and Joseph...Turco is a strong bet to make the team.

The rest of the teams probably won't be announced until tomorrow...I think the deadline is Thursday to pick the teams.

As for Team USA, I look at this being a transitional year. At least half of the roster won't be back in 2010 and hopefully some of the youngsters on the junior team become impact NHLers in 4 years. The future of American hockey is bright so I'm not going to be too disappointed to see a poor finish from the team in February. Things should be looking up in 4 years in Vancouver.

Roenick is acting so childish over being snubbed. I could've respected him if he didn't like the decision and acted in a more mature way. Instead, he throws a fit and sounds like a clown. It's almost like the "fans can kiss his ass" comment over the summer. The guy still is a great spokesman for the game but says stuff before he thinks about it. I've always like JR, Chelios and Hull's brutal honesty but all three of them have said some dumb things during their career. This was disgraceful what Roenick said. Take the rejection like a man and maybe could've been chosen for the taxi squad. He can forget that now.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:41 pm

Cross Traffic wrote:Chelios is slow and will be a pylon for opposing teams with the weak D the US has.

He's been the Wings best pure defender this year. We'll see how it goes on the big ice surface but he is still a viable defenseman. If the Americans had the depth the Canadians had, he probably wouldn't be on the team.

Cross Traffic · Post by **Cross Traffic** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:43 pm

JR broke his finger in the Nucks game, out 4-6 weeks, best game he has since opening night and he gets injured. Go figure. :(

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:17 pm

Cross Traffic wrote:JR broke his finger in the Nucks game, out 4-6 weeks, best game he has since opening night and he gets injured. Go figure. :(

When I heard about him breaking his finger, I immediately thought he went Kevin Brown and broke it punching something because he didn't make the Olympic team.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:32 pm

Team Germany
http://tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=10017&hubname=

Team Canada announcement moments away...

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:41 pm

shoalzie

you forgot, he made this gem of a comment earlier this year.

" if i'm not picked for team USA, i'll root for Team Canada"

fuck him.

unlike idahotard, who has a problem with tkackuk pick, tkachuk and his numbers are superior to roenicks, expecially considering he's outscoring roenick, and has played 22 less games!

JR 13 pts in 32 games
Tkachuk 15 pts in 10 games. 6 PP goals

yeah, keith shouldn't be wearing the red.white, and blue!

Cicatrix · Post by **Cicatrix** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:10 pm

Team Canada:

Goaltenders (3)

Martin Brodeur L/G 6' 2" 210 05/06/72 Montreal, QC New Jersey
Roberto Luongo L/G 6' 3" 205 04/04/79 Montreal, QC Florida
Marty Turco L/G 5' 11" 185 8/13/75 Sault Ste Marie, ON Dallas

Defensemen (7)

Rob Blake R 6' 4" 225 12/10/69 Simcoe, ON Colorado
Adam Foote R 6' 2" 220 07/10/71 Whitby, ON Colorado
Ed Jovanovski L 6' 2" 210 06/26/76 Windsor, ON Vancouver
Scott Niedermayer L 6' 1" 200 08/31/73 Windsor, ON Anaheim
Chris Pronger L 6' 6" 218 10/10/74 Dryden, ON Edmonton
Wade Redden L 6' 2" 212 06/12/77 Lloydminster, SK Ottawa
Robyn Regehr L 6' 3" 226 04/19/80 Rosthern, SK Calgary

Forwards (13)

Todd Bertuzzi L 6' 3" 245 2/20/75 Sudbury, ON Vancouver
Shane Doan R 6' 2" 216 10/10/76 Halkirk, AB Phoenix
Kris Draper L 5' 10" 190 05/24/71 Toronto, ON Detroit
Simon Gagne L 6' 0" 195 02/29/80 Ste-Foy, QC Philadelphia
Dany Heatley L 6' 3" 215 01/21/81 Calgary, AB Ottawa
Jarome Iginla R 6' 1" 208 07/01/77 St. Albert, AB Calgary
Vincent Lecavalier L 6'4" 223 4/21/80 Ile Bizard, QC Tampa Bay
Rick Nash L 6'4" 215 6/16/84 Brampton, ON Columbus
Brad Richards L 6' 1" 198 05/02/80 Murray Harbour, PEI Tampa Bay
Joe Sakic L 5' 11" 195 07/07/69 Burnaby, BC Colorado
Ryan Smyth L 6' 1" 190 02/21/76 Banff, AB Edmonton
Martin St. Louis L 5' 9" 185 06/18/75 Laval, QC Tampa Bay
Joe Thornton L 6' 4" 223 07/02/79 London, ON San Jose

I am LIKING this!

The Rat Pack · Post by **The Rat Pack** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:55 pm

Let's not forget that Staahl, Spezza...and the token Leaf will take turns driving the bus.

My dream is ATG getting the game winner.....in the gold medal game. It could happen.

...And where is Maria's bottom boy? Hahahahahaha

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:03 am

The Rat Pack wrote:Let's not forget that Staahl, Spezza...and the token Leaf will take turns driving the bus.

My dream is ATG getting the game winner.....in the gold medal game. It could happen.

...And where is Maria's bottom boy? Hahahahahaha

It looks like Canada is going with veterans of international competition...that's gotta be why Ryan Smyth is on the team. Spezza and Staal didn't make the primary roster either. In 4 years, we'll see Sid, Staal and Spezza lead the way for Canada but hopefully Team USA's kids rise up by then and they recapture the gold.

As for Ovechkin, I hope Russia does this...a line of Kovalchuk-Datsyuk-Ovechkin...damn!

The Rat Pack · Post by **The Rat Pack** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:35 am

yeah, the last time I saw Ryan Smyth in International play, he pulled a big suck. Remember him chopping away at that poor dudes ankles. That was bush league.

So now we have Jovo, Big Bert & his white hanky, Thornton, Heatley, Redden the Male Slut.. Boy what a lot of thugs & mooks. They make the USA basketball team look angelic.

I'm telling ya.. The Canadian team looks beatable.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:39 am

The Rat Pack wrote:yeah, the last time I saw Ryan Smyth in International play, he pulled a big suck. Remember him chopping away at that poor dudes ankles. That was bush league.

So now we have Jovo, Big Bert & his white hanky, Thornton, Heatley, Redden the Male Slut.. Boy what a lot of thugs & mooks. They make the USA basketball team look angelic.

I'm telling ya.. The Canadian team looks beatable.

certainly not by the russians or Usa.

Fins,Czechs,Swedes sure, those 2, no way!

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:20 am

They're beatable because Brodeur and Luongo have been shaky this year. Out of the three, Turco should start.

Tomorrow the rest of the world teams will be announced...waiting find out how many Red Wings make Team Sweden. They have 7 on their current roster: Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Lilja, Samuelsson, Franzen and Kronwall (injured). I'm betting on at least three, Nick, Z and Holmer...Samuelsson has an outside shot. Lang and Datsyuk will be on Olympic rosters as well.

Joey Moss · Post by **Joey Moss** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:25 am

The Rat Pack wrote:yeah, the last time I saw Ryan Smyth in International play, he pulled a big suck. Remember him chopping away at that poor dudes ankles. That was bush league.

Care to specify when the last time you actually saw him play and go after the ankels? I mean he has worn the Canadian jersy more than any other player, so just wondering when that "big suck" was?

So now we have Jovo, Big Bert & his white hanky, Thornton, Heatley, Redden the Male Slut.. Boy what a lot of thugs & mooks. They make the USA basketball team look angelic.

Care to look at your country's roster? You want to talk thugs how about Chelios, Hatcher, Guerin, Tkachuk, Weight.

Oh I forgot, you've probably abandoned the USA and are going to cheer for the Russians.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:32 am

Weight.

thug? Is this a shitty Jakeinmomsbasement troll??

Cicatrix · Post by **Cicatrix** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 6:23 am

Adelpiero wrote:
Weight.
thug? Is this a shitty Jakeinmomsbasement troll??

Loser. You ony picked one guy out of 5 to question JM on. Does that mean you agree with the goonification of the other four?

WAR having a leg to stand on.

You fucking bitch.

ps--I am wasted aftre having several $3.50 jugs of beer after an OIler 7 goal win.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:45 am

Cicatrix wrote:
Adelpiero wrote:
Weight.
thug? Is this a shitty Jakeinmomsbasement troll??
Loser. You ony picked one guy out of 5 to question JM on. Does that mean you agree with the goonification of the other four?

WAR having a leg to stand on.

You fucking bitch.

ps--I am wasted aftre having several $3.50 jugs of beer after an OIler 7 goal win.

retard, i could give a fuck about the other 4. I'm going to stick up for a guy who is wrongfully being labeled as a goon.

but to say weight is a goon, not only is assanine, it's just plain stupid.

The Rat Pack · Post by **The Rat Pack** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:17 pm

Ryan Smyth was maliciously chopping at Jiri Fischer's ankles in last year's world cup. There was 2 minutes left in an unwinnable game...and Smyth melted down. That a fact. Look it up.

..and we can add Brodeur in with the list because he cheated on his wife with his sister-in-law.

If the Canadian's get knocked out early...or late in the finals...they will not lose with dignity. They'll goon it up and pull big sucks.

AcidQueen · Post by **AcidQueen** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:52 pm

The Rat Pack wrote:Ryan Smyth was maliciously chopping at Jiri Fischer's ankles in last year's world cup. There was 2 minutes left in an unwinnable game...and Smyth melted down. That a fact. Look it up.

Right along with the fact that the Czechs lost that game, and that it was in 2004.

Unless of course you're talking about the World Championships.

The Rat Pack · Post by **The Rat Pack** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:54 pm

Sure, Scarecrow. Whatever...I'm sure it's worthy of a rolleyes whether I'm talking about a wrorld cup or world championship.

.anyway, there's a thread about it all somewhere in this forum. ...and it's all over the internet. ...and Smyth was the captain.

Joe Sakic is a class captain

Ryan Smyth is a captain that promotes goonery.

The Rat Pack · Post by **The Rat Pack** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:10 pm

Hey!! let's not forget that Nash almost got tossed from his last tourney for shoving the ref.

...and didn't Shane Doan just drop a racial bomb only a couple of days ago?

See You Next Wednesday · Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:58 pm

Kings got 5 players overall as near as I can tell: Norstrom (Sweden), Demitra and Visnovsky (Slovakia), Conroy and Miller (USA).

The Slovaks have quite the array of offensive firepower I must say (without Ziggy Palffy even): Hossa, Hossa, Gaborik, Demitra, Nagy, Svatos, Stumpel, and Bondra.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 1:04 am

The Rat Pack wrote:Hey!! let's not forget that Nash almost got tossed from his last tourney for shoving the ref.

...and didn't Shane Doan just drop a racial bomb only a couple of days ago?

Our American boys are no saints either. Chelios threatened Bettman's life a couple times through the media during the labor stoppages and a few players trashed that hotel room in Nagano. Throw in Roenick's gum-flapping and Hull's surly nature...they're not all sweethearts. Hockey players are still the best people in pro sports.

Cross Traffic · Post by **Cross Traffic** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:08 am

Frolov should make the taxi squad for the Russians at the least.

Noticed that that Italy's team has a lot of English first names...should be renamed Canadians with Italian decent.

fix · Post by **fix** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:27 am

Shoalzie wrote:Just announced, here's Team USA...

Goalies: DiPietro, Esche, Grahame
Defensemen: Chelios, Hatcher, Leopold, Liles, Miller, Rafalski, Schneider
Forwards: Blake, Cole, Conroy, Drury, Gionta, Gomez, Guerin, Knuble, Modano, Parrish, Rolston, Tkachuk, Weight

Can you think of one player not this roster that could crack the Canadian lineup?

Because there isn't one.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 1:55 pm

Otis wrote:
Shoalzie wrote:Just announced, here's Team USA...

Goalies: DiPietro, Esche, Grahame
Defensemen: Chelios, Hatcher, Leopold, Liles, Miller, Rafalski, Schneider
Forwards: Blake, Cole, Conroy, Drury, Gionta, Gomez, Guerin, Knuble, Modano, Parrish, Rolston, Tkachuk, Weight
Can you think of one player not this roster that could crack the Canadian lineup?

Because there isn't one.

I think Modano is still a viable player...he's having a nice turnaround season. He's not as good as he used to be but he's the best player Team USA has and he's got to be the Olympic MVP if they want to win a medal. This team hasn't been the same since Richter retired.

The Rat Pack · Post by **The Rat Pack** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:22 pm

Russian squad:

Goaltenders: Nikolai Khabibulin (Chikago Blackhawks), Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose Sharks), Ilya Bryzgalov (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)

Defencemen: Andrei Markov (Montreal Canadiens), Daniil Markov (Nashville Predators), Alexei Zhitnik (New York Islanders), Darius Kasparaitis (New York Rangers), Fedor Tyutin (New York Rangers), Anton Volchenkov (Ottawa Senators), Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh Penguins), Dmitry Bykov (Dynamo Moscow)

Forwards: Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta Thrashers), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings), Alexei Kovalev (Montreal Canadiens), Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals), Alexei Yashin (New York Islanders), Viktor Kozlov (New Jersey Devils), Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings), Maxim Afinogenov (Buffalo Sabres), Alexander Kharitonov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexei Zhamnov (Boston Bruins), Maxim Sushinsky (Dynamo Moscow), Evgeni Malkin (Metallurg Magnitogorsk).

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 11:59 pm

It's scary to think of how good the Russian team be if guys like Fedorov didn't opt against playing. No Kozlov, Zubov, Mogilny, Tverdovsky...lots of guys not on that team. Looking forward to seeing the young quartet of Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, Ovechkin and Malkin.

Cross Traffic · Post by **Cross Traffic** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 2:34 am

Russian D looks very nice with the addition of Zhitnik. Surprized Pavel went with 3 players from Dynamo Moscow and one from Metallurg.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:16 am

Several key guys dropping out of the Olympics...

Naslund is out for Team Sweden. Forsberg is hurting but is supposedly going to be good to go for Torino/Turin. Holmstrom is going to replace Naslund on the roster...he should've been there already.

Finland will be without Lehtonen and I thought that Kiprusoff said he wasn't going to play either.

Team Canada's defense is banged up...Jovanovski is out and Niedermayer is likely going to miss the games as well. No word on replacements.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:46 pm

Small shakeup on Team USA...Bret Hedican in, Aaron Miller out. Also Ryan Miller, Matt Cullen and Paul Martin are named to the three man taxi squad.

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/02/255814.html

I personally thought Paul Mara, Joe Corvo or Tom Poti should've been named to the team ahead of Hedican. Shoot, I would've said Berard if he didn't fail the drug test.

As for the taxi squad, I'm crossing my fingers that DiPietro or Esche come up lame so Miller can be put onto the active roster. He and John Grahame should be the two goalies dressed for Team USA if I had the choice. Esche and DiPietro have both been subpar...goals against over 3.00 and save percentage below .900.

Cross Traffic · Post by **Cross Traffic** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 3:52 am

Hedican?!? You have to be kidding me, replacing a defensive dman with one that wouldn't know the word if you gave him the definition.

AcidQueen · Post by **AcidQueen** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:14 pm

Cross Traffic wrote:Hedican?!? You have to be kidding me, replacing a defensive dman with one that wouldn't know the word if you gave him the definition.

In Hedican's admittedly mild defense, his defensive play is actually a bit better than you would think. I think he got the nod over the other guys simply because, like Erik Cole, he's already intimately familiar with the system that Laviolette is going to run in Turin.

I still think that the US is going to get pwned hardcore, though.