Rest of Europe - Look to 2010

Well, we did the Canadians and the Americans, so I figured it was only necessary to go through the remaining hockey powers: Latvia, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. And if you don't believe that, then we could always keep it boring, bland and predictable and go with the four dominant Euro teams of: Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czechs. Instead of going into depth with these teams, I figured I would just do them all in one major blog. I also attempting to keep in mind that every team needs: skill, grit, speed, youth, leadership, size, quickness, so I just listed the initial eight picks, filled out the rest of the roster, added in the 'on the bubble names' and lead into a great debate on how well we know the other teams going for the Gold in 2010...

Russia.
This should be the most entertaining team in the tournament had may have the most offensively gifted team.

Initial Eight.
Alex Ovechkin, Gino Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Alex Kovalev, Andrei Markov, Sergei Zubov (captain) & Alex Semin.

Rest of the Forwards.
Alex Frolov, Alex Radulov, Slava Kozlov, Enver Lisin, Sergei Fedorov, Nikita Filatov & Nikolai Kulemin.

Rest of Dmen.
Denis Grebeshkov, Fedor Tyutin, Anton Volchenkov, Dmitri Kalinin & Maxim Goncharov.

Goalies.
Evgeni Nabokov (yes, he isn't Russian, but he's played for Russia at the Olympics, so he counts), Nikolai Khabibulin & Ilja Bryzgalov.

On the Bubble Players.
Sergei Samsonov, Viktor Tikhonov, Maxim Afinogenov, Viktor Kozlov, Alexei Semenov, Evgeni Artyukhin, Sergei Andronov, Nikita Klyukin & Dmitri Orlov.



Sweden.
The defending Olympic champs should have another team that could dominate the tourney and capture it's 2nd consecutive gold medal.

Initial Eight.
D. Sedin, H. Sedin, Henrik Zetterberg, Nik Backstrom, Daniel Alfredsson, Markus Naslund, Nik Lidstrom (captain) & Mats Sundin.

Rest of Forwards.
Johna Franzen, Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, Kristian Huselius, Tomas Holmstrom & Oscar Moller.

Rest of Dmen.
Nik Kronwall, Mattias Ohlund, Victor Hedman, Alex Edler, Johnny Oduya & Tobias Enstrom.

Goalies.
Henrik Lundqvist, Mikael Tellqvist & Erik Ersberg.

On the Bubble Players.
Johan Hedberg, Kimmy Johnsson, Nik Havelid, Andreas Lilja, Anton Stralman, Douglas Murray, Mikael Sameulsson, Patrik Berglund, Fabian Brunnstrom, Mikael Backlund, Freddy Modin, Michael Nylander, Sammy Pahlsson, Loui Eriksson & Erik Karlsson.



Finland.
Well, the glory years are behind them and age is creeping up on current NHL superstars, but you can never count out the Finns as they proved in 2006 with their silver medal performance.

Initial Eight.
Olli Jokinen, Teemu Selanne (captain), S. Koivu, M. Koivu, Nik Hagman, Kimmo Timonen & Mikka Kiprusoff.

Rest of Forwards.
Jere Lehtinen, Ville Peltonen, Tuomo Ruutu, Anti Miettinen, Valtteri Filppula, Jarkko Ruutu, Teemu Hartikainen & Jussi Jokinen.

Rest of Dmen.
Joni Pitkanen, Sami Salo, Ossi Vaananen, Teppo Numminen, Toni Lydman & Lasse Kukkonen.

Goalies.
Nik Backstrom & Pekka Rinne

On the Bubble Players.
Ville Koistinen, Anssi Salmela, Vesa Toskala, Kari Lehtonen, Karri Ramo, Sean Bergenheim, Lauri Korpikoski, Petteri Nokelainen, Jesse Joensuu & Jyri Niemi.



Czech Republic.
The Czechs, to me, are the most interesting team to watch in 2010 because I think they have the most depth of any country in Europe. They have gone: Gold in 1998, no medal in 2002, Bronze in 2006. So, what team will show up in Vancouver, the strong medal contender or the quarter-finalist?

Initial Eight.
Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, Patrik Elias, Ales Hemsky, Martin Havlat, Milan Hejduk, Petr Sykora & Jaromir Jagr (captain).

Rest of Forwards.
Jakub Voracek, Jiri Hudler, Michael Frolik, David Krejci, Robert Lang, Milan Michalek & Martin Erat.

Rest of Dmen.
Michal Rozsival, Roman Hamrlik, Filip Kuba, Jaro Spacek & Marek Zidlicky.

Goalies.
Tomas Vokoun, Ondrej Pavelec & Marek Schwarz.

On the Bubble Players.
Martin Hanzal, Radek Dvorak, Tomas Fleischmann, Tomas Plekanec, Kiri Tlusty, Ales Kotalik, Radim Vrbata, Petr Prucha, Bobby Holik, Jan Hejda, Martin Skoula, Marek Malik, Zbynek Michalek, Lukas Krajicek, Frantisek Kaberle, Ladislav Smid & Radek Martinek.

Cheers.
-Smith

Team USA - Look to 2010

While Sporer works on the Canadian 2010 team, I thought I would look at one of their main competitors and chief rival, the Stars & Stripes.

Now, no one is expecting this team to put up 7 goals a game like the mighty Canucks are capable of, but I do think they have some players who can definitely keep up with their northern brethren. We all know Canada has some deep hockey roots and could likely field two teams; however, they have already completed their youth movement, while the Americans will have to start theirs at the 2010 Games. The Americans seem to be at the same cross-roads as most other teams, the 'changing of the guard' cliche and will be pressed into including some younger talent at the expense of their older veterans. While Canada was able to replace veterans with immediate NHL-superstar-talent, the USA might not be so lucky and will need 2nd-tier-NHL-talent to step in and fill the bottom 6 forward spots. Gone are the days of Roenick, Weight, and Tkachuk (aka. The Glory Years of American Hockey), but they aren't leaving because they want too, it may be because they have too. With the Americans pumping out 8 1st round picks in 2005, 10 in 2006, 10 in 2007 and 5 more in 2008 (including, at least, a top 3 pick in every one of those drafts) the golden age has been wedged out by a more flamboyant and youthful core of prospects. The team will have 13 forwards, 7 Dmen and 3 goalies; leading the way are the following six no-brainers...

Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Chris Drury (captain), Brian Rafalski and Ryan Miller. I was looking to pick more then six, but I really didn't feel anyone else deserved to be a total-no-matter-what-lock. I know I criticized Sporer for picking a goalie for Canada, but Canada has at least 6 goalies who could be #1, the USA has only Miller (maybe Thomas, but his age turned me away from him).

From there, the trickle down effect of skill is explosive and responsible. Next on the depth chart, as far as forwards go is a trio of New Jersey Devil alumni: Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Brian Rolston. Gionta, Gomez and Rolston grew in the NJD defensive system and will provide some two-way hockey sense to slow down the more powerfully offensive teams.

As for the remaining six spots, I had a tough time debating on what was more important... Veteran experience or young potential? Jamie Langenbrunner, Mike Modano, Erik Cole, Craig Conroy and Bill Guerin all provide the leadership and experience, while Bobby Ryan, Peter Mueller, David Booth, RJ Umberger, Drew Stafford, Blake Wheeler, Dustin Brown, Patrick O'Sullivan, Ryan Kesler and Ryan Malone make up the youth side of the equation. In the end, for me, a pair of Kings (Brown & O'Sullivan) with Langenbrunner will make up a speedy, defensive 3rd line with Mueller, Stafford and Booth getting a small glimpse of experience.

I had a really hard time leaving out Guerin and Weight, but I just felt it was more necessary to bring along the younger guys (Mueller, Stafford, Booth, Parise, Kane, Kessel, O'Sullivan and Brown are all 24 years old or younger) that will form the future of American hockey. I know, that's 8 out of the 12 forwards with no NHL-level international experience, but all of the American forwards have played at the World Juniors.

We already have Rafalski on the back end, and this is where the Americans have really fluoresced in the recent past. Ryan Suter (7th in 2003), Erik Johnson (1st in 2006), Jack Johnson (3rd in 2005) should all make the team, along with Ryan Whitney (5th in 2002, if healthy). This leaves two spots for guys like: Tom Gilbert, J-M Liles, Chris Chelios, Paul Martin, Ron Hainsey (quietly on pace for 40 points), Joe Corvo, Matt Schneider and Matt Carle. In the end, Gilbert's points production won't be ignored and, with no real experience other then Rafalski, I really want to give the spot to Schneider or even Chelios, but I think Liles' numbers (like Gilbert) can't be ignored. Again, of this group, only Gilbert and Liles failed to make the World Junior Tournament, but this group of defencemen does boast: 2 World Cups, 8 World Championships and 3 Olympics. On a side note, Gilbert contributed exactly 0 of any of those...

In goal, the Americans don't have the same depth as other teams at all. It's Ryan Miller or Tim Thomas or bust. Sure, Rick Dipietro is a stud (and a bargain at 4.5 million), but no one ever knows if he is going to be healthy; however, I assume he will get the #3 job. Some dark-horses that are having outrageous years are Ty Conklin (16 wins) and Scott Clemmensen (21 wins) and both might be able to wiggle into the #3 job, but that is only based on this years' numbers and next years (mind you Conklin is 32 and Clemmensen is 31). I just had a thought that, maybe Cory Schneider gets the #3 spot, he seems to be the future of USA hockey between the pipes.
Overall, this team is built like a real team: two scoring lines, a defensive line, an energy line and six solid Dmen who can score, move the puck, skate and defend. The Americans have a lot of even younger players who will definitely get an invite to the camp: Zach Bogosian, Colin Wilson, Jake Gardiner, James van Riemsdyk, Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Shattenkirk, Max Pacioretty and Jordan Schroeder; however, their impact will be felt in 2014 (depending on the new CBA). It's out with the old, in with the new down south, and this team is either going to sink or swim.

Cheers.
-Smith

p.s. You may have noticed that my love affair with Mike Modano did not help his cause to make the team, unlike a certain Edmonton Oiler who just needed to be on the Canadian team...

Vancouver 2010

It’s a never ending debate. It is the decision that will affect a nation. One tournament, with one common goal. The Gold Medal. Yes I am talking about the 2010 Olympics. The Canadian men’s hockey team in particular. The debate: Who makes it? Who doesn’t? In past years we have seen brilliant decisions on players, and, not so brilliant ones. We have seen Rob Zamuner make the team over Mark Messier. With Steve Yzerman at the helm this time around, we are left to wonder....Is this another Nagano? Or is it a Salt Lake City remake? We wait, with great anticipation....

So here is my attempt (halfway through the season) to name the team, with a few bubble players (may or may not make it). Ill also give a quick breakdown of the player and why I chose them. So without further ado, my 2010 Canadian Men’s Olympic hockey team:
Here are the first eight to be named:


1st line Center: Sidney Crosby
2008-2009 Stats
47GP-17G-43A-60P
Why? : Is this even a question? Crosby is a given, as much as Gretzky was ever a given for a team Canada. Crosby may not be the next Great One, but he certainly is the best center Canada has.






1st line Right Wing and Team Captain: Jarome Iginla
2008-2009 Stats
46GP-19G-34A-53P
Why? : Iginla, like Crosby, is a given. So much so that he should and will be named team captain. This will be his third Olympics, making him one of the longest serving on the team. Iginla personifies “class”.






1st line Left Wing: Rick Nash
2008-2009 Stats
43GP-19G-24A-43P
Why? : Nash is Canada’s player, besides Crosby and Iginla; this man plays with a maple leaf tattooed to his rear end. He scored highlight reel goals game in and out. Young and a workhorse, he is already the Blue Jackets captain.





Left Wing: Dany Heatley
2008-2009 Stats
44GP-21G-22A-43P
Why? : Heatley is a goal scorer, and he will score goals. He will be Canada’s trigger man; don’t be surprised if by the end of the tournament Heatley leads the team in goals.






Center: Vinny Lecavalier
2008-2009 Stats
47GP-21G-23A-44P
Why? : Vinny is having a little bit of an off year, and yet the guy is still scoring 44 points. Another Canadian hero, this guy is a given for this team and don’t be surprised to see him score a few huge goals for Team Canada.






Right Wing: Simon Gagne
2008-2009 Stats
43GP-19G-26A-45P
Gagne has quietly been having a great season for the flyers. He was there in Torino, and he’ll be there in Vancouver, he oozes talent and is not only a great goal scorer, but a quality defensive forward as he is +18 on the season.





Defenseman: Mike Green
2008-2009 Stats
35GP-12G-21A-33P-+17
Why? : Mike Green is Canada’s best young defenseman. He is on e of the best puck movers in the NHL from the back end, and is great defensively as well. He may not be on the starting 8, but he will surely be on this team.





Starting Goaltender: Martin Brodeur
2008-2009 Stats
10GP-6W-2L-.916 SV%-2.16 GAA
I don’t know how anyone could argue that Brodeur is the man. He has played on the team since Nagano. He was in net for Gold in Salt Lake, he has won 2 Stanley Cups, and is Canada’s (if not the NHL’s) best goaltender.




So now that I have named the starting eight, Ill now go on and name the rest of the team, without as much depth.

So the forwards round out to having Joe Thornton, Ryan Getzlaf, Jeff Carter, Shane Doan, Mike Richards, and Patrick Marleau. Marleau is the only one id question here. On defense I have Shea Weber, Dan Boyle, Sheldon Souray, Chris Pronger, and Brian Campbell. I think all these guys make it, though it will be hard seeing as how then both Jay Bouwmeester and Dion Phaneuf are extra’s. This team will have grit and determination on their side with guys such as Thornton, Doan, Carter, Richards, and Getzlaf. On defense it will be the best puck moving squad ever assembled. All 6 of them responsible in their own end as well. In goal, it should be Luongo’s last year to play second fiddle to Brodeur, and Carey Price will enjoy being the third string, this will be a great thing for a young goaltender as well. As Price is Canada’s goalie of the future.

So many of you may now be starting to sit uneasy in your seat as you would rather have other players on the team, and maybe your right and I'm wrong, this is clearly my opinion of what the team should look like. So ill put down a few players who should be heavily considered:
























Every single one of these players is capable if making the Team Canada squad, however, as of right now, I just don’t see them making that cut. Savard is every bit the same player Thornton is, just smaller. St Louis and Cammalleri are both quality goal scorers, however id say size is the issue. Corey Perry and Jon Toews could easily make the jump to this team, as both have insane talent, however, they may still be a little ripe. Brad Richards and Jason Spezza are seeing slumping seasons which is why I couldn’t see them there. Ryan Smyth is aging, he is still having a decent season considering his age, but it seems as if Captain Canada has finally seen his last Olympic days. Phaneuf is not having such a great season, but a jump start next year could land him a spot. Wideman is having a great season, and if he could do even better next year, a spot will be his, though most likely just being an extra. Blake is an aging vet as well and has seen his glory days come and go. Bouwmeester should make a big case for a spot on the team, I would say it depends on where he goes this summer.

Anyways that’s all I have.
-Sporer

Monday Morning Recap - On Time Edition

Finally! It's bloody Monday and my post is in on time! Enjoy!

Here are my NHL thoughts for the week...

1 a – Daily Oiler Bashing – No, I don't think Cole signs for anything less then the 4 million he is making now. It doesn't make sense for him to take a pay cut. He's only 30, is a potential 30 goal man and if he hits the open market, he is going to get paid. It's just that simple. It will be even worse for the Oilers if Cole is one of the best power-forwards on the market, then for sure he will be in high demand.

1 b – Despite the usual Oiler bashing, I'm a man and Ales Hemsky is making me eat my words. Mind you it's only two games, but if this is the beginning, then he is certainly going to look great in another team's colors because we all know Edmonton won't be able to pay to keep him when he's 27-28. Ha.

1 c – Drew, I have to admit, I am jealous of the Flames. I would take Kipper, Phaneuf, Iginla over Roli, Souray, Hemsky any day of the week. Although, I have to give a shout out to Turco, Zubov, Ribiero because of one simple reason: those three have a combined one ring. Your combined six have zero. Snap.

1 d – There isn't even any oil in Edmonton...

2 a – The skills competition. Brutal. Just brutal. Let's break it down...

Fastest Skater – Cogliano won, but didn't come close to the record set by a 34-year old Mike Gartner.

Freestyle Shootout – Wow. The major event of the night was a huge flop. If you saw the highlights, they only showed about four or five total dekes and yes, all of them were that bad. Dwight Howard of the NBA dons a Superman outfit and all Ovechkin can do is put on a hat and glasses? Common now.

Yougstars Game – I have never seen so many 2-on-1's been screwed up before in my life.

Shooting Accuracy – I guess we know why Malkin has lead the league in points the past year and a half.

Hardest Shot – Sporer, even though Souray didn't appear to 'even try', you can't argue when the defending champion sets the new Nhl record at 105.4 mph.

Elimination Shootout – This was the event I looked forward to the most. How the fuck does Shane Doan win?

2 b – The actual Allstar game. Awesome. Just awesome. Let's break it down...

2nd highest goal total in history
4-2 after the first, 8-8 after the second and 11-11 after the third
A 4-on-3 powerplay in OT
The home team favorite scoring the SO winner

2 c – Plus, my boy 4-4 scored a pair of goals, but was reluctent to unleash his patented bomb from the blueline.

2 d – All I wanted to see was Malkin-Ovechkin-Kovalchuk on a line together. Russia is going to be huge in Vancouver 2010.

3 a – Screw the salary cap, screw the economy and screw all of these other money problems, if Montreal doesn't trade for Vinny Lecavalier then I honesty think it will cost Bob Gainey his job. Did you hear the ovation he got? It was the loudest and longest of any of the players, including their own! It doesn't matter the price, you have to sell assets to acquire assets.

3 b – Tampa GM Brian Lawton has denied that he is shopping Lecavalier. Hmmmm... Didn't they say the same thing about Dan Boyle? Maybe this time, they won't get the short end of the stick in the deal.

3 c – Rumors had Edmonton dealing 3 players, 2 prospects, 2 1st rounders and a 3rd rounder for Vinny. Why this shit can't any of these rumors ever come true?

4 – Fighting in hockey. I think the solution I like best that I've heard is, abolish fighting in every league that isn't named the NHL. I don't personally watch any other leagues, so I don't really care about them, but this rule could have prevented the Don Sanderson death, the AHL incident earlier this week and future incidents that could happen; then you could almost relate fighting to... wearing a visor. In junior, the visor is mandatory, then you have an option in the NHL... same with fighting, it's outlawed in junior, then you have the option in the NHL.

5 – I gotta say, with all the talk about Montreal's hockey greats, it kind of got on my nerves. Now, I know we have had the discussion that you can't compare generations of hockey, but common, do you honestly think Rocket Richard would skate around Scott Neidermayer? Or Terry Sawchuk could stop Zdeno Chara's blast? Or Henri Richard winning 10 Stanley Cups? To me, heck no. The players are bigger, stronger, faster and the equipment has gotten larger, then smaller, but bulkier and let's not forget the no red-line and new obstruction rules too. In the end, it's nice to honor the people who have paved the way, but let's not carried away in saying they are the greatest ever.

Here are my non-NHL thoughts for the week...

1 a – Mike Tomlin has a chance to become the youngest coach to win the Superbowl. Impressive.

1 b – Jaime Dukes. He's the abnormally large black man who gives 'insight' to Sportsnet for their NFL coverage... Here is a sample of what kind of 'insight' he provides the Steelers to stop the Cardinals...

a) Stop the run
b) Pressure Kurt Warner
c) Stop the passing game

Is this guy f*cking retarded? What kind of insight is that?! My 15-year-old sister could have told the Cardinals that! Those are keys to stop every team, Pittsburgh is no exception! Basically, he is saying, 'stop their best players', well Genius, thank you for providing us with brand new information in the world of sports! Stop their best players! Geez, why the hell didn't I think of that? Now you see why I hate Sportsnet, because of these fuckin' goofs.

2 a – Duke Blue Devils. Ya boi. They should be the #1 team in the nation by Monday morning and laid a grade 4 beat down on some kindergarteners from Maryland. Greivis Vasquez from Maryland decided to give the Blue Devils some extra ammunition in the newspaper and, well, let's just say 'it backfired' would be a huge understatement. A 85-44 understatement.

2 b – Vasquez ended up with as many turnovers as he did points, 4.

3 – Another thing that irks me about sports broadcasters... When they mis-pronouce someone's name. Fuck that drives me up the wall, ESPECIALLY when it's a North American sport! And you know what, if it happens to be tennis, soccer, NASCAR, cricket or the mother fucking midget olympics, listen to some damn tapes and get the name right! Or better yet, if it's possible, ask the friggin' athlete themselves! So, fuck you Don Taylor and Mike Toth. This is why you are on a shitty, low-budget, no talent channel for gaylords.

4 a – Keys To The VIP. If you have never seen this show on the Comedy Network, PVR this shit. It's hilarious. Four guys gather two contestents who claim to be 'ladies-men' and pick-up extraordinaires and they send them to a night club to compete and be judged on their 'talent'. I watched one last night, and they had to use the line, 'you remind me of my friend Tyler, but don't worry, he's hot!' and the other guy had to sing the song from Aladdin, 'I can show you the World'. Pure gold. There is nothing better then seeing a guy be brought down ten notches by a female.

4 b – The guy who had to use the Tyler line got buuuuuurned. He says the line, the girl asks him to hold her glass, she turns around and walks away. Deep.

5 – Tennis. Man, I love this sport. The Aussie Open is on and it just reminds me of how many of these players I really like. The list starts and ends with Federer, possibly the greatest of all time and I damn well hope he dashes Nadal in the finals... IF Nadal makes it that far. Other players include: Roddick, James Blake, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marat Safin.

5 b – It should be noted that, while I do love tennis, I do H-A-T-E women's tennis. Again, this is because I hate female sports period, tennis is no exception.

5 c – If you think the MLB has a steroid scandal on their hands, I think someone should break out the needle on those she-beast Williams sisters.

Cheers.
-Smith

p.s. Drew, as much as you hated my column on my hated athletes... Tom Brady does take it in the ass from Nadal without lube, fist style. BUT, here is something to cheer you up... Big Dion and Elisha. Beach style.