ESPN.com's experts are already cobbling together their Canadian and American rosters for the 2010 Olympics, and Scott Burnside has put a Cap on each team: Chris Clark [Team USA]Neither E.J. Hradek nor Pierre LeBrun have
Captain of the Washington Capitals had 30 goals two seasons ago and will go through a wall for you.
Mike Green [Team Canada]
Led all NHL defensemen with 18 goals last season and skates like the wind. Surely there's room on this squad for a player like that.
Update: Corey = teh smart
6 comments:
Mike Green will need to improve on his defense if he is to make the Canadian squad. Luckily, he has time to improve.
The list of possible Canadian blueliners is staggering: Pronger, Phaneuf, Weber, Bouwmeester, Boyle, Green, Burns, Jovo, Campbell, Regehr and maybe even Niedermayer for starters.
In another year it wouldn't surpise me if Green establishes himself over some of those guys but Canada's talent pool is so loaded I don't think it's shocking to picture a scenario leaving Green off.
Given how he's developing (and how well he played at Worlds last Spring), if he doesn't make that team, something has gone wrong along the way.
Puck Daddy delved into the Nylander trade today (again).
His thesis was basically as follows:
1. Nylander is paid like a top-2 center;
2. He would play the pivot on a top-2 line for many teams; but
3. He is a third-line center for the Caps.
Thus the incentive for the Caps to trade him.
I'm not sure I agree with #3, above. I think Nyls ends up on the second line and Fedorov on the third line. I also have reservations about team depth if Nyls leaves.
Here's the link.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Puck-Daddy-Hockey-Rumors-Live-Chat?urn=nhl,111840
Not only would it not surprise me to see Clark on Team USA, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him as captain.
My thought on 2010 with current Caps Olympians:
USA: Clark, Poti
Canada: Green
Russia: Ovechkin, Semin, (Fedorov?)
Sweden: Backstrom, Nylander
Finland: Lepisto
Slovakia: Jurcina
Outside chances for Fleishmann for the Czechs, and Kozlov and Varlamov for Russia
Wait...what? Ovechkin is Russian? I thought his official nationality was, "not Canadian".
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