Constructing Canada

We're six months from the Olympics, and Canada's orientation camp has come to a conclusion. The reviews are in, but do they really matter? At the end of the day, is Jarome Iginla's weak effort or Simon Gagne's injury going to determine their fate come the roster announcement this December? Probably not. Everyone knows all these players too well. It's the months of regular season play leading up to the tournament that will have the biggest impact on each team's composition. Of course there are locks to make the team, but about 1/3 of the roster is open for debate, perhaps more than that if you're like me and believe players like Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton (who just became teammates and can hide TOGETHER in the playoffs from now on) have no business wearing the red and white in 2010.

Regardless, Canada will have a team to be reckoned with. In fairness though, some of the other teams are looking pretty snazzy on paper (Russia, anyone?) and let's not forget our horrendous seventh place finish in 2006. Any number of teams can walk away with gold, mostly because every country has a goaltender capable of stealing one game at a time, all the way to the final. It used to be the case that Canada's distinct advantage was in goal, but now I would argue it is our biggest question mark, if not weakness heading into Vancouver.

The favorite to start, Martin Brodeur, is well past his prime, the evidence being three straight sub-par playoff performances. Years, not games. Then there's the Golden Boy - Roberto Luongo. Sure he looks slick and talks a big game, but where are the results? I know he hasn't played for the Detroit Red Wings, but if he's as good as everyone says he is, how is it that he's never advanced past the second round of the playoffs? Why does he have a losing record for his career? He's never won anything of significance, and hey, he was the goalie that got hammer-timed 6-3 by Kazakhstan at the 1998 World Junior Championships. I'm just saying I'm worried.

I won't be though, if somehow Steve Yzerman ignores popular opinion and selects the right goalies. Who are they you might wonder? Well, in my eyes, they are Marc Andre Fleury, Cam Ward, and Marty Turco. I just think that trio stacks up better against combos like Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas, Niklas Backstrom and Mikka Kiprusoff, or Henrik Lundqvist and whomever is sitting on Sweden's bench.

We can win it all, or fall all the way to seventh again. No result would be surprising when you consider the talent that will be gathering at the Olympic hockey tournament this February.