Post by Gary Jones on Aug 20, 2005 11:49:18 GMT -5
Team Canada wrapped up its 5 day camp Friday, a gathering that failed to make it any easier to narrow down the list of Olympic hopefuls. Not a single player looked out of place. "We knew this wouldn't be easy and it's not going to be," said head coach Pat Quinn. "The next three months will go a long way towards deciding who the final guys are."
A new wave of young stars has made the selection process a lot more difficult.
"The 2002 (Olympic) team was a great team, we won the gold medal, they deserved all the accolades that they got," executive director Wayne Gretzky said. "But this team seems to have a little more depth and maybe a little more talent to pick from. So it makes the job of picking the right 23 guys even more difficult."
In goal, Martin Brodeur returns as the starter in one of the few easy decisions.
At this point Roberto Luongo appears to be No. 2, a job he had at the World Cup, with Jose Theodore nipping at his heels. The Florida-Montreal games this fall will have some added spice to them, to be sure.
On defence, the Big Four of Adam Foote, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Rob Blake are a lock to return from the defending Olympic champion squad. But after that, it becomes a massive battle for the three or four remaining spots.
Robyn Regehr and Ed Jovanovski likely have the inside track on two of those jobs, leaving Wade Redden, Scott Hannan and Dan Boyle to fight it out for one or two spots. Eric Brewer, Chris Phillips and Jay Bouwmeester are on the outside looking in right now.
Up front, it's even more difficult. But the decision-making starts with the premise that veterans Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman are on the team if they're healthy.
The locks at forward are few and far between because of the embarrassment of riches. But Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla join Yzerman and Lemieux as already having secured their ticket to Turin
A new wave of young stars has made the selection process a lot more difficult.
"The 2002 (Olympic) team was a great team, we won the gold medal, they deserved all the accolades that they got," executive director Wayne Gretzky said. "But this team seems to have a little more depth and maybe a little more talent to pick from. So it makes the job of picking the right 23 guys even more difficult."
In goal, Martin Brodeur returns as the starter in one of the few easy decisions.
At this point Roberto Luongo appears to be No. 2, a job he had at the World Cup, with Jose Theodore nipping at his heels. The Florida-Montreal games this fall will have some added spice to them, to be sure.
On defence, the Big Four of Adam Foote, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Rob Blake are a lock to return from the defending Olympic champion squad. But after that, it becomes a massive battle for the three or four remaining spots.
Robyn Regehr and Ed Jovanovski likely have the inside track on two of those jobs, leaving Wade Redden, Scott Hannan and Dan Boyle to fight it out for one or two spots. Eric Brewer, Chris Phillips and Jay Bouwmeester are on the outside looking in right now.
Up front, it's even more difficult. But the decision-making starts with the premise that veterans Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman are on the team if they're healthy.
The locks at forward are few and far between because of the embarrassment of riches. But Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla join Yzerman and Lemieux as already having secured their ticket to Turin