Before setting out on any journey it's crucial the goal be defined. With this in mind, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock sat down with advertising guru Rick Larsen to pen the purpose of Canada's Olympic residence. The resulting text was posted in the team's dressing room for the tournament.
LEAVE NO DOUBT
That this is our game.
That this is our time.
That 14 days in February will be 2 weeks for the ages.
That every day counts.
That every meeting matters.
That every practice makes a difference.
That each one of us will rise to every occasion.
That this isn't about us, it's about our country.
That we know 33 million Canadians will attend every game.
That home ice is an advantage.
That nothing can distract us.
That nothing will stop us.
That our determination will define us.
That we are built to win.
That we are a team of character.
That we are a team of destiny.
So let the world be warned on February 28, 2010, we will …
LEAVE NO DOUBT
And on February 28th Canada beat the USA 3-2 to win gold . . .
. . . leaving no doubt. Well done boys, you've made your country proud.
* See also Today In NHL History - Canada Wins Gold (2010).
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Team Canada's 2010 Olympic Motto
Today In NHL History - Canada Wins Gold (2010)
That's today in NHL history.
* See also Team Canada's 2010 Olympic Motto.
* See also Today In NHL History - Canada Wins Gold (2002).
Friday, February 27, 2026
Today In NHL History - Forsberg's Shootout Gold
The deke, since dubbed The Paralyzer, has been repeated by Finnish forward Jussi Jokinen in several NHL shootout attempts.
The inaugural effort, authored by Elitserian Golden Puck winner Mr. Magic, was a game winning goal leading Sweden past USA by a score of 4-2 during the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships.
That's today in NHL history.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Today In NHL History - Sweden Wins Gold (2006)
On February 26th in 2006, Sweden defeated rival Finland 3-2 in Turin claiming their second ever Olympic gold medal, 12 years after their first.
The full match may be viewed here.
That's today in NHL history.
* See also Today In NHL History - Forsberg's Shootout Gold.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Today In NHL History - Canada Wins Gold (2002)
On February 24th in 2002, Canada beat USA at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City by a score of 5-2, winning the country's first men's ice hockey Olympic gold medal in 50 years.
Despite Executive Director Wayne Gretzky's expertly assembled squad and a pair of goals from each of Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla, some attribute the win to Canadian born icemaker Trent Evans buring a loonie at center ice. Others claim the country was due. Either way, the final ignited a bitter rivalry between the sides that remains to this day.
That's today in NHL history.
* See also Today In NHL History - Canada Wins Gold (2010).
* See also Team Canada's 2010 Olympic Motto.
Monday, February 23, 2026
Today In NHL History - Weber Shoots Through Net
On February 23rd in 2010, Nashville Predators blueliner Shea Weber suited up for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics and blasted a slapshot past San Jose Sharks German goaltender Thomas Greiss that tore through the net.
When questioned whether Weber had ever witnessed a puck go through the net, the deadpanned defenseman remarked, "Yeah, I do it every day". Canada beat Germany that night by a score of 8-2, eliminating them from the 2010 Winter Olympics men's ice hockey tournament.
That's today in NHL history.
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Today In NHL History - Czech Republic Wins Gold
On February 21st in 1998, the Czech Republic beat Russia 1-0 to capture the gold medal in the Winter Olympics Games in Nagano, the first such tournament involving NHL athletes. The lone goal came from Petr Svoboda with Dominik Hasek collecting the shutout.
That's today in NHL history.
Friday, February 20, 2026
Today In NHL History - Bure's Five Goal Game
On February 20th in 1998, Pavel Bure scored five goals in a single Olympic game leading Russia to a 7-4 semifinal win over Finland.
Two days later, however, the captain and his comrades were blanked by Domink Hasek losing 1-0 to the Czechs in the gold medal game.
Bure finished the tournament with nine goals in six games and was named the top forward at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano.
That's today in NHL history.
Today In NHL History - Hasek Stops Canada
On February 20th in 1998, Dominik Hasek shutout Canada in a semifinal shootout to carry the Czechs to the gold medal game in Nagano.
Tied 1-1 at the end of regulation with goals from Jiri Slegr and Trevor Linden, the teams engaged in an Olympic ten minute overtime and ultimately a shootout to settle the score. Of the Canadian shooters (Theo Fleury, Ray Bourque, Joe Nieuwendyk, Eric Lindros, Brendan Shanahan) none beat Hasek. Of the Czechs selected (Robert Reichel, Martin Rucinsky, Pavel Patera, Jaromir Jagr) only Reichel beat Roy.
In light of the loss, Coach Marc Crawford was widely criticized for selecting Bourque to shoot instead of proven scorers Wayne Gretzky or Steve Yzerman. He defended his choice claiming Bourque's accuracy outweighed Gretzky's apparent mediocre breakaway success.
That's today in NHL history.
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Today In NHL History - USA Vandalizes Nagano
On February 19th in 1998, the US men's hockey team disgraced their country, the NHL, and themselves by vandalising the Olympic village in Nagano after losing 4-1 to the Czechs and being eliminated from the Games.
Their childish frat boy antics resulted in extensive damage to the residences including broken chairs and emptied fire extinguishers that were then tossed from their 5th floor perch. Making matters worse, the cowardly culprits left Japan without an apology reinforcing the 'Ugly American' stereotype abroad in the first Olympics with NHL players.
Chris Chelios, captain of the 6th placed team, later issued an apology and sent a $3000 check to cover the damages. No names were uncovered in Bettman's investigation though with a roster featuring Roenick, Tkachuk, and Hull it's not hard to imagine who might be responsible.
That's today in NHL history.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Today In NHL History - Samuelsson's Olympic Exit
On February 17th in 1998, Ulf Samuelsson was dismissed from Sweden's hockey team and sent home from the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano when officials deemed he was no longer legally a citizen of Sweden on account of his receipt of a U.S. passport.
What started as an off-hand post-practice comment from Sports Illustrated hockey writer Michael Farber to Swedish journalist Janne Bengtsson ("Why would we give a dirty player like that U.S. citizenship?") sparked an investigation into the legalities of dual citizenship, or lack thereof, revealing that under Swedish law the acquisition of a foreign passport annulled local citizenship.
The next day Bengtsson confronted Sweden Ice Hockey Association President and IIHF council member Rickard Fagerlund with his findings during the first intermission of Sweden's match with Belarus. During the second period team manager Bo Tovland confirmed Samuelsson's possession of a U.S. passport and thus his ineligibility to play for Sweden.
Despite being allowed to keep the points collected with an ineligible player, Sweden lost 2-1 to Finland in the quarterfinals finishing fifth in the tournament. Bengtsson returned home to death threats and a devastated Samuelsson never suited up for his homeland again.
That's today in NHL history.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Today In NHL History - Longest Road Trip
On January 27th in 2010, the Vancouver Canucks set out on the longest road trip in NHL history. The 46 day sojourn sent them to 13 cities (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, Tampa, Sunrise, St. Paul, Columbus, Detroit, Chicago, Nashville, Denver, Phoenix) for 14 games.
The hellish trip was required to accommodate the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, marking the first time since NHL players were allowed to compete in the Games that a NHL city hosted the hockey tournament.
Unable to access GM Place during their absence, Canucks equipment managers packed almost 300 sticks and 25 additional bags of gear, including spare gloves and pants to clothe call-ups and any players joining the club at the NHL trade deadline, to endure the unexpected.
The Canucks finished the historic trip with a respectable 8-5-1 record.
That's today in NHL history.
Sunday, June 25, 2023
The IIHF Triple Gold Club
Of the over 15,000 World Championship participants seeking gold since 1930, 9,000 that have skated for the Stanley Cup since 1893, and 4,000 that have competed for Olympic Gold since 1920, only 30 players and one coach have won all three titles. These accomplished 31 are recognized with membership in hockey's most exclusive association, the IIHF's Triple Gold Club.
The club includes individuals from Canada (12), Sweden (9), Russia (7), Czech Republic (2), and Finland (1), of which the majority are forwards (23) with remainder rounded out by defensemen (7) and one coach. No goalies have earned the honor. All members are listed below by date of admission.
Player
Country
Date of Admission
Tomas Jonsson
Sweden
February 27, 1994
Mats Naslund
Sweden
February 27, 1994
Hakan Loob
Sweden
February 27, 1994
Valeri Kamensky
Russia
June 10, 1996
Alexei Gusarov
Russia
June 10, 1996
Peter Forsberg
Sweden
June 10, 1996
Viacheslav Fetisov
Russia
June 7, 1997
Igor Larianov
Russia
June 7, 1997
Alexander Mogilny
Russia
June 10, 2000
Vladimir Malakhov
Russia
June 10, 2000
Rob Blake
Canada
February 24, 2002
Joe Sakic
Canada
February 24, 2002
Brendan Shanahan
Canada
February 24, 2002
Scott Niedermayer
Canada
May 9, 2004
Jaromir Jagr
Czech
May 15, 2005
Jiri Slegr
Czech
May 15, 2005
Nicklas Lidstrom
Sweden
February 26, 2006
Fredrick Modin
Sweden
February 26, 2006
Chris Pronger
Canada
June 6, 2007
Niklas Kronwall
Sweden
June 4, 2008
Henrik Zetterberg
Sweden
June 4, 2008
Mikael Samuelsson
Sweden
June 4, 2008
Eric Staal
Canada
February 28, 2010
Jonathan Toews
Canada
June 9, 2010
Patrice Bergeron
Canada
June 15, 2011
Sidney Crosby
Canada
May 17, 2015
Corey Perry
Canada
May 22, 2016
Pavel Datsyuk
Russia
February 25, 2018
Jay Bouwmeester
Canada
June 12, 2019
Valtteri Filppula Finland
May 29, 2022
Coach
Country
Date of Admission
Mike Babcock
Canada
February 28, 2010
During a Triple Gold Club induction ceremony held at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Zetterberg described the challenges of the different championships and the camaraderie of his co-members.
Of the 31 Triple Gold Club cardholders, only three (Viacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Peter Forsberg) have completed a Triple Gold Club Double winning each of the requisite three championships twice.
The next logical step in IIHF recognition is the creation of a Quadruple Gold Club adding World Junior Championship gold to the mix. To date, only 12 players (7 Canadian, 5 Russian) have achieved such status (Kamensky, Gusarov, Fetisov, Larianov, Mogilny, Sakic, Neidermayer, Pronger, Toews, Bergeron, Crosby, Perry) with Fetisov and Larionov being the sole pair to turn a Quadruple Gold Club Double, taking each title twice.
Valtteri Filppula is the most recent inductee into the Triple Gold Club, punching his ticket with a World Champions win with Finland earlier today (2022) to accompany his Olympic Gold (2022) and Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings (2008).
Sidney Crosby remains the only member to have captained all three qualifying teams. Jonathan Toews is the youngest to complete the feat entering at 22 years and 41 days old.
* See also Olympic Gold And Stanley Cup In Same Year.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Olympic Gold And Stanley Cup In Same Year
Among the rarest of feats in hockey is to win an Olympic Gold Medal and the Stanley Cup in the same season. American Ken Morrow was the first to turn the trick, doing so in 1980. Since then, only eight players have added their names to this exclusive list.
| Year | Player | Olympic Team / NHL Team |
| 1980 | Ken Morrow | United States / New York Islanders |
| 2002 | Brendan Shanahan | Canada / Detroit Red Wings |
| Steve Yzerman | Canada / Detroit Red Wings | |
| 2010 | Duncan Keith | Canada / Chicago Blackhawks |
| Brent Seabrook | Canada / Chicago Blackhawks | |
| Jonathan Toews | Canada / Chicago Blackhawks | |
| 2014 | Jeff Carter | Canada / Los Angeles Kings |
| Drew Doughty | Canada / Los Angeles Kings |
The unofficially dubbed "Big Double Club" consists of three defensemen and five forwards. Of the exclusive eight, there are seven Canadians, one American, and three Triple Gold Club cardholders (Shanahan, Yzerman, Toews). No goalies or coaches have yet to crack the club.
Aspiring Big Double Club members will have to wait until the Olympic Winter Games reconvene in South Korea in 2018 to rekindle their quest.
* See also The IIHF Triple Gold Club.
Friday, January 10, 2014
2014 Olympic Hockey Rosters By NHL Team
The chart below shows all 2014 Olympic players sorted by NHL team.
CHI (10): Handzus, Hjalmarsson, Hossa, Kane, Keith, Kruger, Oduya,
Rozsival, Sharp, Toews
DET (10): Alfredsson, Datsyuk, Ericsson, Franzen, Gustavsson, Howard,
Jurco, Kronwall, Tatar, Zetterberg
STL (10): Backes, Berglund, Bouwmeester, Halak, Oshie, Pietrangelo,
Shattenkirk, Sobotka, Steen, Tarasenko
MTL (8): Budaj, Diaz, Emelin, Markov, Pacioretty, Plekanec, Price,
Subban
ANA (7): Fowler, Getzlaf, Hiller, Perry, Selanne, Silfverberg, Vatanen
NYR (7): Callahan, Hagelin, Lundqvist, McDonagh, Nash, Stepan,
Zuccarello
PIT (7): Crosby, Jokinen, Kunitz, Maatta, Malkin, Martin, Orpik
VAN (7): Edler, Hamhuis, Kesler, Luongo, D. Sedin, H. Sedin, Weber
LAK (6): Brown, Carter, Doughty, Kopitar, Quick, Voynov
TBL (6): Filppula, Gudas, Palat, Panik, Salo, Stamkos
BOS (5): Bergeron, Chara, Eriksson, Krejci, Rask
CLB (5): Anisimov, Bobrovsky, Gaborik, Nikitin, Tyutin
MIN (5): Granlund, Koivu, Niederreiter, Parise, Suter
PHI (5): Meszaros, Raffl, Streit, Timonen, Voracek
PHO (5): Ekman-Larsson, Hanzal, Korpikoski, Michalek, Smith
BUF (4): Enroth, Girgensons, Miller, Tallinder
COL (4): Duchene, Landeskog, Stastny, Varlamov
NJD (4): Brunner, Elias, Jagr, Zidlicky
NYI (4): Grabner, Tavares, Vanek, Visnovsky
SJS (4): Marleau, Niemi, Pavelski, Vlasic
WPG (4): Frolik, Jokinen, Pavelec, Wheeler
CAR (3): Faulk, Ruutu, Sekera
DAL (3): Benn, Lehtonen, Nichushkin
EDM (3): Belov, Hemsky, Marincin
TOR (3): Kessel, Kulemin, Van Riemsdyk
WAS (3): Backstrom, Carlson, Ovechkin
CGY (2): Berra, Smid
FLA (2): Barkov, Kopecky
NAS (2): Josi, Weber
OTT (2): Karlsson, Michalek
This year, each NHL team pledged at least one player to the Olympic Men's Ice Hockey tournament with Calgary, Florida, Nashville and Ottawa offering the fewest (2) and Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis loaning the most (10), for a NHL team average of five olympic athletes.
Similarly, each Olympic side has one NHL player on their roster. Canada (25) and USA (25) lead the field filling every spot with NHL players, followed by Sweden (24), Czech (17), Finland (16), Russia (15), Slovakia (14), Switzerland (8), Austria (3), Latvia (1), Norway (1) and Slovenia (1).
The chart below shows 2014 Olympic players by NHL team and country.
CHI (10): 3 Canada, 3 Sweden, 2 Slovakia, 1 Czech, 1 USA
DET (10): 6 Sweden, 2 Slovakia, 1 Russia, 1 USA
STL (10): 3 USA, 2 Canada, 2 Sweden, 1 Czech, 1 Russia, 1 Slovakia
MTL (8): 2 Canada, 2 Russia, 1 Czech, 1 Slovakia, 1 Switzerland, 1 USA
ANA (7): 2 Canada, 2 Finland, 1 Sweden, 1 Switzerland, 1 USA
NYR (7): 3 USA, 2 Sweden, 1 Canada, 1 Norway
PIT (7): 2 Canada, 2 Finland, 2 USA, 1 Russia
VAN (7): 3 Sweden, 2 Canada, 1 Switzerland, 1 USA
LAK (6): 2 Canada, 2 USA, 1 Russia, 1 Slovenia
TBL (6): 2 Czech, 2 Finland, 1 Canada, 1 Slovakia
BOS (5): 1 Canada, 1 Czech, 1 Finland, 1 Slovakia, 1 Sweden
CLB (5): 4 Russia, 1 Slovakia
MIN (5): 2 Finland, 2 USA, 1 Switzerland
PHI (5): 1 Austria, 1 Czech, 1 Timonen, 1 Meszaros, 1 Streit
PHO (5): 2 Czech, 1 Canada, 1 Finland, 1 Sweden
BUF (4): 2 Sweden, 1 Latvia, 1 USA
COL (4): 1 Canada, 1 Russia, 1 Sweden, 1 USA
NJD (4): 3 Czech, 1 Switzerland
NYI (4): 2 Austria, 1 Canada, 1 Slovakia
SJS (4): 2 Canada, 1 Finland, 1 USA
WPG (4): 2 Czech, 1 Finland, 1 USA
CAR (3): 1 Finland, 1 Slovakia, 1 USA
DAL (3): 1 Canada, 1 Finland, 1 Russia
EDM (3): 1 Czech, 1 Russia, 1 Slovakia
TOR (3): 2 USA, 1 Russia
WAS (3): 1 Russia, 1 Sweden, 1 USA
CGY (2): 1 Czech, 1 Switzerland
FLA (2): 1 Finland, 1 Slovakia
NAS (2): 1 Canada, 1 Switzerland
OTT (2): 1 Czech, 1 Sweden
In terms of NHL team leaders by country, Detroit sent six Swedes, Columbus relegated four Russians, Chicago consigned three Canadians, New York Rangers and St. Louis acquiesced three Americans, New Jersey conveyed three Czechs, New York Islanders assigned two Austrians, and four (Anaheim, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay) forwarded a pair of Finns while two (Chicago, Detroit) passed a pair of Slovaks. No team shared more than one player to Latvia, Norway, Slovenia or Switzerland.
Breaking it down by conference, 72 Olympic skaters play in the West (48%) with the East offering 78 (52%). By division, the Atlantic leads all others contributing 40 players, followed by the Metropolitan (38 players), Central (38 players) and Pacific (34 players).
The opening match of the 22nd Winter Olympic Games is February 12th, with the Bronze Medal tilt set for February 22nd and the Gold Medal game scheduled on February 23rd. Barring another agreement between the NHL and IIHF, this 5th Olympiad featuring NHL athletes may be the last.
Let the Games begin!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Olympic Games And Stanley Cup Champions
An interesting direct relationship has emerged in Canada between staging an Olympics and winning the Stanley Cup. Specifically, both times a Canadian city hosted the Olympic Games (Montreal 1976, Calgary 1988) the host city's NHL team won the Stanley Cup the following year (Montreal Canadiens 1977, Calgary Flames 1989).
The only other Canadian city to host an Olympic Games was Vancouver in 2010. Time will tell if the Vancouver Canucks can uphold this curious trend and hoist Lord Stanley's Cup come June 2011.
Monday, March 1, 2010
2010 Olympic Hockey Individual Statistics
Having documented every aspect of men's ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, including format and schedule, scores and standings, rosters by NHL salary, NHL team and source league, and medals by NHL team, tournament player statistics are listed below.
G. Canada
S. United States
B. Finland
4. Slovakia
5. Sweden
6. Russia
7. Czech Republic
8. Switzerland
9. Belarus
10. Norway
11. Germany
12. Latvia
Pavol Demitra led all skaters in points (10) and Jarome Iginla scored the most goals (5). In net, Henrik Lundqvist posted the best GAA (1.34) and most shutouts (2), with Ryan Miller leading in SV% (94.56), saves (139), and minutes (355:07).
Olympic MVP honors went to Ryan Miller with Brian Rafalski voted best defenseman and Jonathan Toews best forward. The remainder of the tournament all-star team included Shea Weber, Zach Parise, and Pavol Demitra.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
2010 Olympic Hockey Medals By NHL Team
Of the 276 players competing in the Winter Olympics only 69 left Vancouver with a medal. Of those, most play in the NHL (64) with the remainder skating in the KHL (4) and SEL (1). The medal winners - Canada (G), USA (S), Finland (B) - are sorted below by NHL team.
ANA (7): 3G (Getzlaf, Niedermayer, Perry), 2S (Ryan, Whitney), 2B (S. Koivu, Selanne)
SJS (5): 4G (Boyle, Heatley, Marleau, Thornton), 1S (Pavelski)
CAR (4): 1G (Staal), 1S (Gleason), 2B (Pitkanen, T. Ruutu)
CHI (4): 3G (Keith, Seabrook, Toews), 1S (Kane)
LAK (4): 1G (Doughty), 3S (Brown, J. Johnson, Quick)
CGY (3): 1G (Iginla), 2B (Hagman, Kiprusoff)
MIN (3): 3B (Backstrom, M. Koivu, Miettinen)
NJD (3): 1G (Brodeur), 2S (Langenbrunner, Parise)
NYR (3): 2S (Callahan, Drury), 1B (Jokinen)
PHI (3): 2G (Pronger, Richards), 1B (Timonen)
PIT (3): 2G (Crosby, Fleury), 1S (Orpik)
VAN (3): 1G (Luongo), 1S (Kesler), 1B (Salo)
BOS (2): 1G (Bergeron), 1S (Thomas)
BUF (2): 1S (Miller), 1B (Lydman)
DAL (2): 1G (Morrow), 1B (Lehtinen)
DET (2): 1S (Rafalski), 1B (Filppula)
NAS (2): 1G (Weber), 1S (Suter)
STL (2): 2S (Backes, E. Johnson)
TBL (2): 1S (Malone), 1B (Nittymaki)
COL (1): 1S (Stastny)
CLB (1): 1G (Nash)
OTT (1): 1B (J. Ruutu)
PHX (1): 1B (Lepisto)
TOR (1): 1S (Kessel)
Of the 30 NHL teams that loaned talent to the Winter Games, 23 are welcoming back medalists. Among them, Anaheim leads the medal count (7) with San Jose gathering the most gold (4). Only three teams (Anaheim, Carolina, Vancouver) have players from each medal winner.
Let's hope this isn't the last Winter Olympics with NHL talent.
2010 Olympic Hockey Schedule And Scores
Having analyzed every aspect of men's ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, including the Olympic format and schedule and rosters by NHL salary, NHL team and source league, let's review the tournament scores and remaining schedule.
Tournament Seeding
RUS (1), CAN (2), SWE (3), FIN (4)
USA (5), CZE (6), SWI (7), BEL (8)
SLO (9), LAT (10), NOR (11), GER (12)
Preliminary Round Scores
2/16: USA v SWI (3-1), CAN v NOR (8-0), RUS v LAT (8-2)
2/17: FIN v BEL (5-1), SWE v GER (2-0), CZE v SLO (3-1)
2/18: USA v NOR (6-1), SWI v CAN (2-3), SLO v RUS (2-1)
2/19: BEL v SWE (2-4), CZE v LAT (5-2), FIN v GER (5-0)
2/20: NOR v SWI (4-5), LAT v SLO (0-6), GER v BEL (3-5)
2/21: RUS v CZE (4-2), CAN v USA (3-5), SWE v FIN (3-0)
Preliminary Round Standings
USA (1), SWE (2), RUS (3), FIN (4)
CZE (5), CAN (6), SLO (7), SWI (8)
BEL (9), NOR (10), GER (11), LAT (12)
Qualification Scores (5-12, 6-11, 7-10, 8-9)
2/23: CZE v LAT (3-2), CAN v GER (8-2), SLO v NOR (4-3), SWI v BEL (3-2)
Quarterfinal Scores (1 v 8-9, 2 v 7-10, 3 v 6-11, 4 v 5-12)
2/24: USA v SWI (2-0), SWE v SLO (3-4), RUS v CAN (3-7), FIN v CZE (2-0)
Semifinal Scores (1 or 8-9 vs 4 or 5-12, 2 or 7-10 vs 3 or 6-11)
2/26: USA v FIN (6-1), CAN v SLO (3-2)
Bronze Medal Score (Semifinal losers)
2/27: FIN v SLO (5-3)
Gold Medal Score (Semifinal winners)
2/28: USA v CAN (2-3)
Final Standings
CAN (1), USA (2), FIN (3), SLO (4)
SWE (5), RUS (6), CZE (7), SWI (8)
BEL (9), NOR (10), GER (11), LAT (12)
Official schedules and results may be found here with preliminary standings here and playoff brackets and final standings here.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Two More Canadian Olympic Hockey Rosters
Charged with picking a 23 man hockey roster for Canada to capture gold at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, GM Steve Yzerman looked to existing NHL forward line combinations and defensive pairings with the usual suspects between the pipes.
Forward: Bergeron, Crosby, Getzlaf, Heatley, Iginla, Marleau, Morrow, Nash, M. Richards, Perry, E. Staal, Thornton, Toews
Defense: Boyle, Doughty, Keith, Neidermayer, Pronger, Seabrook, Weber
Goal: Brodeur, Fleury, Luongo
Blessed with a depth of hockey talent known to no other nation, however, many of the NHL's best were left off the list. In fact, 3 of top 10 in points, 4 of top 16 in goals, 2 of the top 5 in assists, and the top defenseman in goals, assists, and points, all missed the cut. As a case in point, two additional Team Canada rosters are proposed below.
Forward: Bourque, Burrows, Carter, Doan, LeCavalier, Neal, B. Richards, St. Louis, Savard, Smythe, Spezza, Stamkos, Zajac
Defense: Bouwmeester, Green, Phaneuf, Phillips, Regehr, Robidas, Stuart
Goal: Ward, S. Mason, Turco
Forward: Boyes, Briere, Cammalleri, Cleary, Duchene, Fisher, Gagne, Giroux, Pominville, Roy, Sharp, Tavares, Whitney
Defense: Beauchemin, Blake, Campbell, Jovanovski, Mitchell, Myers, M. Staal
Goal: Giguere, C. Mason, Osgood
Taking nothing away from the lower ranked nations in the tournament (Switzerland 7, Belarus 8, Slovakia 9, Latvia 10, Norway 11, Germany 12) and the spirit of international competition, one can't help but wonder how these three Canadian titans might place if afforded the opportunity. Who knows, maybe the second squad would even edge out the first.