Post by Jazz on May 14, 2004 17:52:07 GMT -5
Gretzky to announce World Cup roster Saturday [/u]
By PIERRE LeBRUN -- Canadian Press
Wayne Gretzky is ready for Round 2.
Team Canada's executive director will announce the roster for this summer's World Cup of Hockey at an 11 a.m. EDT news conference at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary on Saturday.
Hockey Canada deliberated long and hard about when to make the much-anticipated announcement but finally decided Thursday night that Saturday would be the day. The eight participating countries have until May 25 to announce their rosters. Sweden will announce its roster Monday.
Gretzky arrived in Calgary on Friday with the Canadian roster still undecided. The final and pain-staking choices were to be made in a meeting Friday night with assistant executive director Kevin Lowe, director of player personnel Steve Tambellini as well as world championship general manager Jim Nill.
Head coach Pat Quinn and associate coaches Jacques Martin and Ken Hitchcock were to join the discussion by conference call.
The hot potato for Gretzky and Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson will be whether or not to name suspended NHL star Todd Bertuzzi. Should Team Canada select the Vancouver Canucks winger, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will hold a hearing with Bertuzzi to determine whether or not to re-instate him following his sucker-punch incident with Steve Moore in March.
The World Cup of Hockey is a joint venture between the NHL and NHL Players' Association, which is why Bertuzzi would need Bettman's blessing.
This much is certain, the roster unveiled by Gretzky on Saturday will include a number of new faces from the squad that captured Olympic gold in Salt Lake City in February 2002.
Forwards Dany Heatley, Martin St. Louis and Joe Thornton are locks to join the Olympic champions, while the likes of Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, Patrick Marleau, Alex Tanguay, Kris Draper, Keith Primeau, Shane Doan, Brenden Morrow, Brendan Morrison, Rob Niedermayer, Glen Murray and Rick Nash were all on the shortlist the Canadian team management needed to pare down Friday night.
"It would be a great honour to be named," Marleau said Friday in Calgary, where his San Jose Sharks prepared for Sunday's Game 4 of the Western Conference final. "It's tough right now to think about that but it definitely would be an honour."
Definitely gone from the Salt Lake team are forwards Theo Fleury and Eric Lindros while it appeared doubtful that aging stars Steve Yzerman, Joe Nieuwendyk, Owen Nolan and Brendan Shanahan would be brought back.
Michael Peca may have lost his checking role to either Primeau or Draper while Simon Gagne hasn't done enough to keep his job.
Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla were sure to be brought back, while Paul Kariya and Ryan Smyth were on the bubble. Mario Lemieux is expected to be named Saturday. He can be replaced later this summer if the 38-year-old superstar feels he's not up to it after recovering from season-ending hip surgery.
Much less change was expected on the blue-line, where six of Canada's seven defencemen from Salt Lake may be back: Adam Foote, Ed Jovanovski, Rob Blake, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Eric Brewer. Only 40-year-old Al MacInnis, his career in jeopardy because of a serious eye injury, will definitely not be back.
Because Canada will likely carry eight defencemen, that means two newcomers to the squad. Wade Redden, Robyn Regehr, Bryan McCabe, Sheldon Souray, Brad Stuart, Scott Hannan, Chris Phillips and Jay Bouwmeester were on the shortlist for those two spots.
Regehr has built up his case with Calgary's surprising run to the Western conference final.
"He's been so good for our team," his teammate Iginla said Friday in Calgary. "You can see his confidence growing. He's got the hardest shot on our team, he skates well and he's hard to play against. He'd be a great pick."
In goal, Martin Brodeur will return as the No. 1 man. The two backup jobs were to be decided between Ed Belfour, Jose Theodore and Roberto Luongo. Belfour, 39, was the No. 3 netminder in Salt Lake City behind Brodeur and Curtis Joseph.
Team Canada will hold a 10-day training camp in Ottawa beginning Aug. 19. The Czech Republic plays Finland in Helsinki in the tournament opener Aug. 30 while Canada opens against the defending champion U.S. at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Aug. 31.
The championship final goes Sept. 14 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
www.canoe.com/Slam040514/hky_wc-cp.html
By PIERRE LeBRUN -- Canadian Press
Wayne Gretzky is ready for Round 2.
Team Canada's executive director will announce the roster for this summer's World Cup of Hockey at an 11 a.m. EDT news conference at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary on Saturday.
Hockey Canada deliberated long and hard about when to make the much-anticipated announcement but finally decided Thursday night that Saturday would be the day. The eight participating countries have until May 25 to announce their rosters. Sweden will announce its roster Monday.
Gretzky arrived in Calgary on Friday with the Canadian roster still undecided. The final and pain-staking choices were to be made in a meeting Friday night with assistant executive director Kevin Lowe, director of player personnel Steve Tambellini as well as world championship general manager Jim Nill.
Head coach Pat Quinn and associate coaches Jacques Martin and Ken Hitchcock were to join the discussion by conference call.
The hot potato for Gretzky and Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson will be whether or not to name suspended NHL star Todd Bertuzzi. Should Team Canada select the Vancouver Canucks winger, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will hold a hearing with Bertuzzi to determine whether or not to re-instate him following his sucker-punch incident with Steve Moore in March.
The World Cup of Hockey is a joint venture between the NHL and NHL Players' Association, which is why Bertuzzi would need Bettman's blessing.
This much is certain, the roster unveiled by Gretzky on Saturday will include a number of new faces from the squad that captured Olympic gold in Salt Lake City in February 2002.
Forwards Dany Heatley, Martin St. Louis and Joe Thornton are locks to join the Olympic champions, while the likes of Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, Patrick Marleau, Alex Tanguay, Kris Draper, Keith Primeau, Shane Doan, Brenden Morrow, Brendan Morrison, Rob Niedermayer, Glen Murray and Rick Nash were all on the shortlist the Canadian team management needed to pare down Friday night.
"It would be a great honour to be named," Marleau said Friday in Calgary, where his San Jose Sharks prepared for Sunday's Game 4 of the Western Conference final. "It's tough right now to think about that but it definitely would be an honour."
Definitely gone from the Salt Lake team are forwards Theo Fleury and Eric Lindros while it appeared doubtful that aging stars Steve Yzerman, Joe Nieuwendyk, Owen Nolan and Brendan Shanahan would be brought back.
Michael Peca may have lost his checking role to either Primeau or Draper while Simon Gagne hasn't done enough to keep his job.
Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla were sure to be brought back, while Paul Kariya and Ryan Smyth were on the bubble. Mario Lemieux is expected to be named Saturday. He can be replaced later this summer if the 38-year-old superstar feels he's not up to it after recovering from season-ending hip surgery.
Much less change was expected on the blue-line, where six of Canada's seven defencemen from Salt Lake may be back: Adam Foote, Ed Jovanovski, Rob Blake, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Eric Brewer. Only 40-year-old Al MacInnis, his career in jeopardy because of a serious eye injury, will definitely not be back.
Because Canada will likely carry eight defencemen, that means two newcomers to the squad. Wade Redden, Robyn Regehr, Bryan McCabe, Sheldon Souray, Brad Stuart, Scott Hannan, Chris Phillips and Jay Bouwmeester were on the shortlist for those two spots.
Regehr has built up his case with Calgary's surprising run to the Western conference final.
"He's been so good for our team," his teammate Iginla said Friday in Calgary. "You can see his confidence growing. He's got the hardest shot on our team, he skates well and he's hard to play against. He'd be a great pick."
In goal, Martin Brodeur will return as the No. 1 man. The two backup jobs were to be decided between Ed Belfour, Jose Theodore and Roberto Luongo. Belfour, 39, was the No. 3 netminder in Salt Lake City behind Brodeur and Curtis Joseph.
Team Canada will hold a 10-day training camp in Ottawa beginning Aug. 19. The Czech Republic plays Finland in Helsinki in the tournament opener Aug. 30 while Canada opens against the defending champion U.S. at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Aug. 31.
The championship final goes Sept. 14 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
www.canoe.com/Slam040514/hky_wc-cp.html
