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Post by MarmotMike on May 15, 2004 10:44:29 GMT -5
Fresh off the presses!
Forwards:
Heatley
Thorton
Sakic
Morrow
Draper
Maltby
Yzerman
Smyth
Gagne
Doan
M.Lemieux
Marleau
Richards
St Louis
Ignila
Defence:
Blake
Foote
Brewer
S.Neidermeyer
Redden
C.Pronger
Jovanovski
Reghr
Goalies:
Luongo
Brodeur
Belfour
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Post by Jazz on May 15, 2004 10:50:27 GMT -5
Surprised to see:
Belfour - will probably be the 3rd stringer anyways, so no biggie
Regher
Maltby
Bertuzzi was also left off the team.....can't say I blame them even though I'm a Canuck's fan....
I also would have picked Theodore instead of Belfour.
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Post by Jazz on May 15, 2004 11:06:14 GMT -5
Bertuzzi, Kariya, Theodore left off Team Canada's World Cup of Hockey squad[/u][/color]
NEIL STEVENS
CALGARY (CP) - Team Canada will attempt to wrestle away the World Cup of Hockey from the rival United States this summer without the services of Todd Bertuzzi.
The suspended Vancouver Canucks winger was left off the World Cup squad announced Saturday by executive director Wayne Gretzky as Hockey Canada chose to avoid the potential distractions his nomination would have created.
Other notable omissions from the 26-player roster were wingers Paul Kariya and Alex Tanguay of the Colorado Avalanche, all-star netminder Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens and centre Keith Primeau of the Philadelphia Flyers.
But there's plenty of talent ready to wear the Maple Leaf in the Aug. 30-Sept. 14 tournament, including newcomers Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers and Joe Thornton of the Boston Bruins.
Gretzky and his management staff of Kevin Lowe and Steve Tambellini brought back 14 players from the Olympic champion squad of February 2002, including both veteran superstar centres Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings.
The four other returning forwards are Ryan Smyth of the Edmonton Oilers, Simon Gagne of the Philadelphia Flyers, Joe Sakic of the Avalanche and Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames.
Also back from the defending Olympic champions are goalies Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils and Ed Belfour of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as six defencemen: Eric Brewer of the Oilers, Ed Jovanovski of the Vancouver Canucks, Chris Pronger of the St. Louis Blues, Scott Niedermayer of the New Jersey Devils, as well as Adam Foote and Rob Blake of the Avalanche.
Gone from the Salt Lake team are Kariya, goalie Curtis Joseph, defenceman Al MacInnis, and forwards Theo Fleury, Eric Lindros, Joe Nieuwendyk, Michael Peca, Brendan Shanahan and Owen Nolan.
Joining St. Louis, Heatley and Thornton as newcomers to the team are netminder Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers, defencemen Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators and Robyn Regehr of the Flames, as well as forwards Brad Richards of the Lightning, Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks, Brenden Morrow of the Dallas Stars, Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes as well as Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby of the Red Wings.
Doan, Draper and Maltby will likely be reunited on the International Grind Line, a unit that twice shut down Peter Forsberg at last year's world championship in Helsinki en route to Canada's first of back-to-back gold medals.
Canada's roster breaks down as 15 forwards, eight defencemen and three netminders. Only 20 can dress for World Cup games, 18 skaters and two goalies, meaning three forwards, two defencemen and one goalie will be healthy scratches during the tournament.
Had Team Canada selected Bertuzzi, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman would have held a hearing 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, in cooperation with the IIHF, which is why Bertuzzi would need Bettman's blessing.
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.
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Post by pihinalle on May 15, 2004 11:29:22 GMT -5
Quite expected roster, I think. Kariya has had injuries and Bertuzzi had what he had. Canada has the most positive goalie problem in the World. Making decision between Belfour and Theodore was very hard I'm sure. But it's unlikely that Belfour plays in WC.
Canada is again the biggest contender for the first place in the World. This team seems almost unbeatable.
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Post by MarmotMike on May 15, 2004 13:42:01 GMT -5
Chemistry...
Most of d-men are back.
Doan, Maltby and Draper did well for Team Canada at the 2003 World Championships when they shut down Forsberg.
Heatley & Morrow seemed to work well together in the world championships.
St Louis and Richards are from Tampa Bay.
Gagne had great chemistry with Lemieux in 2002.
Great team for the "small ice"! See any weaknesses?
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Post by Jazz on May 16, 2004 2:07:29 GMT -5
Lemieux will captain Team Canada
By NEIL STEVENS
CALGARY -- Wayne Gretzky caught Steve Yzerman by surprise when he asked him to be on Canada's World Cup of Hockey team.
The Detroit Red Wings captain wasn't expecting an invitation after playing the NHL season on rebuilt knees and being knocked out of the playoffs by a serious facial injury.
"When I called him, he thought I was calling him to tell him he wasn't going to be part of it," Gretzky, the team's executive director, said with a smile after naming Canada's roster Saturday for the Aug. 30-Sept. 14 tournament. "We just like his professionalism.
"Stevie is just a tremendous player. He's the kind of guy who will come in and be good for our young guys. He's a great leader. He'll take a lot of pressure off of them. And we can use him in any situation."
Yzerman, 39, is the oldest skater and Mario Lemieux, 38, is captain. They are golden oldies among 14 returnees from Canada's team that won 2002 Olympic gold.
"Mario is getting into game shape and is ready to go," said Gretzky.
Also back are goalies Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour, who at 19 days older than Yzerman ranks as the oldest player on the roster, defencemen Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Ed Jovanovski and Eric Brewer, and forwards Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla, Ryan Smyth and Simon Gagne.
Suspended Vancouver winger Todd Bertuzzi was left off the squad as Hockey Canada chose to avoid the potential distractions his nomination would have created.
Newcomers are goaltender Roberto Luongo, defencemen Robyn Regehr and Wade Redden, and forwards Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton, Martin St. Louis, Patrick Marleau, Brenden Morrow, Brad Richards and the threesome of Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and Shane Doan, who earned the nickname International Grind Line for their play at the 2003 world championship.
"We always felt Team Canada needed sort of a tough line to play against -- that sort of Bobby Clarke-Paul Henderson-Ron Ellis line," explained Gretzky. "We expect them to be really strong defensively for us."
It was a key consideration given the tournament games in North America will be on NHL-sized ice rather than larger Olympic-sized ice.
"This is a grittier team than the team that won in Salt Lake," said Gretzky. "I hate to suggest it wasn't a gritty team in Salt Lake because they earned their stripes.
"But this is a bit of a different team. We have guys who maybe are a little stronger on the walls and in the corners, who can win those little battles, and guys like Regehr who are physical. We probably are more of a physical hockey team in that sense (than the Olympic team)."
Gretzky said bringing back Yzerman, Lemieux and other veterans reflects the selection committee's belief that experience can't be underestimated under the spotlight of world-class competition.
"We know that each and every team that will be in this tournament has a possibility of winning the championship," he said. "It's that close.
"So when you get down to the nitty-gritty you need guys who have been there before. We feel comfortable in that we have guys like Gagne and Sakic and Iginla, and we love the fact guys like Yzerman, Pronger, Marty Brodeur and Mario will understand the pressure this team will be under, so going into the third period tied 2-2 they can really set a calming influence in our locker-room.
"There's a lot of other guys who could be part of this team but we felt really good about this group as a whole and everybody seemed to be happy with it."
Gone from the Salt Lake team are goalie Curtis Joseph, defenceman Al MacInnis, and forwards Paul Kariya, Theo Fleury, Eric Lindros, Joe Nieuwendyk, Michael Peca, Brendan Shanahan and Owen Nolan.
Players who were thought to have a good shot at making it onto the 26-man World Cup roster but who were not selected included goalie Jose Theodore and forwards Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Tanguay, Keith Primeau and Vincent Lecavalier.
Because the deadline for submitting final rosters is not until Aug. 29, players who pull themselves out of the tournament due to illness or injury before that date can be replaced. If the NHL reinstates the suspended Bertuzzi before the deadline and a player named to the roster withdraws, the addition of Bertuzzi would be "strongly considered," Gretzky said.
Regehr and Redden made the cut from a list of five or six worthy young defencemen.
"We really feel that Robyn Regehr's play this year in the playoffs has gone to another level," said Gretzky. "And we just felt that Wade Redden was so close to making our Olympic team that we really feel he's a player who can step in at any time and kill penalties, play the power play, be on the ice in the last minute. He really deserved to be part of this team."
Beyond the easy choice of Brodeur as No. 1 goalie, rounding out the crease corps was tough, said Gretzky.
"The next two guys, the feeling we had was not who could be the second or third goalie but, if Marty is not playing well or is hurt, who can step in and take that responsibility. Luongo proved it at the world championships. He played strong in key parts of the game and kept Canada in the game. We like his poise, and we really liked the year he had."
Gretzky said he and his staff felt comfortable that Belfour could go in and win a big game.
"It was a tough situation because we know Theodore was a great goaltender but at this point in time we really felt comfortable with those three guys," Gretzky said.
Impressive performances at the annual world championship weighed strongly in some of the selections.
Heatley made the team after an NHL season that started with the car crash that claimed the life of his friend and Atlanta teammate Dan Snyder. After missing the first 51 games recovering from a serious knee injury suffered during the crash, Heatley slowly got his game back before going to the world championship in Prague and scoring a tournament-best eight goals in nine games, earning him MVP honours.
"He played extremely well in Prague," said Gretzky. "He's just a hockey player, he loves to play and compete. He was a no-brainer for our hockey club."
Canada's team will hold a 10-day training camp in Ottawa beginning Aug. 19 under head coach Pat Quinn.
The Czech Republic plays Finland in Helsinki in the tournament opener Aug. 30, while Canada opens against the United States in Montreal on Aug. 31. The final goes Sept. 14 in Toronto. Gretzky is eager to see it and is confident Canada's team can go all the way.
"It's a skating team, a big team, a strong team," he said.
It includes eight current NHL captains -- Doan, Iginla, Lemieux, Marleau, Niedermayer, Sakic, Thornton and Yzerman -- and 686 international games played in either the world juniors, Olympics, world championships or Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey.
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Post by Jazz on May 16, 2004 2:13:07 GMT -5
MEET THE TEAM[/u][/color]
A look at Canada's team for the Aug. 30-Sept. 14 World Cup of Hockey[/u][/color]
BY BILL BEACON
Canadian Press
Martin Brodeur, 32, New Jersey Devils: Big, quick and a master at handling the puck, the starting goaltender on Canada's 2002 Olympic gold medallist team will likely have the same role at the World Cup.
Roberto Luongo, 25, Florida Panthers: After a league-leading 2,475 saves with the lowly Panthers, this rangy, agile goalie showed he can win the big ones by leading Canada to a world championship gold medal for a second year in a row.
Ed Belfour, 39, Toronto Maple Leafs: The two-time Vezina Trophy winner thought to be in decline showed he can still play at a high level this season, although there are doubts about his back.
Defencemen
Scott Niedermayer, 30, New Jersey; Quick veteran who can join the rush and play the point is the favourite to win the Norris Trophy this season. Had a tremendous world championship in Prague.
Rob Blake, 34, Colorado Avalanche: Big two-way defenceman and leader remains among the best at his position.
Adam Foote, 32, Colorado Avalanche: Quiet efficiency is the strength of this solid, experienced blue-liner surprisingly adept at international hockey.
Ed Jovanovski, 27, Vancouver Canucks: He's the package - big, tough, strong at both ends of the ice and a fine skater and shooter.
Chris Pronger, 29, St. Louis Blues: Rangy, strong and skilled with a proven ability to log major ice time and put up points.
Eric Brewer, 25, Edmonton Oilers: Fine skater who showed a flair for international hockey at four consecutive world championships and the 2002 Olympics.
Wade Redden, 26, Ottawa Senators: A smooth two-way defenceman who finally joins the big team after a career-high 17-goal season.
Robyn Regehr, 24, Calgary Flames: Solid player has impressed in leading Flames to the Western Conference final.
Centres
Mario Lemieux, 38, Pittsburgh Penguins: One of the all-time greats is skating again and wants to play after missing the season with a hip injury.
Joe Sakic, 34, Colorado Avalanche: A quick shooter and subtle passer who remains among the league's best forwards.
Joe Thornton, 25, Boston Bruins: Big, physical centre who can dominate down low and make plays on the rush. Should have been in Salt Lake.
Steve Yzerman, 39, Detroit Red Wings: Future hall of famer has lost some speed, but not his savvy. Remains an injury risk, however.
Brad Richards, 24, Tampa Bay Lightning: Quick, skilled centre who can be a playmaker and a scorer. Unfairly overshadowed by teammate Lecavalier.
Patrick Marleau, 24, San Jose Sharks: Dangerous attacker gets better every year and now has lead Sharks to the Western Conference final.
Kris Draper, 32, Detroit Red Wings: Veteran checking centre and penalty killer added scoring to his arsenal with 24 goals this season. Who can forget his job on Peter Forsberg at last year's world championship in Helsinki?
Wingers
Jarome Iginla, 26, Calgary Flames: Some wonder if he's not the best player in the NHL now. A big-time scorer.
Martin St. Louis, 28, Tampa Bay Lightning: The front-runner for the Hart Trophy led the league in scoring with speed, skill and determination.
Dany Heatley, 23, Atlanta Thrashers: After missing most of the season after tragic car crash in September, the big winger bounced back as an ever-dangerous scorer, leading Canada to gold in Prague with tournament-high eight goals in nine games.
Shane Doan, 27, Phoenix Coyotes: Scored 27 goals and continued emergence as a physical winger.
Simon Gagne, 24, Philadelphia Flyers: Hasn't become star player some thought, but worked well with Lemieux in 2002.
Ryan Smyth, 28, Edmonton Oilers: Net-crashing winger made up for so-so season with strong finish at world championship.
Brenden Morrow, 25, Dallas Stars: A physical winger with offensive skill who could do well on a checking line. Played well in Prague.
Kirk Maltby, 32, Detroit Red Wings: Gritty checker was a key of Canada's 2003 world championship gold medallists on line with Doan and Draper.
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HKP
Prospect
Rookie
Tiki
Posts: 16
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Post by HKP on May 16, 2004 16:38:25 GMT -5
What a Defence Canada has  Lemieux and Yzerman in my point of wiew are little risky, because of the healty situation. That grind line will be usefull, cause not many teams have players like Maltby, Draper. Russia, Czech and Slovakia for example lacks of physical players and in small rink that can be disadvantage. |
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Post by doogster on May 16, 2004 17:33:47 GMT -5
I think Mario Lemieux was their worst selection. He's played what maybe 30 games in two seasons?
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Post by MarmotMike on May 16, 2004 22:51:20 GMT -5
Give me a healthy Mario anyday!
Mario's stats (last 2 seasons)
Games: 77
Points: 100
Martin St Louis' stats (2003-04) - Top NHL points leader
Games: 82
Points: 94
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Post by doogster on May 16, 2004 23:52:19 GMT -5
I just have a problem with him. I think he's done. It's a good 'ole boys club. Imagine the politics involved with these selections.
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Post by Jazz on May 17, 2004 1:03:04 GMT -5
eh? How do you say that?  9 out of 15 forwards are new since SLC 2 out of 8 d-man are new 1 out of 3 goalies are new (Luongo will back up - Belfour will sit) So, 12 out of 26 spots are new-timers! |
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Post by LoneStarHockeyFan on May 17, 2004 9:56:05 GMT -5
I posted a question about the possibility of Brendan Morrow getting selected on the World Championship board. Glad to see Gretzky's giving him a chance.
There was a note about this in the Dallas paper over the weekend. Morrow found out he made the team while he was out watching the Byron Nelson golf tournament over the weekend. He said his cell phone kept going off and he couldn't figure out why. Finally he answered the phone and that's how he found out. He said he had no idea he had a chance to make the team.
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Post by LoneStarHockeyFan on May 17, 2004 10:03:30 GMT -5
Oh, let me add one more thing. You hosers have absolutely no excuse for not winning the whole freakin' thing with this roster.  |
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Post by Jazz on May 17, 2004 15:07:37 GMT -5
Hey LoneStar.... LOL! I hope you are right!! BTW, USA Hockey will announce USA's roster on Thursday. Gurj in Vancouver. |
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