| 2010 Olympic hockey Betting Preview: Team Canada | |
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We are just about to experience a break in the NHL season so that the selected players can represent their countries in 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, although ice hockey has a long history in the Winter Games this will only be the 4th time that pro's have competed and their future within the games is uncertain as the NHL owners and executives, have legitimate scheduling concerns and are faced with ever present reality their teams star player could be injured while competing at the games. What makes this event so special, other than the four years between chances is the rivalries it's not just local geographic pride in the case of many NHL rivalries eg. Toronto, Montreal or other pro franchise rivalries. This involves National pride and for Canada, Russia and the United States these rivalries run deep and can be traced back to the "Cold War" era, and these teams and their countries want nothing more than the bragging rights of being champs. The players involved have often dreamed of these type of victories since they were boys wearing the national jersey is something special. Although this is a twelve team tournament their is a consensus handful of teams that have a real shot at winning this outright; Canada, Russia, Sweden and the United States have to be favored to medal with maybe Czech Republic being the sensible longshot. The Tournament is divided by three groups and is comprised of 12 teams, First is the round robins based on standings overall the top four teams get a by to the Quarterfinals and the other eight will have a playoff based on where they finished to see who moves on eg. 5th plays 12th, 6th plays 11th and so on. Then Semi-Finals and of course Finals unlike NHL this is a single game elimination tournament, every goal is very key and one bad outing by a goaltender during a key game and your done. Teams Canada Forwards Patrice Bergeron, L'Ancienne-Lorette, Que. (Boston Bruins) Sidney Crosby, Cole Harbour, N.S. (Pittsburgh Penguins) Alternate captain Ryan Getzlaf, Regina, Sask. (Anaheim Ducks) Dany Heatley, Calgary, Alta. (San Jose Sharks) Jarome Iginla, St. Albert, Alta. (Calgary Flames) Alternate captain Patrick Marleau, Aneroid Sask. (San Jose Sharks) Brenden Morrow, Carlyle, Sask. (Dallas Stars) Rick Nash, Brampton, Ont. (Columbus Blue Jackets) Mike Richards, Kenora, Ont. (Philadelphia Flyers) Corey Perry, Peterborough, Ont. (Anaheim Ducks) Eric Staal, Thunder Bay, Ont. (Carolina Hurricanes) Joe Thornton, St. Thomas, Ont. (San Jose Sharks) Jonathan Toews, Winnipeg, Man. (Chicago Blackhawks) Defence Dan Boyle, Ottawa, Ont. (San Jose Sharks) Drew Doughty, Ottawa, Ont. (LA Kings) Duncan Keith, Penticton, B.C. (Chicago Blackhawks) Scott Niedermayer, Cranbrook, B.C. (Anaheim Ducks) - Captain Chris Pronger, Dryden, Ont. (Philadelphia Flyers) - Alternate captain Brent Seabrook, Tsawwassen, B.C. (Chicago Blackhawks) Shea Weber, Sicamous, B.C. (Nashville Predators) Goalies Roberto Luongo, Montreal, Que. (Vancouver Canucks) Martin Brodeur, Montreal, Que. (New Jersey Devils) Marc-Andre Fleury, Sorel, Que. (Pittsburgh Penguins) Outlook Team Canada is well balanced and have a nice mix of veteran leadership and probably the best defense overall of any of the teams attending, you also have to like their goaltending situation. What will be interesting is how they react to the pressure of playing at home as a country Canada and it's national pride are so intertwined with Hockey the expectation and excitement surrounding this event has to be weighing on it's players. Their World Junior team failed to repeat for a record sixth straight time despite having home ice and the pressure to succeed in front of friends, family and every other family in Canada certainly played a part in that. Odds Currently the Canadians are going off at even odds, not bad given the strength of this team somehow personally I doubt they will be able to win their countries most prized medal of the 2010 games because of the pressure they will be under during the games. Much like the U.S. dream teams these players will be followed and quoted, and will be the focus of all of Canada's national attention but the level of competition is so close since pro's have been allowed to compete in ice hockey no team has won a gold twice, and Russia hasn't won yet and brings Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, Gonchar, and a few other names you'd recognize to the table. Prediction Based on the level of pressure and competition if I were to predict just were I thought the Canadian team would finish it would be second or third, home ice is a blessing and a curse in this tournament a two goal visitor lead quiets the crowd and strikes fear in the hearts of what will be a very pro Canadian crowd, I just don't think they will be able to survive mentally what will be the toughest emotional roller coaster any of these national teams will face. This Blog is getting quite long so I'll finish the post tomorrow with USA, Russia, Sweden and their projected finishes...
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