Pick your lines for Team Canada

[hf101]

This is the list of players invited to summer Olympic camp for team Canada.

Goalies: Corey Crawford, Braden Holtby, Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, Mike Smith

Defensemen: Karl Alzer, Jay Bouwmeester, Dan Boyle, Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Dan Hamhuis, Travis Hamonic, Duncan Keith, Kris Letang, Marc Methot, Dion Phaneuf, Alex Pietrangelo, Brent Seabrook, Marc Staal, P.K. Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Shea Weber

Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Logan Couture, Sidney Crosby, Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Getzlaf, Claude Giroux, Taylor Hall, Chris Kunitz, Andrew Ladd, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Rick Nash, James Neal, Corey Perry, Mike Richards, Patrick Sharp, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal,Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Toews

If you were organizing the team which 12 forwards, 6 d-men and 2 goalies would you choose? Who would play together on lines?

If you think others not invited to camp should be on the team, add them and explain why.

[jammer2]

@hf101 Price seems like he could be the starter, but personally, I'd love to see Holtby have a shot at starting.

Goalies

1)Price

2)Holtby

3)Crawford

Our goaltending is an area of concern, don't want Luongo or Smith on the team. Holtby has the best pure skills, but his youth could hurt him.

Defense

1)Drew Doughty

2)Duncan Kieth

3)P.K Subban

4)Shea Weber

5)Marc Stall

6)Alex Pietrangelo

7)Dan Boyle

There is way to many center options here, so half the team will be playing out of positon, I'm just gonna list the top 13

1)Sidney Crosby

2)Johnathan Toews

3)Steven Stamkos

4)Claude Giroux

5)Cory Perry

6)Patrice Bergeron

7)Eric Stall

8)Taylor Hall

9)Patrick Sharp

10)John Tavares

11)Martin St.Louis

12)Rick Nash

13)Mike Richards

Some crazy tough choices, man are we LOADED at forward!! I think Richards makes the squad because of his work on the pk and previous Olympic involvement. Man, it's tough to leave Neal off the team, ditto for Getzlaf and Couture. Marchand could make the team as a pest, pk sandpaper guy....but he will have his work cut out for him.

[J0e Th0rnton]

This is the list of players invited to summer Olympic camp for team Canada.

Goalies: Corey Crawford, Braden Holtby, Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, Mike Smith

Defensemen: Karl Alzer, Jay Bouwmeester, Dan Boyle, Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Dan Hamhuis, Travis Hamonic, Duncan Keith, Kris Letang, Marc Methot, Dion Phaneuf, Alex Pietrangelo, Brent Seabrook, Marc Staal, P.K. Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Shea Weber

Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Logan Couture, Sidney Crosby, Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Getzlaf, Claude Giroux, Taylor Hall, Chris Kunitz, Andrew Ladd, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Rick Nash, James Neal, Corey Perry, Mike Richards, Patrick Sharp, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal,Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Toews

If you were organizing the team which 12 forwards, 6 d-men and 2 goalies would you choose? Who would play together on lines?

If you think others not invited to camp should be on the team, add them and explain why.

ill throw in some reasoning tomorrow after work.

However, there is some merit into keeping players familiar with each other on the same lines.

JT and Couture play on different lines because the coach likes to roll 4 lines and spread things out evenly. hurts their individual stats but lets them keep the pressure on. but when they hook up for a PP, they are deadly.

I also razz Nash a bit because he is often Lazy and unmotivated, but he always seems to get motivated for Team Canada and when he is putting in the effort...... That and Him and Thornton have proven to have very good chemistry.

[flyercanuck]

What happened to our goaltending? Geez that looks lame...

I'll go Price, Holtby, Luongo and cross my fingers. Yuck.

Defence, Weber, Pietrangelo, Doughty, Staal Keith, Seabrooke, Subban, I had a hard time keeping Letang off. But you've got O coming from 5 guys on that list and his "miscues" could be killer here. Each pairing has O & D with Subban plugging in wherever.

Forward : As mentioned, there's going to be some quality players watching this on TV. Crosby between Stamkos and Tavares, Toews between Nash and Benn Giroux between Staal and Perry, Bergeron between Richards and Sharp, Hall and Getzlaf.

[jammer2]

@flyercanuck

" What happened to our goaltending? Geez that looks lame..."

We always had our safety net, Brodeur to fall back on, father time has taken that option away, it does look rather lame. I really think the best case for Canada is for Holtby to shine during the coming season and take the job away from Price, I don't trust Price, even with that wicked defense in front of him. I just think Holtby is more skilled, quicker but his inexperience might work against him.

Defence, Weber, Pietrangelo, Doughty, Staal Keith, Seabrooke, Subban, I had a hard time keeping Letang off. But you've got O coming from 5 guys on that list and his "miscues" could be killer here. Each pairing has O & D with Subban plugging in wherever."

My thoughts exactly. I didn't include Letang because he only supplies offense, you have to be a dual threat to make this team, with the exception of Subban who can skate circles around Letang and he is a young budding star, Team Canada always includes one or two up and coming young stars on defense, to assure they get accustomed to the Olympic game for future tournys. Pietrangelo will be one for sure, but Subban is to gifted shot and skating wise to leave off, so I think they both make the squad.

"Forward : As mentioned, there's going to be some quality players watching this on TV. Crosby between Stamkos and Tavares, Toews between Nash and Benn Giroux between Staal and Perry, Bergeron between Richards and Sharp, Hall and Getzlaf."

I totally forgot about Benn, nice call. He could certainly knock off one of my 13 forwards listed. I tried to break ties by pure skating ability due to the large ice surface etc....and Benn certainly supplies that in abundance.

[hf101]

What happened to our goaltending? Geez that looks lame...

ok then maybe add Fleury to the list

[flyercanuck]

@jammer2

Skating was definately part of the prerequisite.

[jammer2]

  Another Team Canada roster prediction, this time from hockeybuzz's Eric Engels.....

 

 http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eric-Engels/Team-Canada-Redux/82/53628#.UiKodX_d4uc

[jammer2]

  A TSN article speculating on who will make Team Canada, and who is on the bubble. I kind of like their line-up, but would probably switch out Marleau for maybe Sharp, Neal or Kunitz. Looks more and more like PK Subban will crack this lineup, and I'm ok with that. I've seen Bouwmeester twice this year, his skating is still silky smotth, he has a perfect skill set for playing on the big ice, very graceful skater who can skate the puck out of trouble, which is really important in this tourny.

 

 

 http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/darren_dreger/?id=438611