The roster for Team Canada's summer "orientation camp" was announced earlier this week, but there's still plenty of meat on this carcass for the hyenas to pick over.
The goalies (Brodeur, Fleury, Luongo, Mason and Ward) are hard to argue against. They've pretty much got everyone needed and one of them is bound to be hot come next February. Find that one and stick him between the pipes until he lets in six against Sweden in the first game. Then kick him to the side of the road and get the next hottest one. Rinse. Repeat, if necessary.
They've picked 16 defencemen, of which eight are probably needed. After you weed out the obvious ones (Beauchemin, Boyle, Burns, Doughty, Robidas) you're down to 11. Discount the ones who will undoubtedly retreat next year after posting boffo years last season (Green) and get rid of the Langway/Engblom types (Regehr) and the goat from the last Olympics (Pronger) you've got the list down to eight. Here they are: (Bouwmeester, Hamhuis, Keith, Niedermayer, Phaneuf, Seabrook, Staal and Weber). There'll be injuries, so just like the old TVs that have "works in a drawer," take one module out and put another one in.
There's a lot of fat and gristle among the 25 forwards, so let's start trimming: Cleary, Lucic, Marleau, McDonald, Morrow, Roy, Sakic, Sharp, Smyth, Jordan Staal. Down to 15 almost immediately. No need for orientation camp. Give the guys the summer off.
Come next February, when unsure who to pick, pick more scorers and leave the checkers at home.
Canada doesn't need another repeat of this:
4 comments:
I'd like Green, Crosby and Roy to decline the invitation entirely. Stick to piling up points for the Chainsaws and avoid that pointless, over-rated, unwatchable pond-hockey tournament.
Oooh, we beat the Swedes and the Russians for a gold trinket. I'll always remember where I was when we took out Togostan in the quarters. It was magical until the Riot on Robson. Followed by the bill to the taxpayers.
I believe Togostan cannot make the tournament because they're too busy coping with earthquakes and floods. Or that's what Floyd Robertson told me on Twitter.
I would like to thank Art and his fellow BC taxpayers for footing the big bill so we can come down and watch the Olympics that either a) He lost out on the ticket lottery on or b) Couldn't get across on the ferry because it was all booked up.
Stay thirsty, my friend.
I didn't bother driving 200 miles down the road for the 1998 Five Ring Circus when I was in my early 20s so chances of my attempting the 2010 version when I'm an old man are 0%. My only regret about not even realizing there was such a thing as a ticket lottery was missing an opportunity to scalp tickets to some first-class sap.
I don't drink beer that often, but when I do, I get drunk.
- the world's least-followed Twittererer.
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