Top Contenders in Vancouver – Men’s Hockey
In this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver the biggest event, at least for the local Canadians, will, hands down, be men’s ice hockey. But who are the favourites to take home gold this winter?
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The odds on favourite for gold has to be the home country, Team Canada. With veteran goalie, Martin Brodeur, who has already won Olympic gold (in Salt Lake City in 2002) and three Stanley Cups, behind the pipes, goaltending won’t be an issue. Canada’s defence has both veteran wily and speedy, puck-moving youth. Up front, the team is loaded with offensive firepower, but what really separates Canada is how responsible defensively its forwards are. They should be tough to beat, but the pressure of playing on home ice could derail the country’s Olympic dreams.
Team Russia goes into Vancouver considered the favourites to disappoint Canada. With the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexander Semin, Evgeni Malkin, and, oh yeah, Alexander Ovechkin, Russia’s scoring power will be downright scary. Shark’s goalie Evgeni Nabokov should give the Russian’s solid goaltending. The only question is on the blueline. Sergei Gonchar and Andre Markov would make a solid pairing, but will the rest of the defence be good enough?
Defending gold medal champs Sweden also provide a serious threat. The way the Sedin twins have been playing this year, they may be unstoppable, especially for a team like Russia with questionable defence. Henrik Lunquvist will give the Swedes great goaltending, but they have few other options between the pipes if he should get injured or tired.
The defence’s success will rely on how much Nicklas Lidstrom has left in the tank, and how much the youngsters can pick up the load. An older team, the Swedes will have a do-or-die attitude.
Team USA comes in as a big underdog, but in a short tournament they may just have the right mix of grit, youth, goaltending and chemistry to pull off another… well, not quite a miracle, but almost. Ryan Miller has been the best goaltender in the NHL this year and if he gets hot, could manage to shut down even the Russian offence. But Miller may have to stand on his head to make up for a fairly young, inexperienced defence. Forwards like Zach Parise and Patrick Kane will have to somehow provide enough offence to win low-scoring games that the States will have to play.
Defending silver medalists, Finland, with Calgary Flame’s workhorse Mikka Kiprussoff in net, could compete for a medal. But with several players injured, including their only legitimate scoring-threat, Teemu Selanne, the Fins could be in trouble. They don’t have much for defence either, but they could make up for this with leadership, experience and chemistry.
The Czech Republic, with a hungry Jaromir Jagr, should also have a competitive team. They also have eternally underrated Tomas Vakoun in net, who should provide solid netminding. But with few bonafide stars anywhere else in the line-up, there would have to be a few major upsets if the Czechs were to go far. Especially on the smaller ice surface in Vancouver.
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Jason `Boneyard` Perry, born and raised in the forests and ice of British Columbia, Canada, is a universal sports fan, writing with an eternally black eye and bloody fist.
