February 14th, 2010 (2)

With the men's Olympic hockey tournament coming up, I decided to do up a little opinion piece. I'm not about to do a detail analysis about where each country is going to finish because it really is so hard to tell. Plus they say all great journalists are not biased. Right now, it's just too hard not to be. I expect and hope Canada to bring 'er home; okay well they're already home so I guess just win gold. You got what I meant, hopefully. Right now I am urged to chant quite possibly the worst cheer ever... EH O, CANADA GO! Anyways I got a little rowdy and little off topic there, but no big deal.

So here is what I am going to do: name a player on each team that I feel will be a a key player and needs to perform exceptionally in order for their team to succeeded. I have decided to keep goaltenders out because the team with the hottest netminder has the best chance of a medal. Plus, for teams like Norway and Latvia their goaltenders will have to superheros to get anywhere so obviously they are the most key players on their respected team. Let's drop the puck.

Finland: Kimmo Timonen
The Finns are loaded with talented forwards and seem to have an overflow of impressive goalies. Looking down the roster the hole seems to be in the defence. Joni Pitkaien and Sami Salo are consistent D men but they are nowhere near the level of the Lidstroms, Niedermayers and Gonchars who will dominate the blueline through the tournament. If Timonen who plays important minutes with the Philadelphia Flyers steps up and does what he does with the Flyers and lead their D core. Allow the forwards do their thing and let whoever plays in net make routine saves, Finland has a good chance at making it far into the tournament.

Belarus: Andrei Kostistyn (if able to play)
The Belarusians will have very limited opportunities to get shots on let, and put the puck in the net. For this reason, they need to have opportunist offence, and Anrei Kostistyn is the one most capable of doing just that. He hasn't played a lot this season having been out since New Years Eve with a knee injury. He has scored 12goals in 40 games. Reports say he may be able to play but it is still 50/50. If he is unable to, it is up to his younger brother and fellow Canadien, Sergei Kostistyn. He will do just what I explained Andrei will have to do, in order for Belarus to perform.

Slovakia: Zdeno Chara
The Slovaks have a pretty strong back end but are lacking the depth up front to place in a tournament like this. Zdeno Chara is I feel the best player on the team. That is saying a lot, because the roster does consist of Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa. The hulking Chara will lead this team to success playing every big minute. He will lead the team, and the players despite mostly being veterans, will feed off of him. A Norris Trophy demands respect.

Germany: Marco Strum
I had to think about this one. Strum, Christian Erhroff, or I thought perhaps Hamburg Freezers John Tripp. Erhoff has had a more than solid season with the Canucks and has had international experience. I had the privilege to see Tripp play a couple times live, when the World Championships were held here last May. At 6'2 he is big, but seems even bigger than that height. He has never put up big numbers but will make an impact for Germany. I ultimately decided to pick Boston Bruins Marco Strum because of his speed and is probably the most offensively gifted player on the team. The main reason I chose him was because of his international experience. He has represented his country since 1995. In the 2006 Winter Games he was to be the captain but was hurt just before the Games and had to pull out. He is the player that will bring the calmness into the room, and do what he has to do out on the ice.

Here are 4 of the 12 teams competing in the tournament. I will have the next 8 teams up in the next couple of days. Being the clever person I am, Canada will posted last. I'm watching the men's moguls, hoping to see Canada win a gold! It's sure looking good as of right now!

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis