2010 Olympic Hockey

[Parker 1st MRB]

You decide.

Here are the teams...

Team U.S.A

*Official team roster will be released Jan. 1, 2010*

Forwards

Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils

Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs

Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalance

Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings

Scott Gomez, Montreal Canadiens

Patrick O’Sullivan, Los Angeles Kings

Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres

Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks

Chris Drury, New York Rangers

Peter Mueller, Phoenix Coyotes

Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks

Tim Connolly, Buffalo Sabres

Defence

Brian Rafalski, Detroit Red Wings

Mike Komisarek, Toronto Maple Leafs

Paul Martin, New Jersey Devils

Erik Johnson, St. Louis Blues

Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators

Ryan Whitney, Pittsburgh Penguins

Keith Ballard, Florida Panthers

Goalies

Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres

Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders

Team 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)

Team Russia

Forwards

Maxim Afinogenov (Atlanta)

Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit)

Sergei Fedorov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)

Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta)

Viktor Kozlov (Salavat Ufa)

Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh)

Alexei Morozov (Ak Bars Kazan)

Alexander Ovechkin (Washington)

Alexander Radulov (Salavat Ufa)

Alexander Semin (Washington)

Danis Zaripov (Ak Bars Kazan)

Sergei Zinoviev (Salavat Ufa)

Defence

Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh)

Denis Grebeshkov (Edmonton)

Dmitri Kalinin (Salavat Ufa)

Konstantin Korneyev (CSKA Moscow)

Andrei Markov (Montreal)

Ilya Nikulin (Ak Bars Kazan)

Fedor Tyutin (Columbus)

Anton Vonchenkov (Ottawa)

Goalies

Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix)

Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose)

Semyon Varlamov (Washington)

Team Sweden

Forwards

Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators/NHL)

Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals/NHL)

Loui Eriksson (Dallas Stars/NHL)

Peter Forsberg (MODO Hockey)

Tomas Holmstrom (Detroit Red Wings/NHL)

Patric Hornqvist (Nashville Predators/NHL)

Fredrik Modin (Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL)

Samuel Paahlsson (Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL)

Daniel Sedin (Vancouver Canucks/NHL)

Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks/NHL)

Mattias Weinhandl (Dynamo Moscow/RUS)

Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings/NHL)

Defence

Tobias Enstrom (Atlanta Thrashers/NHL)

Magnus Johansson (Linkopings HC)

Niklas Kronwall (Detroit Red Wings/NHL)

Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings/NHL)

Douglas Murray (San Jose Sharks/NHL)

Johnny Oduya (New Jersey Devils/NHL)

Henrik Tallinder (Buffalo Sabres/NHL)

Mattias Ohlund (Tampa Bay Lightning/NHL)

Goalies

Jonas Gustavsson (Toronto Maple Leafs/NHL)

Stefan Liv (HV 71)

Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers/NHL)

Team Slovakia

Forwards

Ľuboš Bartečko (Bern/Švajč.)

Branko Radivojevič

Martin Cibák (obaja Spartak Moskva/KHL)

Pavol Demitra (Vancouver Canucks/NHL)

Marián Gáborík (New York Rangers/NHL)

Michal Handzuš (Los Angeles Kings/NHL)

Marián Hossa (Chicago Blackhawks/NHL)

Marcel Hossa (Dinamo Riga/KHL)

Tomáš Kopecký (Chicago Blackhawks/NHL)

Žigmund Pálffy (HK 36 Skalica/SR)

Jozef Stümpel (Barys Astana/KHL)

Miroslav Šatan (bez klubovej príslušnosti)

Richard Zedník (Lokomotiv Jaroslavľ/KHL)

Defence

Zdeno Chára (Boston Bruins/NHL)

Milan Jurčina (Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL)

Richard Lintner (Dinamo Minsk/KHL)

Andrej Meszároš (Tampa Bay Lightning/NHL)

Andrej Sekera (Buffalo Sabres/NHL)

Ľubomír Višňovský (Edmonton Oilers/NHL)

Martin Štrbák (HK MVD/KHL)

Goalies

Jaroslav Halák (Montreal Canadiens/NHL)

Peter Budaj (Colorado Avalanche/NHL)

Rastislav Staňa (Severstaľ Čerepovec/KHL)

Team Finland

Forwards

Mikko Koivu (Minnesota Wild, NHL)

Tuomo Ruutu (Carolina Hurricanes, NHL)

Valtteri Filppula (Detroit Red Wings, NHL)

Teemu Selänne (Anaheim Ducks, NHL)

Saku Koivu (Anaheim Ducks, NHL)

Jere Lehtinen (Dallas Stars, NHL)

Niklas Hagman (Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL)

Olli Jokinen (Calgary Flames, NHL)

Antti Miettinen (Minnesota Wild, NHL)

Jarkko Ruutu (Ottawa Senators, NHL)

Niko Kapanen (Ak Bars Kazan, RUS)

Ville Peltonen (Dynamo Minsk, BLR)

Jarkko Immonen (Ak Bars Kazan, RUS)

Defence

Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphia Flyers, NHL)

Sami Salo (Vancouver Canucks, NHL)

Joni Pitkänen (Carolina Hurricanes, NHL)

Lasse Kukkonen (Avangard Omsk, RUS)

Toni Lydman (Buffalo Sabres, NHL)

Sami Lepistö (Phoenix Coyotes, NHL)

Janne Niskala (Frölunda, SWE)

Goalies

Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames, NHL)

Niklas Bäckström (Minnesota Wild, NHL)

Antero Niittymäki (Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL)

Team Czech Republic

Forwards

Petr Cajanek (Saint-Pétersbourg/RUS)

Roman Cervenka (Slavia Prague/CZE)

Patrik Elias (New Jersey Devils/NHL)

Martin Erat (Nashville Predators/NHL)

Tomas Fleischmann (Washington Capitals/NHL)

Martin Havlat (Minnesota Wild/NHL)

Jaromir Jagr (Avangard Omsk/NHL)

David Krejci (Boston Bruins/NHL)

Milan Michalek (Ottawa Senators/NHL)

Tomas Plekanec (Canadiens de Montréal/NHL)

Tomas Rolinek (Magnitogorsk/RUS)

Josef Vasicek (Yaroslavl/RUS)

Defence

Miroslav Blatak (Salavat Yulaev Ufa/RUS)

Jan Hejda (Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL)

Tomas Kaberle (Toronto Maple Leafs/NHL)

Filip Kuba (Ottawa Senators/NHL)

Pavel Kubina (Atlanta Thrashers/NHL)

Zbynek Michalek (Phoenix Coyotes/NHL)

Roman Polak (St Louis Blues/NHL)

Marek Zidlicky (Minnesota Wild/NHL)

Goalies

Tomas Vokoun (Florida Panthers/NHL)

Ondrej Pavelec (Atlanta Thrashers/NHL)

Jakub Stepanek (Vitkovice/CZE)

[Yamagata 1st MRB]

Pfft... Like I know what to look for to base my vote on, but as an American, I'll vote for team USA.

[Warren 1st MRB]

I'm Canadian, and I will be rooting for the home team obviously. it's in my blood and I always will, but statistically on paper I have to put my vote for Team Россия.

Canada and Россия in the final

[Englebretson 1st MRB]

Go Mexico

[W. Myers]

Well, if Sid and Fleury are on team Canada, then go Canada!

[Gooderham 1st MRB]

Go Canada! I agree, Russia vs. Canada in the final. Team USA made the mistake of taking Connolly over Kesler, a big mistake if you ask me.

[Vogt]

I don't know about Canada... They have a Columbus Blue Jackets guy on their team. And me being a Ohio native I can tell you basically everyone on the Blue Jackets suck. That's why most of the people in Ohio who like hockey choose to cheer on other teams. For everyone in NHL the Blue Jackets are basically the Browns. And having one Blue Jacket player can basically count as -5 guys on the ice. But good luck Canada. Other than that I'll go with Finland, I have a feeling of awesome aura coming from them.

Edited January 2, 2010 by Vogt 1st MRB

[Ford 1st MRB]

Gotta go with Cananda, they just look better all around.

[Gooderham 1st MRB]

Except you forgot something very important Vogt, Nash is a beast. If he wasn't on such a shitty team it would be a completely different story.

[Parker 1st MRB]

I don't know about Canada... They have a Columbus Blue Jackets guy on their team. And me being a Ohio native I can tell you basically everyone on the Blue Jackets suck. That's why most of the people in Ohio who like hockey choose to cheer on other teams. For everyone in NHL the Blue Jackets are basically the Browns. And having one Blue Jacket player can basically count as -5 guys on the ice. But good luck Canada. Other than that I'll go with Finland, I have a feeling of awesome aura coming from them.

Vogt, I take it you have absolutely no idea about hockey. You can't compare the Jackets to the Browns, the Jackets have more talent than half the teams in the NHL. With players like Mason, Voracek, Huselius, Umberger, Vermette, Stralman, Tyutin and Nash, this team is far from being a bad one. The western conference is so strong that it's hard for any team to do well there. If Columbus were in the eastern conference, they would probably be in the top 5. But, it's not your fault, like I said you have no idea about hockey.

Sorry, but I can't stand people who write nonsense about hockey. Unless you were joking about it...

[Vogt]

Maybe, maybe not... Do notice that I picked FINLAND. Which is one out of the two teams that doesn't have a single C-Dub player. I'm only a Bengal and Bearcat fan. I generally hate most of the Ohio teams ESPECIALLY the Buckeyes. We've done some really stupid stuff in sports... We sold the fucking only chance we had the Browns going to the Super Bowl to the Baltimore Ravens. And the shit that the Indians have done over time is really stupid. Not to mention it seems every Ohio team basically dicks off until it starts to reach the end of the game. So yeah I hate the majority of Ohio teams. And yes I don't know much about hockey, but I can tell you we BARELY show any support for the Blue Jackets as a whole. That being said you don't even really see anybody wearing their favorite hockey team either. The only thing we really have here are the Buckeyes and the Indians. But besides that, yes maybe the West Division is tough, but getting your ass kicked is still and will always be known as, getting your ass kicked. But the people you have mention Gooderham and Parker may not be bad, if any sport or news channel does coverage on the Blue Jackets they talk to the guys who stand out, in that game. Not to mention the eight people you listed, doesn't that make up a team..? Isn't it like six people on the ice per team?

Edited January 3, 2010 by Vogt 1st MRB

[Parker 1st MRB]

Indeed there are 6 people on the ice for each team at a time and there are 23 players on an entire roster. Yes the 8 people I mentioned do not make up an entire team, but in sports it's these game makers or game breakers that determine the ability of the team. Take for instance Rick Nash, who last year had a total of 79 points in 78 games, which means he averaged a point per game. Think about it, he gets either a goal or makes a pass to assist on a goal every game. Game breakers.

[Vogt]

But all 8 of those guys are on the Jackets, so shouldn't the game breakers be game breaking? This is why the Jackets suck. Even if we do have the guys to kick ass we don't play them. You have to understand this about Ohio teams. Even if we have good guys we still suck. Well except for the Buckeyes, they stack their 1st string like crazy. And dude the company my dad works for owns the friggin stadium which the Jackets play. But at least Gooderham somewhat agrees that the team sucks. It's just unfortunate that these so called 8 game breakers are on a shitty team like the Jackets. And I wasn't taking a stab at the players, I was taking a stab at the team as a whole. And what I have seen of them they look messy, the teamwork just isn't there.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Vogt 1st MRB

[Ford 1st MRB]

Hockey is like Lacrosse isn't it? Except they are on ice? Like figure sakters?

[Vogt]

Actually I think more like Water Polo... But they decided to freeze the ice and stand on it with blades attached to their feet, using sticks to whack a smaller object into the other team's net.

[Parker 1st MRB]

But all 8 of those guys are on the Jackets, so shouldn't the game breakers be game breaking? This is why the Jackets suck. Even if we do have the guys to kick ass we don't play them. It's just unfortunate that these so called 8 game breakers are on a shitty team like the Jackets. And I wasn't taking a stab at the players, I was taking a stab at the team as a whole. And what I have seen of them they look messy, the teamwork just isn't there.

First of all Vogt, please stop pretending you understand the sport. Second, they ARE game breakers. Last season they were 41-31-3 and finished in 7th in the WC. What this means is that they made the playoffs, beating out teams like the Stars, Kings, and Avs in the WC. That's pretty hard to do in the WC, seeing how it is the better conference. As a whole they are not messy, I watch them play and they amke the same mistakes any other team makes. It's not the team that sucks, it's the city they play for. If the people don't support the team, then every home game they play must feel like an away game. If Toronto had the team that the Columbus have right now, I guarantee Toronto would be in 4th or 5th in the EC.

And dude the company my dad works for owns the friggin stadium which the Jackets play.

Not sure what the argument is here.

But at least Gooderham somewhat agrees that the team sucks.

Gooderham likes the Canucks, so his opinions are null and void. He thinks they're shitty, but in fact the Canucks choke every year in the playoffs no matter who they face. Columbus had to face Detroit last year, the nucks had to face St. Louis? and then they moved on to Chicago? Come on...

[Vogt]

Jackets lost to the Leafs... And the company thing is about, the fact that I hear about them from time to time and it's never really that good.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Vogt 1st MRB

[Parker 1st MRB]

Do you expect them to win every game? The Leafs started to get hot when they played Columbus

[Vogt]

Sort of when they have 8 REALLY awesome guys who could play the ice. Hell they'll have 2 left over if somebody needs to fill in.

[Yamagata 1st MRB]

Hahahaha, arguments about hockey are funny...

[St-Denis]

Hahahaha, arguments about hockey are funny...

What's soo funny hockey is Awsome.

[Ford 1st MRB]

Come on...

Yeah like the man in the 5,000 dollar suit is gonna hold the elevator for the guy in the 500 dollar suit...... come on!!!!

[Englebretson 1st MRB]

i like how the majority of the topics these days gets someone really pissed off. it makes reading the forums even more exciting

[Vogt]

Are you saying I'm a hockey troll? I'm insulted by such remark.

[Gooderham 1st MRB]

The western conference is so strong that it's hard for any team to do well there. If Columbus were in the eastern conference, they would probably be in the top 5.

This is absolutely the case. The Western conference is really strong right now. There are a few teams in the East that are really good, but comparatively its not the same.

The Canucks have been a strong team for the last decade and still can't get it done, but I don't care because they are my team.

One more thing Parker, I actually do like the Blue Jackets and think that they could/should be playing a lot better. I think that coaching may have something to do with it, but that is speculation.