Team Canada Selection Has Been Made

The team has been primarily selected and we now have a framework to go from, heading towards February 16th in Vancouver. Steve Yzerman and his management team have deliberated long and hard to come to this 23-man roster and its one we can all be proud of.

Now, this selection process doesn't conclude the pool. The final standings won't be decided until the team hits the ice in Vancouver on the 16th, so there is a little bit of hope and praying that these 23 stay healthy, since this is the first choice selection by team management, although I'm sure there may be some people who think that a player or two might not deserve to be there and someone they chose should be there instead.

No one in the pool had all 23 picks correct, Stuart and Leon each had 20 right to lead the pool and you can see how everyone matched up here on the standings.



There really shouldn't have been any doubt to the goaltending trio that was going to be selected. All three were pegged in there for quite some time now. Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury are all playing exceptionally well at this time and make for little debate as to their inclusion, but the debate rages on to who will get the nod as number one.



Going alphabetically from the forward position, Patrice Bergeron, Sidney Crosby and Ryan Getzlaf lead the way for Canada up front. Bergeron's selection surprised a lot of people, but in all fairness, eight teams did pick Bergeron in their team, so kudos to those eight.



The next three include two Sharks and one Flame. Dany Heatley and Jarome Iginla were pretty much locks for the team heading into today's decision and there was a question mark as to whether or not the management team thought that the chemistry that Patrick Marleau had with his fellow Sharks would be enough to name him. Question answered.



A couple of bubble players, arguably, in the next three, when you talk about chemistry. Rick Nash was a veritable lock for the team with all his experience playing for Canada already, while Brendan Morrow brings lots of experience himself and Corey Perry gets to keep his chemistry with his Ducks teammates on the team. Lots of grit in this trio and a good share of scoring should come from here as well.



Two of the next three shared a lot of question marks, while the third was pretty much a lock with two of his linemates in San Jose, likely to be his linemates for Team Canada. Mike Richards and Eric Staal both play for hurting NHL clubs, but none of that hurt carried over to Canada's selection process. That's a big plus for these two, as they'll be vital. Joe Thornton on the other hand... will pivot Marleau and Heatley. Enough said.

The trouble with having a 13th forward is really that 13 is a prime number and isn't divisible by any other number, so Jonathan Toews is left on his lonesome, just because of his name. Toews brings his versatility to the board, which was key number one for Team Canada and his superior shootout skills in the clutch will likely be helpful, especially after the lessons learned in 1998.



The defense was going to be a solid group no matter which way you looked at it. Between Dan Boyle and Duncan Keith, you were completely locked in with those two. Nine teams did put Drew Doughty on their Team Canada, so there really should be no surprise here. You get offense and responsibility from these three, both qualities clutch and found in the picks on the blueline.



Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger are familiar with each other from previous Team Canada's and the Stanley Cup winning Anaheim Ducks. How much more do you want to prattle on about those two? Brent Seabrook does fit into the familiarity discussion, as he forms the top pairing in Chicago with the previously mentioned Keith. Look for that pair to stay together as well.

Another prime number on defense as well, as Shea Weber stands all by himself at the bottom of the roster selection, but that's okay... he's a one-man wrecking crew to say the least. Big hitter, big defense and big shot... the Nashville Predators pillar of strength is a welcome addition to this club.

Now, let's not forget... as official as this team looks, it's not final. There is still a month and a half worth of NHL hockey to be played and this year, if anything, has been terrible for injuries. Fingers crossed for these 23, but let's not be terribly surprised if something unforeseen happens.