With Olympic rosters set for the upcoming men’s hockey tournament in Sochi, I’ve compiled a Sochi 2014 Olympic Hockey Outlaw All-Stars roster, made up of the best players in the world who didn’t quite make their country’s roster, but who certainly deserve to be there, wearing their national jersey in Sochi.
Part One was the goalies and defencemen, and Part Two breaks down the fourteen forwards, with my analysis of each choice. I’m sure you’ll agree that this is a pretty solid team, with it’s fair share of surprises – i.e. guys who, in various moments of insanity, missed out on being selected by their country’s hockey governing body.
Let’s take a look at the World Outlaw All-Stars forwards:
Forwards
Claude Giroux (Canada): Legitimate superstar who has admittedly had a down
season for the Philadelphia Flyers – just like the Flyers themselves have been mostly horrible – but not picking Giroux for the Olympics because he’s out of form doesn’t fly with me, because Rick Nash is on the Canadian roster, and, as a New York Ranger fan, I know better than most that Nash is having a bad season, as well. Giroux is entitled to feel extremely hard done by.
Bobby Ryan (USA): The American equivalent to Giroux in terms of a big-time superstar snubbed, but the key difference is that Ryan’s been playing the house down in Ottawa. Lots said about him by USA Hockey hierarchy, but the fact remains that Ryan trails only Phil Kessel (who is on the team) amongst American-born players since the 2008-09 season. This was an egregious error by Team USA.
Kyle Okposo (USA): The New York Islander is second amongst all US-born forwards in NHL scoring, but has the misfortune to make his living on the right wing, where there was an absolute embarrassment of riches from which to choose. Might be in line for a last-minute call-up if someone like Ryan Callahan doesn’t come up properly from his injury-plagued start to the NHL season.
Patric Hornqvist (Sweden): Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz, who coaches Hornqvist on an almost-daily basis, can’t believe the gritty forward, who’s made a living in the rough area in front of the net, wasn’t selected by Sweden, and nor can I. Teams need grittiness like Hornqvist can supply. Didn’t have too bad a tournament in Vancouver for years ago on a Swedish team that didn’t medal, I can only imagine he wasn’t chosen due to issues surrounding his ability to skate around the bigger ice.
Alexander Semin (Russia): The Russian version of America’s Ryan and Canada’s Giroux. Insanely-talented guy who is starting to regain dangerous form for the Carolina Hurricanes, and I can’t work out why he didn’t make the team. On form, I’d definitely take Semin before any of the KHL guys that the Russians seem insistent on including. It’s been speculated that Semin might be out of favour with Russia’s coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. This could come back to haunt both coach and team.
Jiri Hudler (Czech Republic): Here is the Czech version of Semin/Giroux/Ryan. Get this: in thirty games so far this year, Hudler has eleven goals and thirty-three points. More than that, he’s averaging a career-high 19:01 time on ice, which has endeared him to both the fans and coaching staff of the Calgary Flames. How 42-year-old Petr Nedved got the nod ahead of this guy is beyond me.
Joe Thornton (Canada): Jumbo Joe was probably left off the team due to concerns about his ability to get places on the bigger ice in Sochi, and the fact that Canada has so much talent at centre, but there’s no denying that the NHL’s leading assist-getter (with 43) is still a bonafide superstar, and would be a must-pick player on just about any other Olympic roster other than Canada’s.
Radim Vrbata (Czech Republic): Vrbata’s omission reminds me of Hudler’s. The Phoenix Coyote is having a brilliant season, having already scored eleven goals and twenty-nine points in thirty-nine games played. Not a bad start, and certainly a more likely candidate for Olympic selection than the afore mentioned Nedved, or even Jiri Novotny, another guy who apparently materialised from thin air prior to his selection. The Czechs will rue leaving Vrbata and Hudler out, and the rest of the hockey world will be left to say, “Told ya so!”
Milan Lucic (Canada): Again, concerns about his skating ability on the big ice abounded, but, mark my words, if there are queries raised about Canada’s lack of toughness in the tournament, thoughts will drift to Lucic and his exclusion from the roster. Not afraid to get into it, physically and verbally, and plays with a nice edge to his game. Guys think twice before they start jousting with the Bruins agitator. He’d definitely be on my team.
Marty St Louis (Canada): If Ben Bishop helped Tampa Bay in the absence of Steven Stamkos, you can definitely credit St Louis for filling in the offensive void. Interestingly at a guy from the team that Canadian GM Steve Yzerman runs has missed out, particularly because St Louis is the sort of guy who can change the course of a game – or, possibly, an entire tournament – with a clutch goal. Not the first time he’s been left off of a Team Canada outfit. Disappointing scenario for a brilliant player.
Taylor Hall (Canada): A standout at World Junior level, and just about the only good thing worth writing about if you’re a hockey pundit in Edmonton – apologies, Jordan Eberle – Hall is going at a clip better than a point a game (forty-one points in thirty-eight games played), it clearly wasn’t enough for a Canadian team ridiculously stacked at forward. You figure he’ll be right in contention for selection in four years.
Tomas Fleischmann (Czech Republic): Another unlucky omission from a Czech Republic roster that continues to make me scratch my head. Having as good a season as can be expected on a pretty bad Florida Panthers team, who’s already let go it’s head coach, a veteran guy with nearly 500 games and nearly 300 points in the National Hockey League surely merits national Olympic selection?
Nail Yakupov (Russia): A guy who was selected first overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by Edmonton and is undoubtedly a prodigious talent, he’s struggled with the Oilers – who hasn’t? – and has recently spent chunks of time riding the bench, hampering his development, which undoubtedly hindered whatever chances he had of earning Olympic selection. It isn’t a positive learning environment in Edmonton, and you wonder if Yakupov might’ve challenged harder for a trip to Sochi were he somewhere else.
Tyler Seguin (Canada): Nothing like a change of scenery. Traded away from Boston and flourishing in Dallas, the spark for what’s been a vastly-improved Stars offensive output this year. Centres a line in Big D, but played on the wing in Boston, so there’s no reason why he couldn’t plug in anywhere and go for Canada, either. Twenty-one goals on the season, that’s eighth-best across the NHL and sixth-best amongst Canadians. Plus, the kid’s on fire at the moment.
Team USA Roster Analysis - Part One (Goalies & Defence) / Part Two (Forwards)
Team Canada Roster Analysis - Part One (Goalies & Defence) / Part Two (Forwards)
Wanna talk hockey? Find me on Twitter @akitchener
No comments:
Post a Comment