Sochi 2014: Predicting Team Canada's Roster

Just two and a half months away, sits an event that I’m sure all of Canada looks forward to. Not just the hardcore fans or even casual fans, but the whole country will come together as one to watch intently as our nation’s best compete on the Olympic stage. Now as much as I love the cross-country skiing and biathlon, the main event is the Men’s Hockey championship. Even the most relaxed fan can recognize the names on the back of the International jerseys. The Crosbys, Ovechkins and Kessels are all household names in Canada. Much like the annual World Junior Championship that takes place in December, if we come away from Sochi with anything other than gold around our necks, it will be a disappointment. 

In just over a month, Steve Yzerman and the Team Canada brass will have to whittle down the 46 players invited to the orientation camp to just 25 players to take overseas. For some countries this process is a simple one. Maybe they just have 3 or 4 slots open for players to play themselves into. However, the experience is completely different for Canada. By my count probably half of the forward spots are up for grabs along with a few defensemen and a single goalie spot. Here are what I believe are the best players to be going to the World stage to represent our great nation.

Goalies:

Roberto Luongo

Carey Price

Corey Crawford

I think you have to take Luongo. He is the goalie that led you to the promise land just 4 short years ago and experience at this level is something that cannot be replaced. Price has been waiting his turn for years to be able to represent Canada internationally. He was one of the better World Junior goalies of recent memory and his play in the NHL speaks for itself as well. The last spot for the goaltenders was a tough one for me and I truly believe it is completely still up in the air at the moment. If any Canadian goalie gets hot in the next month you have to think they have a shot at making the squad. Crawford makes it for the time being because he has been nothing but solid in net for the Chicago Blackhawks over the last 2 years. He led his team to the Stanley Cup no less than 5 months ago and I think that pressure-packed experience suits well for him on the international forum.

Defense:

Duncan Keith- Shea Weber 

Jay Bouwmeester- Drew Doughty

Marc-Edouard Vlasic- Alex Pietrangelo

P.K. Subban

Dion Phaneuf

Choosing the 8 defensemen was a tough call for me. Unlike in 2010, we lack the true veteran presence of a Scott Niedermayer or a Chris Pronger. However that opens the door for some younger type players to establish themselves as the elder statesmen on the team. The veterans on this defensive core are going to be Shea Weber and Duncan Keith, both of them playing a vital role in the 2010 gold in Vancouver. Doughty was also on that team in a much smaller role. However this time around he will be looked upon to take a step forward and fill those bigger shoes. Bouwmeester has always been a great puck mover and he also did represent Canada at the Olympic games in Torino back in 2006. With the final 4 spots I was aiming to find a balance between youth/experience and offensive and defensive players. With Phaneuf and Vlasic you get a nice blend of shutdown defensive skills along with some offensive upside. Looking at Pietrangelo and Subban you get 2 young up and coming studs, with Subban winning the Norris trophy last year. Both of them can make plays with their feet and sticks and will provide some serious scoring punch from the back end. No matter what direction the team goes with these defensemen I think Canada will be just fine on the blue line.

Forwards:

Eric Staal- Sidney Crosby- Rick Nash

Matt Duchene- Jonathan Toews- Patrick Sharp

Logan Couture- John Tavares- Martin St. Louis

Patrick Marleau- Ryan Getzlaf- Corey Perry

Patrice Bergeron

Claude Giroux

Choosing forwards for Team Canada is always a tough task and this year is no different. Every time it seems that Canada could probably ice two Olympic quality teams of forwards. It is tough to choose who to leave off and who to bring along for the ride. For this year, I tried to incorporate a lot of the 2010 forwards along with a mix of young players that have made the jump in the past 4 years. Of the 14 forwards I have listed 8 of them are returning from the 2010 team. Those being Crosby, Staal, Nash, Toews, Getzlaf, Perry, Marleau and Bergeron. With the long time veteran St. Louis playing on the 2006 Olympic team. With the remaining 5 players, there is speed and skill and lots of it. This will come into play big time on the international sized rink they will play on in Russia. The extra 5 or 6 feet on either side will give lots of room to drive wide with speed. 

Clearly putting the puck in the net is not going to be a problem for this team. However what will make the difference between gold and any other color might be the way the players adjust to their new roles. Some are going to be playing shutdown roles, much like the roles Toews, Mike Richards and Brenden Morrow played in Vancouver. I really think Bergeron is a big player to make sure to bring along. He is often in the discussion as best defensive forward in hockey and that will play a role in shutting down the firepower all the other countries will be showcasing. Not to mention he is a force on the penalty kill. 

Obviously this is always a tough task to choose the roster to represent our nation rich in hockey tradition. I think these players have a great mix of experience on the international level and youth. However it is not always about the individual talent on a team but the way it gels into a fine machine. Ultimately, the decision is up to Steve Yzerman and his team of experts to boil it down to the best team possible. And it is up to that team to bring home what the people of this great country all want. Gold.

Derrick Rose and the Future of the Chicago Bulls

This past weekend, Chicago Bulls fans and basketball fans alike took a gasp of air and crossed their fingers. On Friday night, in a game against Portland, we saw the former NBA MVP come up limping and grabbing his right knee. Any sports fan that has seen this knows it is a recipe for disaster. No good news has ever come after that scene. 

Rose is just a month into his return from a torn ACL in his left knee that he suffered in the 2011 playoffs. He proceeded to miss the entirety of last season rehabbing the injury. Now on Monday morning, the Bulls announced via their Twitter account that Rose once again will miss the remainder of the 2013-14 season after undergoing surgery to repair his torn right meniscus. 

This news brings up a lot of different questions in the minds of NBA fans. Is this the last we will see of the ever-explosive Derrick Rose? Will he ever be the same, or just a shell of his former self? What do the Bulls do now with the seemingly legendary 2014 draft class on the horizon? 

Let’s first address the future of Derrick Rose. Clearly, knee injuries are as detrimental as any in the fast-paced NBA of today. Through the first month of the season Rose seemed to be working the rust off of his game and was able to show flashes of his amazing first step and high-flying game. I think it is safe to say that given the rest of the season we would have witnessed Rose get back to where he was just 2 years ago, before the first injury. The news that it was a torn meniscus and not the more vital ACL or MCL should be cause for relief for basketball viewers. After all, we have seen two instances in recent memory that we’d be able to compare Rose’s to. 

The first happened just last year with Russell Westbrook of the OKC Thunder. As I’m sure most fans will remember, Westbrook tore his meniscus in the 1st round of the playoffs. After undergoing surgery and 6 months of intense rehab, Westbrook is back and seems to not have lost a step in the process. The second instance was a few years back when Chris Paul, then of the New Orleans Hornets, tore his meniscus. Paul had a slightly longer rehab period in his recovery. But as his play since has shown us, he is still an elite player in the league and is currently playing the best basketball of his career. 

The great thing about comparing these 3 players is their similarities. Rose, Westbrook and Paul all play point guard in the NBA. Not only that but they play the same style of basketball, that style being fast, explosive moves with the ball. If the past is an indicator of what we can expect from Rose when he returns, I think he will be just fine. 

Now let’s look at the future of Bulls without Rose for the season. They can either decide to keep pushing for the best playoff spot possible or they can wave the white flag and start a rebuilding process. The Bulls are in an ideal situation no matter what path they choose. As Chicago showed last year, they can be just fine without their best player in the lineup. Especially in this year’s Eastern Conference I still see the Bulls as a top-5 team easily. However, they must ask themselves, is that the best route for their future? With the likes of Kansas Jayhawk Andrew Wiggins, Kentucky freshman Julius Randle and hometown boy Jabari Parker at Duke likely to emerge in the draft this year, there is a possibility to pair up Rose with another budding superstar. 

I could easily see Chicago going down either path with their decision. However, seeing what they did last year without Rose I think it is more likely they stay the course and make a push for the playoffs. Is that the right move for the franchise? Only time will tell.

Birth of a Blog

For as long as I can remember growing up in Canada, I have been a huge sports fan. Along with that has come my love for sports journalism. Every single days I scour the web for interesting articles and looks on various sports topics. From stats and standing to trade rumours and scandals, I try and read everything. One of the greatest aspects of the Internet boom has been the expansion of journalism. You no longer have to work for a newspaper or a news agency to be able to write and distribute your opinion to millions in just an instant. Given this opportunity, I am going to start writing my own thoughts about sports and sport culture.

Just some background on me as a person, athlete and fan before I set out. I've grown up with sports surrounding me. Never found a sport that hasn't made me want to learn more or get better. I am the ultimate "sports" fan. There are obviously sports that I have not played, however every single one draws me in. I'm intrigued to watch cricket or tennis although I've never actually played either of them. Something about the idea of sport and mainly competition drives me like nothing else. "Me against the world" mentality comes to mind as I'm writing this. I hate losing more than anything else.

I haven't cut out a defined path for this blog, going to let it lead me. It will revolve around sport but I have more overlying passions than just that. Sport within our lives really intrigues me. Sport itself is such a spectacle in our society. There is no one thing that brings together as many people as sports does. In a few months when the Olympics come, whole nations will come together to support their athletes.However a few months after that when the World Cup comes around you hear and read about hostilities between the people of these countries. It’s a beautiful thing. A beautiful war some would say.The science of sport will also be a frequent stream in my blog. No matter how many unbelievable feats I witness, I'm still vulnerable to be shocked by another. And lastly, I am going to try and touch on another love of mine, music. Music and sport influence each other in so many ways.

For those wondering, the blog is named after Joe Carter's Home Run in 1993 World Series. Thought it was fitting since I'll be writing about any and all sports. 

You can follow me on my Twitter account @Touch_Em_All

Anyways, thanks for joining me on this adventure through sports!

Dyl Mac

P.S. Feel free to get at me in the comments or on Twitter. Would love to have conversations with anyone who reads this!