Team Canada Set to Defend Gold

Yesterday Hockey Canada announced the 25 man roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Canada is in the enviable position that it could probably name two (maybe three) rosters that could compete for Gold. So naming a single 25 man team is going to come with a certain level scrutiny of the selections.

Canada’s 25 Man Roster

Goaltenders: Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, Mike Smith

Defence: Jay Bouwmeester, Drew Doughty, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Shea Weber

Forwards: Jamie Benn, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Sidney Crosby, Matt Duchene, Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Kunitz, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Patrick Sharp, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Jonathan Toews

I can’t really disagree with any of the players that Steve Yzerman and his assembled uber-staff chose to name to the team, as they are all certainly deserving. I would however have made some different choices. There are just a couple players that I would have not wanted to leave off my team.

World Junior Selection Camp Roster Announced

Monday morning Hockey Canada announced the roster for the Team Canada World Junior Hockey Championship selection camp. The three camp that opens on December 11th in Calgary will be the final opportunity to impress the Hockey Canada brass and earn a coveted spot on Team Canada.

There are of course some players that are not surprising to be listed, including returning members Jayden Schwartz, Quinton Howden, Mark Visentin and some already highly draft players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Strome and Mark Scheifele. Now the tough part will be wittling the deep roster down to what will make the best TEAM.

Full Selection Camp Roster

MacKinnon Named to Subway Super Series Roster

Could a strong showing in the Subway Super Series lead to Nathan MacKinnon playing for Team Canada at the WJHC?

The Victoriaville Tigres and the Quebec Remparts organizations, in collaboration with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League, held simultaneous press conferences Monday to announce the roster of Team QMJHL which will compete against Team Russia in the 2011 Subway Super Series.

One name on the list was Halifax Mooseheads rookie Nathan MacKinnon. This will be one of the first opportunities for a National audience to get a look at the 2013 NHL draft prospect that has been taking the junior hockey world by storm.

MacKinnon has been on the radar of many in the hockey world for some time now, but began gaining more interest following a strong showing at last year’s World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and leading up to the QMJHL draft, which he was the undisputed first overall pick.

Just this past weekend MacKinnon went head-to-head with another topic prospect he is likely to face in the Subway Super Series, Mikhail Grigorenko. In leading the Mooseheads to a 4-3 overtime victory over Grigorenko’s Rempart, MacKinnon factored into every goal (1G, 3A). The four point performance put him in a tie with the Russian prospect for the rookie scoring lead in the Q, and top ten overall.

One has to wonder if his performance so far will garner consideration for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Tournament. It is rare for 16-year-olds to make Team Canada, but not unprecedented. As one of the top performers in the in the Q, we must at least ask the question.

Canada Wins First Game at LLWS

Things looked grim prior to an hour and a half rain delay. After Canada jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the team from Saudi Arabia, a five-run third inning for the Middle Eastern team put the Langley All-Stars in a precarious position.

They management to get one of those runs back prior to the rain delay. They eventually won the game 6-5 on an exciting walk-off passed ball that brought in the winning run from third.

The win give the team form B.C. a little bit of breathing room in the double elimination format of the earlier rounds at the Little League World Series. The All-Stars will have another tough test in the next match-up as the they will face a perennial contender from Latin America Sunday at noon ET.

Here is a complete game recap from the Langley Times:

Mooseheads Invited to 2012 NHL Draft Camp

Martin Frk and Andrew Ryan will get their first taste of what it’s like to be top tier draft prospects next month.

The two will join an impressive list of prospects eligible for the 2012 NHL Draft at the NHL’s Research, Development and Orientation Camp, to be held Aug. 16-17. The camp will give NHL general managers and scouts a initial look at some of the players that might being their farm systems nest year.

Players invited to the camp were selected by NHL Central Scouting based on their early observations on those likely to rank high in their upcoming scouting reports for the next draft.

Dan Byslma, head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Dave Tippett head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, along with NHL Hockey Operations staff will lead the players over the course of two days as they test a number of proposed rules changes, rink markings and strategies.

This once in a lifetime opportunity mean that Frk and Ryan will miss the opening of their Junior team’s training camp. The Mooseheads are scheduled to open their training camp on August 16th.

Full List of Participants