Canada Twenty Ten

Man down

2010-01-05T15:39:00.003-04:00

Well this is just awesome... NOT!

It looks like the forward who everyone was surprised to see make the team won't be in Vancouver after all. With Bergeron breaking his thumb, we're going to need a replacement. The obvious choices in my mind are Jordan Staal and Jeff Carter, though Dreger is tweeting that it's too early to pencil anyone in, naming Carter by name...

So let the debate begin! Who's your pick?

Damned Yankees

2010-01-01T23:34:00.002-04:00

Before heading to bed, I thought a good move would be to post the last of the teams that will be competing in Vancouver that "matter".

The USA has announced their team, and it looks a little something like this...

Goaltenders:
Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres), Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings), Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins)

Defensemen:
Erik Johnson (St Louis Blues), Jack Johnson (Los Angeles Kings), Mike Komisarek (Toronto Maple Leafs), Paul Martin (New Jersey Devils), Brooks Orpik (Pittsburgh Penguins), Brian Rafalski (Detroit Red Wings), Ryan Suter (Nashville Predators)

Forwards:
David Backes (St. Louis Blues), Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings), Ryan Callahan (New York Rangers), Chris Drury (New York Rangers), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks), Ryan Kesler (Vancouver Canucks), Phil Kessel (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jamie Langenbrunner (New Jersey Devils), Ryan Malone (Tampa Bay Lightning), Zack Parise (New Jersey Devils), Joe Pavelski (San Jose Sharks), Bobby Ryan (Anaheim Ducks), Paul Stastny (Colorado Avalanche)

Team TwentyTen

2009-12-30T13:29:00.003-04:00

Goalies
Brodeur
Fleury
Luongo

Defense
Boyle
Doughty
Keith
Niedermayer (C)
Pronger (A)
Seabrook
Weber

Forwards
Bergeron
Crosby (A)
Getzlaf
Heatley
Iginla (A)
Marleau
Morrow
Nash
Perry
M. Richards
E. Staal
Thornton
Toews

Late Edit
This was our 100th post... kind of poetic...

Last post before the announcement...

2009-12-30T12:50:00.001-04:00

In a last minute revision of his list, Bob McKenzie has tweeted that he is taking Bouwmeester off his list for Drew Doughty... does he know something early?

We're about to find out...

Trying to steal the thunder

2009-12-30T11:09:00.004-04:00

Typical of nations jealous of Canada's hockey dominance, two other nations have attempted to steal the thunder from Team Canada by announcing their Olympic hockey rosters.

The Czechs and Finns have both released their rosters. In anticipation of the Team Canada roster announcement, I have decided to not write anything about these jealous, child-like nations.

2 more hours... WHAMMO!!

'Twas the morn of selection day...

2009-12-30T08:39:00.003-04:00

In the spirit of the announcement and the season, I have prepared a short poem...

'Twas the morn of selection day and all through the TwentyTen house,
not a blogger was typing, not touching a mouse;

With Dewey on the couch and Matty in his chair,
contently knowing soon who would be there;

TwentyTeners nation wide still snug in their beds,
with visions of gold medals only thoughts in their heads;

Stevie Y with the list, he checked it again,
hoping, knowing, he'd picked the right men;

Babcock was seated, finalizing his plans,
this team didn't need a base, it was already a nation of fans;

All of a sudden cameras were flashing,
Stevie stepped to the podium, it's time, it was happening;

The silence was deafening, the volume cranked up,
I sipped the beer nervously from my team Canada cup;

He stood for a moment and breathed it all in,
he looked at the list, and then he would begin;

He named off the players from his list with certainty,
these were his players, his twenty skaters and goalies three;

A nation stood in amazed and paid attention closely,
some questioned, some applauded, some simply listened intently;

As quick as he appeared, he was gone just as fast,
media and bloggers nationwide immediately began to put the GM on blast;

Come February in Vancouver, it will be much more than a game,
it will be a our passion, our air, our acclaim;

No matter what now, this was our team, this is our show,
come February we will all cheer, "Go, Canada! Go!"

… really wanted to end that one with "WHAMMO!!"

Remember that the announcement happens today at 1 PM Atlantic (12 Eastern). You can watch live on TSN, as well as at CTVOlympics.ca. Another good idea would be to follow me on Twitter, and check back to Canada Twenty Ten often for our thoughts on the team!

Dewey's Team TwentyTen

2009-12-29T21:31:00.004-04:00

With the announcement of Team Canada coming tomorrow afternoon, I thought it would be timely of me to announce MY Team TwentyTen.

I picked my team based on performance, past and present, and also used what I have read and heard over the past few weeks, taking what I believe are good hints on the team. Also, I did my best to NOT put guys on the team who I do not care for (and did a pretty good job of it!).

Without further ado, my list:

Forwards:
Iginla - Crosby - Nash
Heatley - Thornton - Marleau
J. Staal - M. Richards - B. Richards
St. Louis - Getzlaf - Perry
Toews

Defense:
Niedermayer - Weber
Pronger - Boyle
Keith - Seabrook
Bouwmeester

Goalies:
Brodeur
Luongo
Fleury

Why did I pick the players I did? I'll try to explain...

The goalies I think are hands down. Everyone has been picking them, and I am no different. From the start we've said Brodeur and Luongo would be 1 - 2, but we were never sure about who the starter would be. Brodeur has had the better season to this point, so at the moment, he is the starter in my opinion. Things could change, but today, he starts.

The defense was a tough call for me. I had 5 guys as sure bets, those being Nieder, Pronger, Weber, Keith, Seabrook. Then I had a decision to make. I had to make a choice between Dan Boyle and Mike Green. To this point this season, Green is actually having the better season statistically (9G, 29A, +15) than Boyle (7G, 14A, +6), but I kept coming back to a conversation I had with Matty while watching last year's playoffs. He actually had a post about Green's disappearing act during the biggest games of the year, and that's why I put Boyle ahead of Green.

Then I needed to select my seventh defensemen. Originally, I said Bouwmeester, and eventually went with him, but I actually erased his name for Green's twice, and switched it back both times. Bouwmeester has never been on a big stage and I wasn't sure how he might react. I made this decision using the "McCabe" thought process, where bringing a "powerplay specialist" in '06 did not really help the team, and I doubt it would help them this year. They already have enough firepower on the blue line, so I went with the guy I figured would be a steadier defender.

The forwards, obviously, had easy choices and had some very difficult ones. I think the first line has been decided on since the orientation camp this summer. The second line has been absolutely foolish this year in San Jose, so they're there as well.

The fourth line (third scoring line) was one that originally could have been the number 2. I hate putting St. Louis on there (as has been documented), but of the other guys I thought of, I couldn't find a better fit than St. Louis. So Marty, don't let me down.

Perry and Getz are solid and have great chemistry together in Anaheim. I think these guys have to be there, and will be there.

The checking/shut down line was the last I decided on. I hadn't even considered Brad Richards for a spot on the team, but when I read that Stevie had been considering guys NOT at the summer camp, followed by the news on Saturday night that Pierre Lebrun said that he didn't think Stamkos made the cut after speaking with his sources, I put that together with the fact that both he and Grapes had spoken with Stevie Y and both had him on the team in their choices. The stats are there, he has history with the team, and I just have a hunch that in their talks, maybe his name was discussed. There has to be a guy that makes the team who wasn't at the camp, and if it won't be any of the guys we've talked about before, then it might as well be him... and that's only one of the guys on this line...

I took Mike Richards because he's a pest. While still young, he manages to get under the skin and does a pretty good job shutting down other teams stars. He's a guy who you can rely on on the PK, and another guy who's great at faceoffs, just because we need another one.

At the start of the camp, everyone assumed it would be the oldest Staal brother who would make the team. However, tomorrow I believe it will be the youngest who's name is read by Mr. Yzerman. I have heard that Jordan wasn't being considered for a spot, so this may be iffy but I think he's another guy who does a great job shutting down and is a valuable asset on the PK. I actually had thought of putting Toews on this line (not a defensive liability at all with a +18 this season so far), and then putting Stamkos as the 13th forward. This was the toughest choice for me to make, because I love Stamkos on this team. I heard someone make a claim that Team Canada suffered in 2006 by not picking a young sniper by the name of Sidney Crosby in his 2nd NHL season, but just the way Lebrun made his claim on Saturday night about him not making the cut, so close to the decision, it just seems like he knows something, and unfortunately I have to believe it.

So there it is, there's my team. Stevie, let's see what you have.

... almost forgot...

WHAMMO!!

Shenanigans!!

2009-12-28T11:56:00.000-04:00

I will be back in two days...and you can bet I'll put an end to this Grapes and Milbury (two lesser minds have never patrolled the Bruins bench) BS about who's who on the twentyten team.

Till we reconnect twentyteners...till we reconnect...

WHAMMO!!

Surströmming und meety bolls forr eveeryvan! Børk børk børk!

2009-12-28T09:00:00.004-04:00

No doubt the Swedish team will be a formidable opponent, what with being the defending Olympic champions. Today we know a little more about our meatball making opponents, as they have released the list of players on who will represent their country in Vancouver.

The team is full of veterans, and have some strong players, with Henrik Lundqvist in goal, Nick Lidstrom on the blue line, and the Sedin twins up front. They also have Daniel Alfredsson and Peter Forsberg, but Alfie is out the next 4 - 6 weeks, so who knows if he'll be in game shape in time, and Forsberg is always a wildcard. The recent emergence of a guy like Loui Eriksson certainly helps the Swedes, but I'm not sure they'll have a team that will compete as well as they did in '06. Here is the full list:

Goalies:
Jonas Gustavsson (Toronto Maple Leafs/NHL), Stefan Liv (HV 71), Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers/NHL)

Defense:
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)

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)

Just keeps getting better (Satellite Hotstove edition)

2009-12-26T21:52:00.003-04:00

This just in on Hockey Night in Canada's Satellite Hotstove, MIKE MILBURY makes his choices for Team Canada! Matty, I know that you're missing this...

Forwards
Crosby
Nash
St. Louis
Marleau
Mike Richards
Jordan Staal
Perry
Iginla
Getzlaf
Thornton
Heatley
Morrow
Toews

Defense
Pronger - Niedermayer
Keith - Weber
Seabrook - Boyle
Doughty

Goalies
Brodeur
Luongo
Fleury

No doubt old Mikey has been reading our blog...

For good measure, Pierre Lebrun's picks, who with both Smyth and Doan makes his picks the absolute worst I have seen. Terrible. I don't even care about who else he picks (AND ST. LOUIS!! HE REALLY HATES ME!!!)

Forwards
Nash
St. Louis
Thornton
Brad Richards
Perry
Jordan Staal
Toews
Crosby
Heatley
Iginla
Getzlaf
Smyth
Doan

Defense
Niedermayer - Weber
Pronger - Boyle
Keith - Seabrook
Bouwmeester

Goalies
Brodeur
Luongo
Fleury

Glenn Healy chimed in too... too busy typing to hear what him and Milbury argued about tonight, no doubt it was intellectually stimulating as it always is... Healy was pretty big on David Clarkson, if it had not been for his injury, but I'm not sure he would have been available as I doubt he would have been on the original list.

Forwards
Crosby
Thornton
Perry
Nash
St. Louis
Toews
Fisher
Iginla
Getzlaf
Heatley
Brad Richards
Marleau
Bergeron

Defense
Niedermayer - Weber
Pronger - Boyle
Keith - Seabrook
Bouwmeester

Goalies
Brodeur
Luongo
Fleury

Other notes:
Lebrun said Stevie Y scouted Tampa heavily, probably for Stamkos, who he doesn't think makes the cut.

He also mentioned he told Yzerman that they were picking their own teams, to which Stevie said he was "with Grapes".

Grape pickin'

2009-12-26T20:59:00.003-04:00

Because I know Matty is missing Coach's Corner out there in Thailand, I had to post this... Cherry's team that he picked tonight on Hockey Night. Matty, I know you're scrambling to find a TV playing the Corner somewhere in Asia, but fear not, I have you covered...

Goalies
Brodeur
Luongo
Fleury

Defense
Pronger - Weber
Niedermayer - Boyle
Robidas - Green
Phaneuf

Forwards
Getzlaf - Crosby - Perry
Marleau - Thornton - Heatley
Jordan Staal - Brad Richards - Nash
Fisher - Toews - Iginla
Stamkos

He admitted that he knows a lot of these guys probably won't be on the team, but these are the guys he thinks should be on the team. If I'm not mistaken, the first time Matty put his board up in the Twenty Ten household, it looked almost the same, just going to prove that great minds think alike...

WHAMMO!!

Say hello to the enemy...

2009-12-26T19:45:00.002-04:00

Well, with that first WJC game in the books, a 16 - 0 drubbing of Latvia (who I am beginning to believe don't actually have ice in their home country), there's some news relevant to our beloved Twenty Ten team.

The Russians have announced their Olympic team that will hit the ice in Vancouver in 2010.

A quick look at the team...

Goalies
Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix), Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose), Semyon Varlamov (Washington)

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)

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)

Surprised by some of the omissions (you can read that on the CTV site, I don't need to parrot who was left off as well as who made the squad), but I'm not too concerned, as they must feel they're giving their team the best chance to win, and there's no shortage of skill with Ovi, Malkin, Datsyuk and Kovalchuk up front.

Turn on and tune out

2009-12-26T15:34:00.002-04:00

Howdy Twentyteners!

Hope the jolly fat man found you all well this Christmas! I for one made off like a bandit, but that's not what this post is about...

This week marks one of the years most exciting times for Canadian hockey fans, when the IIHF World Junior tournament kicks off. These youngsters always provide a lot of excitement to the fans, and all in all, it's a great tournament if you enjoy watching hockey.

The problem of course with the tournament, much like the upcoming Olympic hockey tournament, is that the games are on TSN, which of course means you get a healthy serving of Miller and McGuire, with a side of Randorf, which never goes down well after a big Christmas dinner and the accompanying sweets.

Have no fear, as I am here with the solution to your woes! It's a very simple solution, and this World Junior tournament is the perfect time to practice before the Olympics in February.

When you turn your TV to the TSN station, locate the button labeled "Mute" on your remote. Press it once and your ears will not be subjected to the auditory vomit spewed by the TSN play-by-play crews.

What's that? You don't HAVE a mute button? No worries, I've got you covered!

If you're still living in the stone ages without a mute button, simply locate the "volume down" button on the remote control and hold it down until sound ceases to come from your television set.

We here at Canada Twenty Ten are always here to help... so you're welcome.

WHA*mute*...

Interesting notes from Dreger

2009-12-23T10:24:00.004-04:00

I woke up this morning and groggily turned on the television to see Sportscentre talking about our beloved team. I was still half asleep while I listened to this, and I was too lazy to wait to watch it again in the unforgivably long morning loop (really, this new girl they have on there MAY be more annoying than McGuire... I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'...).

Babcock had a quick interview where he said that about "95% of the team HAS been decided on". Darren Dreger expanded on this, with just a single week left to go before the announcement:

Phaneuf will NOT be on the team
The 7th defenseman will be one of Green, Bouwmeester or Doughty
There are about 18 guys fighting for the last 3 spots on the team. Martin St. Louis is one of those guys (my heart is breaking... /sarcasm). Apparently Milan Lucic is being strongly considered for a spot on the squad

The time of the announcement is nearing, and it looks like the pieces are all falling into place...

WHAMMO!!

PERFECTLY TIMED UPDATE: Just after publishing the story, I checked out the CTV Olympics site, and came across this article, which says the field has been narrowed to 15 forwards and 8 defensemen. When asked, Steve Yzerman did not confirm nor deny that all of those players attended camp this summer... the plot thickens

An early Christmas gift

2009-12-22T21:11:00.003-04:00

First off, before this post, I would like to say that YES, I have had an extended absence from the blog. I want to apologize to all the Twentyteners out there who have missed my musings, and can only hope you'll forgive me as I've been bogged down with work (I built the application, I haven't been sitting around building cartoons, FYI), Christmas shopping, and of course crying over the Blue Jays loss of Roy Halladay. I don't hate the trade, but that's for another blog for another day. I can only hope that in this, the most festive of seasons that you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Onto my post. The early gift is NOT my post, that'd be somewhat lame, but my gift does come in the form of a post, which is quite different, let me assure you.

I would like to give an early Christmas gift as an endorsement of a certain player to make the squad. Stevie, I hope you're reading, because this is for you.

There's a certain player, one who wasn't even invited to the camp in the summer. This player was one of the best players at the end of the last season, and thus far this season has been one of the top players in the league. He has international experience, experience in which he's excelled in. His success this season is no secret, and his name HAS been tossed around, just not on this blog, which, of course, is the be all end all of what's what with the 2010 Canadian Olympic hockey team.

Who is this mystery player you might ask?

Steven Stamkos.

That's right, the young Stamkos has been absolutely on fire this season. With 21 goals and 14 assists (at the time of writing this post). He is 2nd on the Lightning in scoring (ugh, Martin St. Louis has 40). After a rough start to his rookie season, Stamkos has really adapted well to the NHL level of play quite nicely.

I had a loyal Twentytener just tonight tell me, "you don't need Stamkos there if you have Toews", but I could not disagree more. Toews is a great player, don't get me wrong. But there are a couple of guys in August that we were saying were on this team. Not so much as "locks" but guys expected to be there. The problem, of course, is that some of these guys seemed to have lost their scoring touch. Guys like Eric Staal and Jeff Carter aren't really lighting the lamp, with 6 and 12 goals respectively. Stamkos has more then the two of them combined, and as much as I hate to say it, with Marty St. Louis passing the puck as well as he is to Stamkos in Tampa, it might not be a bad idea to pair the two of them up, much like the San Jose connection of Heatley-Marleau-Thornton is expected to play together come February.

So there you go Steve Stamkos, you have a ringing endorsement from the best Canadian Olympic hockey based blog on the interweb, hopefully Stevie Claus, also known as Stevie Y, puts you on his special list...

I'm back baby...

WHAMMO!!

...still nothin...

2009-12-21T22:46:00.002-04:00

As the date creeps nearer and nearer...and I drift farther and farther away (I'm on vacation in Thailand for another week and a half), it seems as though our once trustworthy Dewey has gone MIA on the blogisphere.

Oh where oh where art thou long Dewey bien poillue?

P.S. Still no Olympic hockey talk amongst the Thais.

WHAMMO!!

The Twentyten talk in Thailand

2009-12-13T13:38:00.004-04:00

...yea...so I'm in Thailand...and...well...I've been trying to engage in Olympic Hockey talk with locals and travellers alike...but no one seems to be talking about it...not even a quick mot about Sid the Kid...

Dewey...have we assumed wrongly that the world gives a damn about what we have to say?

I eagerly await your reply.

WHAMMO!!

2009-12-13T13:38:00.001-04:00

Power rankings?

2009-12-01T09:46:00.003-04:00

Our regular readers know me for my positive attitude, and how I like to find the good in everything, which is what makes this post so difficult for me.

Now looking at the title of the post, "Power rankings?", you'd think I would be writing a post to publicly bash the other "contributor" to this humble blog, and where his weekly staple of a column has been the last, oh, two months, but no, I am a better person than that.

What I am writing about quickly is that last night Alex Ovechkin injured his knee on a knee-on-knee hit with the Hurricanes Tim Gleason. Ovie left the game, did not return, and it has been speculated that he will be out for 2 months at least.

I wish absolutely no injuries to any player these days (I wished for 5 straight seasons Tom Brady would get hurt and when he went down at the start of last season in the NFL, I felt sick to my stomach), but this could be a big advantage for Team Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

If you asked me yesterday who the biggest competition for the gold would be with Canada, without hesitation, I would have answered Russia. Russia would be my answer because they would probably have the best player in the tournament, and in a short tournament like how the Olympics works, the team with the best player will always be in the thick of things. However, with this injury, if it's as serious as it looks, he may not play

Let's say though, that number 8 is out for 2 months. That means his return would be at the START of February. Ovie would be back just in time for the Olympics, and as dynamic as he is, I'm not sure he's 100% from a knee injury for the tournament.

I'm not writing this post as a Canadian hockey fan who's scared of the Russian team. Nor am I writing it to say we've clinched the gold medal. All I am trying to say in this post is that who we, as Canadians, thought our biggest competition was at the Olympics, may no longer be the team we talk about in the gold medal game.

Even if there's no "I" in team, you gotta admit this hurts Russia's chances...

I SWEAR GOD!!

Back with a Bold Prediction

2009-11-26T14:44:00.004-04:00

By popular demand, here is my latest prediction on what our twentyten team will look like when they drop the puck in Vancouver. No rhetoric, no analysis, simply what you twentyteners want to see...the lineup

1 - Iginla - Crosby - St. Louis
2 - Heatley - Thornton - Nash
3 - Carter - Richards - Morrow
4 - Perry - Getzlaf - Lecavalier
5 - Toews

1 - Niedermayer - Pronger
2 - Boumeester - Boyle
3 - Keith - Seabrook
4 - Weber

1 - Brodeur
2 - Luongo
3 - Fleury

Possible adds: Stamkos, Doan, Green, Price

WHAMMO!!

Carry the torch

2009-11-18T14:27:00.003-04:00

While the debate for who will light the Olympic torch in Vancouver is still being debated, there's no secret as to who will have his Stanley Cup Ring wearing hands on them tonight.

Sidney Crosby, the pride of Cole Harbour, makes his return home tonight to run a leg of the Olympic torch relay. Crosby, the youngest ever captain of a Stanley Cup winning team and one of the few "sure bets" to be on the roster for Team Twentyten.

However, while I'm happy for Crosby, getting to partake in a once in a lifetime opportunity, I should mention that I'm talking of carrying a torch of different sorts. I'm talking about who will captain our beloved Olympic team, "carrying the torch" as our fearless leader. Wearing the "C" is no small role, and I'm not sure "The Kid" is ready to take on "a man's" responsibility.

So who then? I'll tell you who.

Jarome Iginla.

It's that simple.

Iggy has been one of the best player's in the NHL (if not THE best) since the start of November. He has 9 points in his past 7 games, leading his Flames to a respectable record (2nd in their division) and showing off that familiar goal scoring form that we all come to expect from him. He has experience as a leader, both on the ice and in the locker room, which is something that will have to be considered by the brass.

I believe his play shows thus far this year shows he is the man who should wear the "C" for us in Vancouver, and I don't think that it's that close.

WHAMMO!!

BONUS RELATED CONTENT: That awesome "carry the torch" commercial from RBC last year...

I'll never understand

2009-11-14T19:47:00.003-04:00

I spent the night at home in Fredericton last night with a couple of old friends of mine. We had a few drinks, played a couple of games of FIFA 10 (tough losses for the kid here, but really, PS3 isn't my console, but that's neither here nor there), and then the inevitable came up and we started discussing the Olympic hockey team.

Now I believe, as I'm sure most do, that my friends are intelligent, well spoken individuals. I believe in giving them the benefit of the doubt when they're wrong, and if I need to correct them, I do so in a well-mannered way.

All of this changed last night when the two parties involved, we'll call them H and J, for anonymity's sake, said I was dead wrong in assuming that Rick Nash would be on the first line for Team Canada come February. Forget the fact that he played with Crosby pretty much the entire orientation camp. Forget the fact that he's having the best start to a season in his career. Forget that he is one of the top players in the NHL today, the two of them said he is an underachiever the likes of Jason Spezza.

... WHAT?!

I'll never understand their argument, which at one point came down to them spouting off Nash's career stats, comparing them to Alex Ovechkin (Even though they're both number 1 picks, they're completely different players). They even went so far as to say they'd rather have Alex SEMIN on their team over Nash.

... WHAT?!

My anger about their statements no doubt contributed to my 3 consecutive FIFA losses as I was continually focusing towards them and not the TV to look them in the eyes to tell them they're idiots, but I feel very strongly about it.

I'll no doubt be cheering loudly for Nash as a first line winger when he takes the ice in Vancouver, as I will be cheering on the Red and White, while J and H, you have fun cheering simply for the Red, you commies...

WHAMMO!!

Sunday notes

2009-11-08T09:19:00.002-04:00

Gotta have faith?

Last night the Toronto Maple Leafs, yes THOSE Toronto Maple Leafs, earned their first home win of the season over the Detroit Red Wings, coached by team Twentyten coach, Mike Babcock. The Leafs shellacked the Wings, 5 - 1. It would be premature of me to blame the loss on Babcock, but 5 - 1?? TO THE DAMNED LEAFS?!?

It would seem inappropriate to talk about losing faith in someone on a Sunday, but I can assure you that Jesus would NEVER have allowed a team he coached to lose to the Leafs 5 - 1.

Instead, I will blame this loss on the players of the Red Wings, a bunch of Europeans who, come February, will be going back to their NHL teams without a delicious* looking gold medal around their necks. Also to be blamed for the loss, of course, is Chris Osgood, who is just plain terrible.

The positive notes from the game is that Danny Cleary scored an absolutely beauty goal on "the monster", who appears to be the greatest goalie in the history of hockey now if you are watching any of the syndicated Canadian sports highlight shows as I am this morning. This won't put him on the team, but it was a great goal.

Also, how good did Stevie Y look for the Hall of Fame game? You can't help but love the guy. A great distinguished career, and hopefully this will be the start of a great career on the other side of the game.

* "delicious" because it looks like it's a chocolate medallion wrapped in gold, like that candy money that used to bring children so much joy

Emergency Ward

Cam Ward is currently backstopping the worst team in the NHL, which pretty much eliminates his chances as a backstop for the Olympic team, even as a third option. Even still though, you never want to see a guy get hurt. Unfortunately, Ward was cut by the skate of sure Twentytener, Rick Nash in what looked like a pretty severe injury. We wish Ward a speedy recovery, and hopefully a return to the win column when he does come back!

Jaws theme swimming

Dany Heatley scored again last night, and Joe Thornton had an assist on it. This one-two punch continues to be one of the best in the league right now, and they're looking like a sure fire bet to be two thirds of the second scoring line in Vancouver. Not sure who it is that might play with them, but I'm not sure it's actually going to matter.

WHAMMO!!

We'll know almost everything by 'twentyten'

2009-11-04T18:26:00.002-04:00

I've chosen to steal Matty's idea from his last post, where compared Stevie Y to another guy who's been made famous from his association with the colors red and white around a holiday around near end of everyone's calendar. I am choosing to do the same, only this time I will be comparing him to "Ezekiel - the end of year albino rat".

Ezekiel, with his bright red eyes and snowy fur, makes an appearance every year on the 31st of December, to celebrate the end of another year, and the beginning of another.

How does this relate to Yzerman, you may be asking (and with good reason)...

It was announced today that the brain trust for our beloved team will doing the official "Who's In, Who's Out" announcement on New Years Eve, December 31st. The 23 man roster will no doubt be loved by some, hated by many, and scrutinized to the finest detail by a certain two bloggers who can be found on the east coast of Canada.

I wasn't quite sure yet how my NYE would shape up, but with this announcement, things are getting a little clearer. Stay tuned...

WHAMMO!!

Stevie Y? Stevie Claus!

2009-11-03T09:55:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow begins canadatwentyten's 100 day countdown to the beginning of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, and the beginning of team twentyten's drive for GOLD.

As reported, Steve Yzerman will convene a meeting of the minds this week to find out where everyone stands on who's in...and who's out come February.

While the rest of us twentyteners celebrate the birth of our savior, Santa Claus, Yzerman and the Hockey Canada brass are expected to celebrate the Christmas season by naming the final 23-man roster. Who will wake up to find that awesome new "Go Go Power Wheels" under their tree, and who will wake up to find a lump of coal in their stocking?

This week's meeting will give our braintrust an opportunity check their naughty and nice list and ponder some of the difficult questions they will have to face come the Christmas season. Questions such as:

- Is Vinny Lecavalier really interested in making this team?
- Is Mike Green actually worth a bag of pucks?
- Is Marc Andre Fleury for real...I mean for real for real?
- Does heart matter (Marty St. Louis reference)?
- Do we need Captain Canada?
- Do we need the other Captain Canada?
...and most important of all
- What did Pierre's last team look like? Because we really don't want our team to be the same as his!