2014 Olympic men’s hockey rosters
2014 Olympic men’s hockey rosters
By Kenton Wolfe
Feb. 7 marked the official one-year countdown to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Though the NHL’s involvement in the international tournament has yet to be confirmed, it is widely speculated that the NHL won’t deny the world of its biggest stars playing.
With Canada’s iconic victory of the 2010 tournament on home ice in Vancouver, rivals U.S.A. and Russia will be looking to get even. The image of Sidney Crosby’s “golden goal” has been burned not only into the skulls of Canadians, but into the disheartened minds of American hockey fans as well.
It seems as though the Scandinavian super powers of Finland and Sweden are in a transitional period, with aging stars like Teemu Selanne (FIN) likely retiring before the tournament and Nick Lidstrom (SWE) having hung up the skates on international play following the 2010 Olympics.
Here’s my best guess at the four rosters of the favourites to win the tournament. I have marked players from other leagues, who I am not familiarized with, as the abbreviation I expect them to come from.
Team Canada:
Forwards: | ||
John Tavares (NYI) |
Sidney Crosby (PIT) |
Steven Stamkos (TBL) |
Rick Nash (NYR) |
Johnathan Toews (CHI) |
Claude Giroux (PHI) |
Taylor Hall (EDM) |
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM) |
Jordan Eberle (EDM) |
Jamie Benn (DAL) |
Ryan Getzlaf (ANH) |
Corey Perry (ANH) |
Jeff Skinner (CAR) |
Eric Staal (CAR) |
|
Defence: | ||
Duncan Keith (CHI) |
Drew Doughty (LAK) |
Strengths: Size, Depth, Skill |
Dan Hamhuis (VAN) |
Shea Weber (NSH) |
Weaknesses: Shakey Goaltending |
Alex Pieterengelo (STL) |
Kris Letang (PIT) |
Hot Seat: Roberto Luongo |
Marc Staal (NYR) |
Dan Girardi (NYR) |
|
Goalies: | ||
Roberto Luongo (VAN) |
Coach: Mike Babcock |
General Manager: Steve Yzerman |
Carey Price (MTL) |
Asst. Coach: Alain Vingeault |
|
Marc André Fleury (PIT) |
Asst. Coach: Mike Hitchcock |
|
Just missing the cut: | ||
Tyler Seguin (BOS) |
Joe Thornton (SJS) |
Patrick Marleau (SJS) |
Cameron Ward (CAR) |
Patrick Sharp (CHI) |
Jordan Staal (CAR) |
Team U.S.A.:
Forwards: | ||
Bobby Ryan (ANH) |
Ryan Kesler (VAN) |
Patrick Kane (CHI) |
Zach Parise (NJD) |
Joe Pavelski (SJS) |
Phil Kessel (TOR) |
Max Paccioretty (MTL) |
Paul Stastny (COL) |
Jason Pominville (BUF) |
Dustin Brown (LAK) |
David Backes (STL) |
Ryan Callahan (NYR) |
James Van Riemsdyk (TOR) |
T.J. Oshie (STL) |
|
Defence: | ||
Ryan Suter (NSH) |
Keith Yandle (PHX) |
Strengths: Speed, Grit, Goaltending |
Ryan McDonagh (NYR) |
John Carlson (WSH) |
Weaknesses: Lacking dominant centreman |
Jack Johnson (CLB) |
Erik Johnson (COL) |
Hot Seat: Patrick Kane |
Brooks Orpik (PIT) |
Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) |
|
Goalies: | ||
Ryan Miller (BUF) |
Coach: John Torterella |
General Manager: David Poile |
Johnathan Quick (LAK) |
Asst. Coach: Dan Bylsma |
|
Cory Schneider (VAN) |
Asst. Coach: Peter Laviolette |
|
Just missing the cut: | ||
Blake Wheeler (WPG) | Jake Gardiner (TOR) | Zach Bogosian (WPG) |
Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) | Derek Stepan (NYR) | Brandon Dubinsky (CLB) |
Team Sweden:
Forwards: | ||
Daniel Sedin (VAN) |
Henrik Sedin (VAN) |
Jacob Silfverberg (OTT) |
Loui Eriksson (DAL) |
Niklas Backstrom (WSH) |
Marcus Johansson (WSH) |
Gabriel Landeskog (COL) |
Henrik Zetterberg (DET) |
Johan Franzen (DET) |
Alexander Steen (STL) |
Patrick Berglund (STL) |
Patrick Hornqvist (NSH) |
(SEL Forward) |
(SEL Forward) |
|
Defence: | ||
Alexander Edler (VAN) |
Erik Karlsson (OTT) |
Strengths: Experience, Skill |
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (PHX) |
Victor Hedman (TBL) |
Weaknesses: Speed, Depth |
Niklas Kronwall (DET) |
Johnathan Ericsson (DET) |
Hot Seat: Sedin Twins |
Niklas Hjalmarsson (CHI) |
(SEL Defenceman) |
|
Goalies: | ||
Henrik Lundqvist |
Coaches and Management: (SEL) | |
Ander Lindbach |
||
Jhonas Enroth |
||
Just missing the cut: | ||
Douglas Murray (SJS) |
Jacob Josephson (NJD) |
Viktor Stalberg (CHI) |
Adam Larsson (NJD) |
Team Russia:
Forwards: | ||
Alexander Ovechkin (WSH) |
Evgeni Malkin (PIT) |
Sergei Shirokov (KHL) |
Ilya Kovalchuk (NJD) |
Pavel Datsyuk (DET) |
Alexander Semin (CAR) |
Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) |
Evgeni Kuznetsov (KHL) |
Alexander Radulov (KHL) |
(KHL Forward) |
Artem Anisimov (CLB) |
Nail Yakupov (EDM) |
(KHL Forward) |
(KHL Forward) |
|
Defence: | ||
(KHL Defenceman) |
(KHL Defenceman) |
Strengths: Shooting, Skill, Size |
Andrei Markov (MTL) |
Alexei Emelin (MTL) |
Weaknesses: Lack of grit, Depth |
Feodor Tyutin (CLB) |
Nikita Nikitin (CLB) |
Hot Seat: Ilya Bryzgalov |
Dmitri Orlov (WSH) |
Dmitri Kulikov (FLA) |
|
Goalies: | ||
Ilya Bryzgalov (PHI) |
Coaches and Management: (KHL) |
|
Semen Varlamov (COL) |
||
Evgeni Nabakov (NYI) |
||
Just missing the cut: | ||
Alexander Burmistrov (WPG) | Vyacheslav Voynov (LAK) | Nikolai Kulemin (TOR) |