The final roster has been set for Team Canada for the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships. Two Oilers draftees have made the cuts – goaltender Olivier Roy of Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL and Curtis Hamilton, Left Winger with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. Here is the roster:

Team Canada Roster
Name	S	Ht.	Wt.	Born	Hometown	Club team	Pro Status
GOALTENDERS
Olivier Roy	L	5’11	186	07/12/91	Causapscal, QC	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	2009
Mark Visentin	L	6’1	198	08/07/92	Waterdown, ON	Niagara (OHL)	PHX 2010
DEFENSEMEN
Tyson Barrie	R	5’10	190	07/26/91	Victoria, BC	Kelowna (WHL)	COL 2009
Jared Cowen*	L	6’5	227	01/25/91	Allan, SK	Spokane (WHL)	OTT 2009
Simon Despres	L	6’4	222	07/27/91	Laval, QC	Saint John (QMJHL)	PIT 2009
Calvin de Haan*	L	6’1	189	05/09/91	Carp, ON	Oshawa (OHL)	NYI 2009
Ryan Ellis*	R	5’10	184	01/03/91	Freelton, ON	Windsor (OHL)	NSH 2009
Erik Gudbranson	R	6’4	211	01/07/92	Orleans, ON	Kingston (OHL)	FLA 2010
Dylan Olsen	L	6’2	223	01/03/91	Calgary, AB	Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA)	CHI 2009
FORWARDS
Carter Ashton	L	6’3	219	04/01/91	Saskatoon, SK	Regina (WHL)	TAM 2009
Casey Cizikas	L	5’11	191	02/27/91	Mississauga, ON	Mississauga (OHL)	NYI 2009
Brett Connolly	R	6’2	181	05/02/92	Campbell River, BC	Prince George (WHL)	TAM 2010
Sean Couturier	L	6’3	192	12/07/92	Bathurst, NB	Drummondville (QMJHL)	2011 Draft
Cody Eakin	L	6’0	187	05/25/91	Winnipeg, MB	Swift Current (WHL)	WSH 2009
Marcus Foligno	L	6’1	200	08/10/91	Sudbury, ON	Sudbury (OHL)	BUF 2009
Curtis Hamilton	L	6’3	202	12/04/91	Kelowna, BC	Saskatoon (WHL)	2010
Quinton Howden	L	6’3	192	01/21/92	Oak Bank, MB	Moose Jaw (WHL)	FLA 2010
Ryan Johansen	R	6’2	193	07/31/92	Port Moody, BC	Portland (WHL)	CBJ 2010
Zack Kassian	R	6’3	226	01/24/91	LaSalle, ON	Windsor (OHL)	BUF 2009
Louis Leblanc	R	5’11	181	01/26/91	Pointe-Claire, QC	Montreal (QMJHL)	MTL 2009
Brayden Schenn*	L	6’1	192	08/22/91	Saskatoon, SK	Brandon (WHL)	LOS 2009
Jaden Schwartz	L	5’10	184	06/25/92	Emerald Park, SK	Colorado (WCHA)	STL 2010

* – Returning Player

Head Coach: Dave Cameron (Mississauga St. Michael’s, OHL)
Assistant Coach: Andre Tourigny (Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
Assistant Coach: Ryan Huska (Kelowna, WHL)
Assistant Coach: George Burnett (Belleville, OHL)

Notable cuts: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan Murphy

The end of a successful Olympics.  And what a final week.  Canada picked up 8 golds (!) since the last MMS. Last Monday the papers were talking about the Own the Podium being a failure and how we should have never done it, but I think as this amazing week has come to an end it looks like we did kick some ass (and as I read on twitter, technically we do own all the podiums).

And what a hockey game!  Wow. I don’t think they could have scripted it any better. Overtime, Crosby, against the States. If I worked for the NHL I would have that running in all my commercials non-stop with some comment like “Do you know what you’re missing?”. If they cut it with the simultaneous shots of Robson square/ the Molson house/Toronto/everywhere with a TV just erupting then they would have a hit commercial.

The closing ceremonies kinda sucked if you ask me. I enjoyed the athletes march and all that (intro to Sochi etc), but the obvious lip-syncing for the entire intro part (where are we? oh yeah, Vancouver) annoyed me, and I didn’t really like how they did the whole try to be comedians part. I did like Mr. Fox coming out and saying “Hi, I’m Mike” and getting a huge cheer (and Shatner was awesome as well…go watch Free Enterprise). Now as for the “concert”, I am aware that I don’t have the most common taste of music, but what they had there was crap (although Alanis had a nice dress on). The only band that interested me in the slightest was the Marie-Mai. And we all know why that was…the guitar was the closest thing to music that I like.

All in all, the Olympics were a massive success, and I’m glad that the world got to see us drinking from the pitcher on the way to interviews, partying in the streets, kicking ass in the sports and just being all around awesome. Also, for all of the athletes who made it to represent our country, congrats. Win or lose, you made the whole country proud.

As for NHL standings, they are the same as last week.

In the pool, the “week” finally ended which leaves Racki in first, I am in second and Trogdor is in fourth.

Continue reading 'Monday Morning Standings – Olympics are Done'»

Canada 3	FINAL (OT)	United States 2
Gold Medal Final
Date: Feb 28 @ 1:15 PM MST
TV: CTV
Canada defeated Slovakia in Semifinal 3-2.
United States defeated Finland in Semifinal 6-1.

PRE-GAME RANT

Well I’m not too sure if anyone cares about this game. It should pretty much come and go without anyone even noticing really. Just another old game between Canada and the United States. Just a game for a piece of ductile metal. Meaningless.

Obviously I’m being facetious here. This is one of those moments in hockey history that could be remembered for a while. How it is remembered is yet to be known. These games really have been fantastic for Canada, and it’s my hope that one of the end points of the games will be fantastic as well.

I’m sure no American or Canadian hockey fan needs to be reminded what happened the last time these two teams met, on February 21st, but for those that don’t know, it was of course a 5-3 win for the United States. Canadians consider hockey to be “our game”. No one is allowed to be better at it than us, and at least on that day, the U.S. was. So everyone donning that red jersey Sunday should have a lot to prove. I expect a pretty damn good show from Canada, and what remains to be seen for me is who in the Red, White and Blue are going to be doing the same. I expect a pretty epic game.

No prediction for today… I don’t want to jinx anything. I have a lot of hope for Canada, but let’s just see how it pans out. Hopefully both teams deliver an entertaining package. That’s all either countries fans can ask!

TEAM CANADA ROSTER

Continue reading '2010 Olys GDT – Canada 3, U.S.A. 2 (OT) – Feb 28, 2010 @ 1:15 PM MST – CTV'»

Canada	vs.	Slovakia
Semifinals
Date: Feb 26 @ 7:30 PM MST
TV: CTV
Slovakia defeated Sweden in Quarterfinal 4-3.
Canada defeated Russia in Quarterfinal 7-3.

PRE-GAME RANT

Well Canada did the unthinkable in their last game… not just a win against a team they haven’t beaten at the Olympics in half a century, but a huge, 7-3 win. This team seams to finally have gotten it together, getting some secondary scoring. The goaltending is still a bit of a question mark, but I wouldn’t say Luongo let in anything particularly bad the last game. Slovakia, meanwhile, is getting some pretty spectacular goaltending from Jaroslav Halak. They also are coming off a big unexpected win of their own, vs. last Olympics’ winner Sweden. This could be another tough battle like the one vs. U.S.A., if Halak has his way.

I’m not even sure what to predict. I’m hoping that Canada’s offense is again firing on all cylinders and I’ll guess a 5-0 win for Canada.

TEAM CANADA ROSTER

Continue reading '2010 Olys GDT – Canada 3, Slovakia 2 – Feb 26, 2010 @ 7:30 PM MST – CTV'»

Canada 7	FINAL	Russia 3
Quarterfinals
Date: Feb 24 @ 5:30 PM MST
TV: CTV
Canada: 2-1-0-1
Russia: 2-0-1-0

PRE-GAME RANT

Well, fresh off a big win over Germany (8-2), Canada now heads into another huge game. The Americans definitely were a huge test (which unfortunately Canada failed), however you have to wonder if the Russians are going to be an even tougher team to play against. It’ll be interesting to see how the Canadians handle what is possibly the scariest top line at the Olympics (with possible exception to the newly formed Staal, Crosby, Iginla line). This should be a high flying, exciting game, and I’m hoping Roberto Luongo will be up to the task. This will also be another step in the always-exciting Crosby vs. Ovechkin series.

Prediction: 5-4 Canada

TEAM CANADA ROSTER

Continue reading '2010 Olys GDT – Canada 7, Russia 3 – Feb 24, 2010 @ 5:40 PM MST – CTV'»