In case you didn't hear, and I'm sure you did if you turned your TV on at any point during or since the what-felt-like-24-hour presser, Canada announced their Men's Olympic hockey team yesterday. For months, media and fans have been projecting who would be on the team, who should be on the team, and who should not. There were some players that were considered locks to make the team by all; Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, all of whom made the final roster. Others were highly debated and mulled over, some of which made the team, while others' names were not called during the announcement in Toronto on Tuesday morning. After letting the dust (and my rage over some of the snubs) settle, I've taken a look at some of the bubble players who were pleasant surprises; guys that were not locks to make the team, but ended up having their names called.
First off, here's the final roster, in case you missed it:
Goalie: Roberto Luongo (VAN), Carey Price (MTL), Mike Smith (PHX)
Defense: Jay Bouwmeester (STL), Drew Doughty (LAK), Dan Hamhuis (VAN), Duncan Keith (CHI), Alex Pietrangelo (STL), PK Subban (MTL), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (SJ), Shea Weber (NAS)
Forwards: Jamie Benn (DAL), Patrice Bergeron (BOS), Jeff Carter (LAK), Sidney Crosby (PIT), Matt Duchene (COL), Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), Chris Kunitz (PIT), Patrick Marleau (SJ), Rick Nash (NYR), Corey Perry (ANA), Patrick Sharp (CHI), Steven Stamkos (TB), John Tavares (NYI), Jonathan Toews (CHI)
Pleasant Surprises:
Matt Duchene
Matt Duchene was one of the guys on the bubble that I was really rooting for to make Team Canada. Duchene is one of the smoothest, fastest skaters in the league, has slick hands, and can score with the best of the young generation of scorers. The young sniper has averaged 26.35 goals per 82 games and 0.76 points per game in his three-and-a-half year career and is on pace to record 32 goals and 76 points this season. Duchene has played for Team Canada in three World Championships on international ice, recording 12 points in 22 games. Personally, I'm excited to see Duchene on the big ice surface in Sochi, as he will have plenty of space to skate and create plays offensively. He isn't a guy you're going to rely on to kill penalties or in defensive situations, but Duchene is a player that can light up the scoreboard and provide an energy boost to this Canadian team.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
When I heard Vlasic's name being mentioned in talks for Sochi by media members and bloggers prior to the announcement, I literally laughed and thought that there was no way that Vlasic could crack Canada's roster. And to be honest, even after the announcement this morning, I was not impressed with Vlasic's selection. However, because I haven't watched Vlasic a great deal because of where he plays, I thought I would dig a little deeper before I gave an uninformed opinion on the guy. After looking deeper into the San Jose defenseman's resume this season, I can say that my mind has at least partially been changed. Vlasic has racked up 721 minutes of ice-time this season (approximately 20/game) against the other teams' best players, night in, night out. Against a high quality of competition, 29.5% QOC (Top 25 defensemen in the league), Vlasic sports the number one Corsi relative rating (+7.2%) of any Canadian defenseman in the NHL (for any explanations of the meanings of advanced stats- check here). That Corsi relative rating looks even better on one of the best teams in the league, who also happens to have the third highest overall Corsi rating in the league. Upon further searching, I came across the fact that Vlasic actually has a slightly, and I mean very slightly, lower relative GF% than Brent Seabrook (who I thought should have made it); in other words, that means that both defensemen assist their teams' manufacturing of goals at about the same rate. Overall, it would appear that Vlasic helps his team more defensively and equally offensively as Seabrook, so I can kind of cut Yzerman some slack on this choice now.
Patrick Sharp
Patrick Sharp is another player who I personally thought should have made it, but was still surprised that he did, just because of all the reports that indicated that he wouldn't be on the team. Sharp is another speedy skater, who can play in any situation, whether it be even-strength, powerplay, or in penalty kill situations, and he can score when placed in any of those situations. Sharp is offensively and defensively sound and should be a player that Babcock doesn't hesitate to put out in any scenario. For the Chicago Blackhawks this season, Sharp leads the team, and is second in the league, in goals (25), second on the Blackhawks in points (46), and is third in faceoff percentage (55.4%). On one of the best possession teams in the league, Sharp ranks high in all advanced possession stats as well. Patrick Sharp is on pace for his own personal best season in both goals (45) and points (83), and his play this season has made it impossible to be passed over for the Canadian Olympic Team. If Sharp's 2011-12 World Championship, where he notched 8 points in 8 games, is any indication of his international play, he won't simply be a role player on this team; he has the potential to be a big difference-maker.
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