After a month, my updated roster as of now:
Jamie Benn - Sidney Crosby - Tyler Seguin
Rick Nash - John Tavares - Steven Stamkos
Taylor Hall - Claude Giroux - Patrice Bergeron
Ryan O'Reilly - Jonathan Toews - Corey Perry
Ryan Getzlaf
(Matt Duchene)
(Jeff Carter)
Duncan Keith - Shea Weber
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - P.K. Subban
Alex Pietrangelo - Drew Doughty
Brent Burns
Carey Price, Braden Holtby, Marc-André Fleury
Rick Nash scored 42 goals last year, while playing with Brassard, which - no offence to him - is not a star-caliber #1 center like Tavares, Thornton, or Getzlaf. All that with being great defensively and truly valuable to his team. A good thing to remember. He also has 23 points in 32 games so far and is definitely playing a very good overall game.
Corey Perry gets a spot because he simply deserves it due to his game. He definitely brings something valuable and that is, also, his in-front-of-the-net presence, plus his great hockey skills, both passing and scoring. He's the type of a player I would definitely want on NHL ice. He can score big goals for you and usually brings his top game when you need it. The last playoffs, Perry tallied 10 goals and had 18 points in 16 games. He's having 20 points in 31 games now, and all of his 10 goals, and 19 points, came in the last 23 games.
Jeff Carter is tough to leave off. If he was quite a surprise to some to make the team in Sochi, that shouldn't be the case now. He would be another good penalty-killer, and his style of playing fits the NHL ice very well. He will definitely be in the mix and could be the perfect 13th forward, as he very well could be now instead of Getzlaf.
Matt Duchene has already one olympic experience and is also a gold-medalist from the World Championships where he put up 12 points in 10 games. He's another forward tough to leave home. He's been quietly on fire recently, putting up 15 goals and 26 points in last 24 games. Am I the only one who can see Hall and Duchene battling for a spot? They are a bit different, but yet quite similar to each other in that what they can bring to the team and that is speed. When already having Benn, and then at least one of Nash/O'Reilly, it will be hard to make a room for both. Duchene deserves to be a Team Canada player though.
I am not sure if we can ignore a player who could be in TOP10 in scoring and having possibly more than a point-per-game season or close to it. Not to mention he's a natural LW. Mike Hoffman has 31 points and 17 goals in 29 games. He's also been producing from the start without any bigger slump. In fact, in between November and December, Hoffman had a 7-game hot-streak with 9 goals and 12 points. It will be interesting to watch how long can he play like that. The longer, the better chance of getting into the conversation. If the Senators don't make the playoffs, I definitely wish we could see him wearing TC jersey at the WCHs.
On D, Brodie could very well be a TC player already, but I believe that Canada needs the defensive abilities and experience of Vlasic more, because we already have good and slick puck-movers in Subban, Doughty, or Keith. Jake Muzzin is definitely in the conversation too, as is Giordano. Brent Seabrook, I think, would be in the group of seven best canadian defensemen, but can he make it over Pietrangelo or Burns here for an actual hockey tournament?
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I would also have one idea for a power-play. Or rather 3 ideas, too much talent to have just two PP units. Stamkos-Crosby-Toews, with Keith and Subban could work well. Then Hall, Giroux, Tavares, Doughty, and Weber, another super-skilled unit. And then the one I would be dying for to see: Benn-Seguin-Perry, with Getzlaf and Burns. Can you imagine both Perry and Benn in front of the net haha. That would be a nightmare, but not for Canada. Then you have Seguin, Getzlaf - the chemistry of both duos, and another big body in Burns or Nash. That unit would have amazing skills, and the physical presence + the chemistry could be ridiculous.
