While there are a couple of omissions that I don't agree with (Price and Setoguchi being the biggest), it's still a good TEAM. If Canada wants to win, they're going to need strong goaltending, a repeat performance from Sutter behind the bench, and a total team effort from our top forward to our 7th defenceman. The team in 1993 was very young, and nobody gave it much of a shot of medalling. But the coaching of Perry Pearn, the goaltending of Manny Legace and the commitment to the team concept carried Canada to gold.
Pogge should be fine in goal. I would have liked to see Price as his back-up, but in this tournament, back-up isn't that important. As long as Dubnyk does his job against Norway and Switzerland, is the back-up really that important?
I love seeing Pokuluk on the team. He's big, he's strong, and he's thrived on international-sized ice before while with Notre Dame. The defence is young, but a top five of Barker, Staal, Bourdon, Russell and Parent bring a blend of talent. Barker will be our PP guy, Staal's smart and steady in all zones, Russell and Bourdon bring multiple contributions and Parent is a terrific defensive defenceman.
On a team that could struggle to score, I would have liked to see Setoguchi, especially ahead of Pyatt. I'm not a big Steve Downie fan, I think he's an idiot at times, but I think he could be this year's Jordin Tootoo: an aggressive, physical, bull in a china shop crowd pleaser with some skill. (Tootoo was never used right in 2003). I think Cogliano, Pouliot, Latendresse and Bolland will have to shoulder the load offensively. Toews is a born winner, he has thrived for Canada on the international stage, but asking him to be an offensive producer is asking a little bit much. Chipchura is the right pick for captain. He's a born leader and an excellent character player. I don't think he's quite the leader that Mike Richards was, or as good of an all-round player, but with Chipchura, leadership and character won't be a concern.
