Who Would Make Canada's Roster If There Was Olympics This Year?

[TheDoldrums]

With a month left in the 2024 Season, this is what my roster would look like. This will be close to what the roster looks like for the 4 Nations Face-off in February, with possibly some exceptions depending on post-season explosions this season and strong starts in 2024-2025:

Crosby-McDavid-Point
Bedard-Mack-Marner
Byfield-Thomas-Reinhart
Marchand-Scheifele-Hyman
Barzal-Konecny

Toews-Makar
Theodore-Morrisey
Pelech-Dobson
Power-Doughty

NOTABLE OMISSIONS:
Mark Stone- He can easily make this team, but his footspeed and injury history made me opt for a "Lightning Rod" in TK11.
Alex Pietrangelo- Same as Stone, could easily make a best-on-best. Piet's has certainly regressed but he would definitely be viable in a shut-down role and has some chemistry with Theodore.
Nick Suzuki- Is having his best season yet and could play his way onto the team
Bo Horvat- Provides a more reliable power forward role over Scheifele.
Aaron Ekblad-Has shown a more "defensive role" on Florida this season. Put it simply, 3 seasons ago, Ekblad would be a lock for a top-4 slot, but Canada has better defencemen than him at this point.
Morgan Rielly- No need for him when Canada already has Makar, Theodore, Morrisey and Dobson providing the firepower.
Vince Dunn-Is a more exciting option than Rielly, but again Canada has all the firepower they need on the backend.

"OFF FORM"
Brandon Hagel- Fills a similar role to a Marchand or Konecny. If either one is hurt, Hockey Canada could sub Hagel in.
Carter Verhaege- Has certainly slowed down from his insane goal-scoring pace earlier in the season. Canada doesn't really have any "pure snipers" on the roster aside from Bedard. If he hits the 40-goal mark again this season and starts strong next season, it will be hard to leave him off.
Mackenzie Weegar- Could easily replace Pelech on my team.
Travis Sanheim- If selected, provides a perfect blend of offence and defence to the line-uo. His bounce-back season is a big reason why the Flyers defence has been so good this season.

BOUNCE-BACK CANDIADTES
Ryan O'Reilly- If ROR keeps this up continuing into next season, he's a much better 4th line centre option than Scheifele.
Jonathan Huberdeau- Has been playing better after the deadline.

THE YOUTH MOVEMENT
Mason McTavish
Wyatt Johnston
Seth Jarvis
Logan Stankoven
Evan Bouchard
Adam Fantilli
Macklin Celebrini

Solid roster but Owen Power is not close at the moment imo. There's no way he should be ahead of any of Pietrangelo/Rielly/Dunn/Bouchard/more

 

[lawrence]

Team looks weak as shit if you ask me. It's literally relying on
McDavid and mackinnon at this point to carry the entire group.

Goalies sure as hell not at the level of luongo brodear or price.

 

[ORRFForever]

Team looks weak as shit if you ask me. It's literally relying on
McDavid and mackinnon at this point to carry the entire group.

 

[HighLifeManIsHigh]

Team looks weak as shit if you ask me. It's literally relying on
McDavid and mackinnon at this point to carry the entire group.

Goalies sure as hell not at the level of luongo brodear or price.

Yeah having 50 goal scorers in your bottom six is definitely weak as shit

 

[ORRFForever]

Yeah having 50 goal scorers in your bottom six is definitely weak as shit

Exactly.

There are two 50 goal scorers in his Bottom 6 - Hyman and Reinhart. Not too shabby. Is it one of Canada's best? No! But put this same roster under another team's name and posters will be saying how strong it is.

P.S. I prefer Hyman with McDavid. Let Sid play on the 3rd line.

 

[ORRFForever]

With a month left in the 2024 Season, this is what my roster would look like. This will be close to what the roster looks like for the 4 Nations Face-off in February, with possibly some exceptions depending on post-season explosions this season and strong starts in 2024-2025:

Crosby-McDavid-Point
Bedard-Mack-Marner
Byfield-Thomas-Reinhart
Marchand-Scheifele-Hyman
Barzal-Konecny

Toews-Makar
Theodore-Morrisey
Pelech-Dobson
Power-Doughty

NOTABLE OMISSIONS:
Mark Stone- He can easily make this team, but his footspeed and injury history made me opt for a "Lightning Rod" in TK11.
Alex Pietrangelo- Same as Stone, could easily make a best-on-best. Piet's has certainly regressed but he would definitely be viable in a shut-down role and has some chemistry with Theodore.
Nick Suzuki- Is having his best season yet and could play his way onto the team
Bo Horvat- Provides a more reliable power forward role over Scheifele.
Aaron Ekblad-Has shown a more "defensive role" on Florida this season. Put it simply, 3 seasons ago, Ekblad would be a lock for a top-4 slot, but Canada has better defencemen than him at this point.
Morgan Rielly- No need for him when Canada already has Makar, Theodore, Morrisey and Dobson providing the firepower.
Vince Dunn-Is a more exciting option than Rielly, but again Canada has all the firepower they need on the backend.

"OFF FORM"
Brandon Hagel- Fills a similar role to a Marchand or Konecny. If either one is hurt, Hockey Canada could sub Hagel in.
Carter Verhaege- Has certainly slowed down from his insane goal-scoring pace earlier in the season. Canada doesn't really have any "pure snipers" on the roster aside from Bedard. If he hits the 40-goal mark again this season and starts strong next season, it will be hard to leave him off.
Mackenzie Weegar- Could easily replace Pelech on my team.
Travis Sanheim- If selected, provides a perfect blend of offence and defence to the line-uo. His bounce-back season is a big reason why the Flyers defence has been so good this season.

BOUNCE-BACK CANDIADTES
Ryan O'Reilly- If ROR keeps this up continuing into next season, he's a much better 4th line centre option than Scheifele.
Jonathan Huberdeau- Has been playing better after the deadline.

THE YOUTH MOVEMENT
Mason McTavish
Wyatt Johnston
Seth Jarvis
Logan Stankoven
Evan Bouchard
Adam Fantilli
Macklin Celebrini

Changes I would make up front...

Hyman-McDavid-Point
Bedard-Mack-Marner
Marchand-Crosby-Reinhart
Byfield-Thomas-Scheifele

TBH, the team is much younger up front than I thought it would be 1 year ago.

 

[lawrence]

Yeah having 50 goal scorers in your bottom six is definitely weak as shit

maybe I should elaborate more.
team doesn't look as good as teams we had in the past. Our defence is not as good as Pronger, Neidermayer Doughty, Keith.

Goalies, not even close. in our prime, we had Luongo Brodeur, Price. currently no Canadian goalies at any of their levels.

Huge plus though, we have Mackinnon and Mcdavid, and a 38 year old Crosby who will be the Captain. I suspect you put Hyman with Mcdavid as they have chemistry already.

 

[HighLifeManIsHigh]

Exactly.

There are two 50 goal scorers in his Bottom 6 - Hyman and Reinhart. Not too shabby. Is it one of Canada's best? No! But put this same roster under another team's name and posters will be saying how strong it is.

P.S. I prefer Hyman with McDavid. Let Sid play on the 3rd line.

I was more talking about Point. Seems to be slotted on the third line

 

[HFpapi]

Canada tabs Armstrong as Olympic GM

St. Louis Blues executive Doug Armstrong was officially named general manager of the 2026 Canadian Olympic men's hockey team on Friday.Anaheim Ducks icon and 17-year NHL veteran Ryan Getzlaf will aid Armstrong in preparing for the Olympics as a player relations advisor. Armstrong has also been...

www.thescore.com

Would not have been my choice but he’s won before

I already think Robert Thomas won a spot in Canada's bottom 6 but this likely all but confirms it.

Wonder what this does for Kyrou's chances though if he has a great season next year. He doesn't get talked about much but I can see him being in that group of bubble players.

His disadvantage is not being the two-way spark plug that guys fighting his spot are like Konecny, Stone, Hagel, Horvat etc.

 

[Voight]

Canada tabs Armstrong as Olympic GM

St. Louis Blues executive Doug Armstrong was officially named general manager of the 2026 Canadian Olympic men's hockey team on Friday.Anaheim Ducks icon and 17-year NHL veteran Ryan Getzlaf will aid Armstrong in preparing for the Olympics as a player relations advisor. Armstrong has also been...

www.thescore.com

Would not have been my choice but he’s won before

Out of curiosity how ouldve been your choice?

Between assembling a cup winning roster and being apart of multiple Gold Medal winning management teams, he was the obvious choice.

Probably only a matter of time before they name Cooper coach again.

 

[Mathieukferland]

Out of curiosity how ouldve been your choice?

Between assembling a cup winning roster and being apart of multiple Gold Medal winning management teams, he was the obvious choice.

Probably only a matter of time before they name Cooper coach again.

Sakic, because he’s been there and won as a player.

I think international hockey prioritizes speed and skill more than robustness and grit, and Sakic’s team that won the cup in 2022 was the fastest and most skilled team I’ve ever seen.

Not on the senior men’s level but we’ve seen the pitfalls as recently as the last World Junior for Canada of leaning into role players and “grit” to fill out your roster as supposed to skill, and I’m keen to avoid that for the Olympics.

 

[ORRFForever]

maybe I should elaborate more.
team doesn't look as good as teams we had in the past. Our defence is not as good as Pronger, Neidermayer Doughty, Keith.

Goalies, not even close. in our prime, we had Luongo Brodeur, Price. currently no Canadian goalies at any of their levels.

Huge plus though, we have Mackinnon and Mcdavid, and a 38 year old Crosby who will be the Captain. I suspect you put Hyman with Mcdavid as they have chemistry already.

Agree. The team is not as good as in the past but better players are coming. McDavid will be Captain. I expect MacKinnon and Crosby to have "A's".

Yes, goalies are an issue. A BIG issue.

 

[TheGoldenGod]

Good news for Thomas, Parayko, and Binnington

 

[Mathieukferland]

Parayko

Should be nowhere near the best on best team

 

[TheGoldenGod]

Should be nowhere near the best on best team

He’s a great stay-at-home defenseman on a bad defensive team. He can skate for days and owns a massive frame/reach. Pro scouts love his type. Not saying he’s a lock, but if Army’s the GM, he will 100% be in the conversation. And yes, I realize that will probably anger a lot of people.

 

[ORRFForever]

He’s a great stay-at-home defenseman on a bad defensive team. He can skate for days and owns a massive frame/reach. Pro scouts love his type. Not saying he’s a lock, but if Army’s the GM, he will 100% be in the conversation. And yes, I realize that will probably anger a lot of people.

I like Parayko. Thomas too.

 

[ORRFForever]

LAF has REALLY improved.

After going pointless for the first third of the season, Dawson Mercer is playing really well.

 

[therealdeal]

Scheifle will help any team win games. If he makes the team I’m 100% good with that.

 

[ORRFForever]

Scheifle will help any team win games. If he makes the team I’m 100% good with that.

Me, too.

 

[ORRFForever]

Logan Mailloux will need a solid look in 5 years. He is doing insanely well in the AHL for someone who is 20.

 

[Nucks2001]

Canada is still amazing. Tho I would say the depth isn’t quite the same as the 2014 and 2010 teams. When I look at our Centre depth, it’s actually better than the 2010 and 2014 teams if you’re talking pure offensive firepower:

McDavid-MacKinnon-Point-Crosby-Thomas-Bedard.

The 2010 and 2014 teams had better all-around centres in guys like Toews, Bergeron and Getzlaf, but today’s centres can score at will.

Our winger depth is where we are lacking, which isn’t a huge deal since we can shift a lot of our centres to the wings. But I would still take Marleau, Nash, Perry, Iginla over Marner, Hyman, Reinhart, Verhaege for PURE wingers. Again, not a huge deal considering we can move guys like Bedard, Scheif, and Barzal to the wings.

Stone and Marchand provide that “prototypical” Canadian winger that Team Canada is used to, but they are getting older. Byfield will be a game-changer on the wing, mark my words. Konency is also developing into a similar player as Marchand and I expect him to carry some slack.

 

[ORRFForever]

Canada is still amazing. Tho I would say the depth isn’t quite the same as the 2014 and 2010 teams. When I look at our Centre depth, it’s actually better than the 2010 and 2014 teams if you’re talking pure offensive firepower:

McDavid-MacKinnon-Point-Crosby-Thomas-Bedard.

The 2010 and 2014 teams had better all-around centres in guys like Toews, Bergeron and Getzlaf, but today’s centres can score at will.

Our winger depth is where we are lacking, which isn’t a huge deal since we can shift a lot of our centres to the wings. But I would still take Marleau, Nash, Perry, Iginla over Marner, Hyman, Reinhart, Verhaege for PURE wingers. Again, not a huge deal considering we can move guys like Bedard, Scheif, and Barzal to the wings.

Stone and Marchand provide that “prototypical” Canadian winger that Team Canada is used to, but they are getting older. Byfield will be a game-changer on the wing, mark my words. Konency is also developing into a similar player as Marchand and I expect him to carry some slack.

Re : " I would still take Marleau, Nash, Perry, Iginla over Marner, Hyman, Reinhart, Verhaege for PURE wingers. "

Interesting. Actually made me think.

Perry is a winner - with a capital "W". Marleau with the speed - also a winning pedigree. Iginla is a winner but less so. That may be the difference.

Not sure what Marner, Hyman, Reinhart or Verhaege have ever won.

 

[Nucks2001]

Re : " I would still take Marleau, Nash, Perry, Iginla over Marner, Hyman, Reinhart, Verhaege for PURE wingers. "

Interesting. Actually made me think.

Perry is a winner - with a capital "W". Marleau with the speed - also a winning pedigree. Iginla is a winner but less so. That may be the difference.

Not sure what Marner, Hyman, Reinhart or Verhaege have ever won.

Yes, also Rick Nash cannot go without mention. Always came up big when he put the Maple Leaf on. Top 5 point leader all-time for the Senior team, WC MVP, and was a major part of the best line at the 2010 Olympics.

 

[ORRFForever]

I seem to be a bigger fan than most but...

Bowen Byram

He has really spread his wings in Buffalo.

 

[Mathieukferland]

Crosby-MacKinnon-Marchand
Hyman-McDavid-Bédard
Scheifele-Point-Reinhart
Stone-Thomas-Marner

(Horvat, Byfield, Stamkos, Suzuki, Jarvis, Konecny, Verhaeghe, Barzal, Hagel, Danault, Johnston)

Toews-Makar
Theodore-Pietrangelo
Morrisey-Doughty

(Power, Chabot, Rielly, Dunn,
Bouchard, Hamilton, Dobson, Byram)

Hill
Binnington

(Hofer, Skinner)