Olympic Preview

With the Olympics fast approaching there is a lot of talk on who will take the gold medal in Vancouver. As long as injuries don't continue to affect some of the teams, this year should be an incredible spectacle. Many teams have a shot at a medal in these Olympics which should make for quite the show. Lets take a look at the teams with a legitimate shot to make some noise in Vancouver.

Team Canada- Clearly the place to start is with Team Canada. A big favorite, Canada always makes headlines with who they choose and who is left off the list. Canada has added pressure with the games being in Vancouver as well. Big names include Sidney Crosby, Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley, Rick Nash, Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Martin Broduer, and the surging Patrick Marleau. Key names left off the list include Jeff Carter (led all Canadian players in the NHL last season in goals) Vincent Lecaviler, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Smyth, and Shane Doan. A recent injury to Ryan Geztlaf may pave the way for Jeff Carter to make the squad after all. However would that be better? How will Corey Perry play if Getzlaf cant play? There is always some debate on who should make the list but it's difficult to argue with the choices of future Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman. Canada is usually always a favorite and these Olympics are none different. They have the fire power, the experience and the goal-tending to win gold in Vancouver and they may just do that.

Team Russia- Russia is an interesting place to visit next as they have some controversy along with them. With the KHL already slowly becoming an issue with the NHL, trying to lure players over with large claims of offering more money. They now find themselves as a big part of team Russia as well. Russia feels it needs to use many of its KHL players on its squad which may or may not help them in Vancouver. Many of the KHL players on team Russia are names not well known by anyone outside of the nation, however there are some names that use to be prominent names in the NHL. Names like Sergei Federov, Alexi Yashin and Sergei Zubov. The NHL stars on team Russia make them a pose able threat to team Canada. Key names for team Russia are as follows: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Alexander Semin, Alexander Frolov, Sergei Gonchar and Andrei Markov. Goalies are another plus for team Russia with Ilya Bryzgalov, Evgeni Nabakov, and Semyon Varlamov.  Russia is one of the favorites to upset Canada however, they will have to play some of their best hockey.

Team Sweden- Sweden is another team primed to upset Canada as they were winners of the gold medal in Torino in 2006. The names are there for Sweden but they are older. With most of the talk being about Canada and Russia, Sweden is looking to stay under the radar. But how can you overlook names like Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Nicklas Backstrom, Daniel Alfredsson and Nicklas Lidstrom. Then having Henrik Lundqvist as your tender doesn't hurt either. Johan Frazen was recently added to the line-up after missing significant time due to a torn ACL. He will replace Tomas Holmstrom for team Sweden. Oh and let's not forget about Peter Forsberg and what he may or may not bring to the table for the Swedes.

Team USA- USA has a much different looking team then in Olympics past. They big veteran names are not there, instead the team is full of youth looking for experience. No Mike Modano, Bill Guerin, Kieth Tkachuk, but instead there is Patrick Kane, Zach Parise, and Jaime Langenbrunner. This team is filled with young talent which will be leaning heavily on the play of goalie Ryan Miller. Much has been discussed however, about the fact that this a short tournament and a lot can be said for a hot goalie. If Ryan Miller plays the way he has so far this season for Buffalo you may see team USA on the podium. But is it enough for gold? I for one am excited to see what this team could put together. If USA is able to put themselves in that gold medal game it would say a lot for the future of hockey in America. Canada vs USA should surly be the final for the woman's tournament and if the men can make it happen it may catch the attention of more fans out there and may create new ones for the NHL.

Team Czech Republic- I personally don't see the Czechs with a medal as the competition is very steep. That's not to say they don't have some talent but there is no Dominc Hasek and an aging Jaromir Jagr just will not cut it. The names on this team are recognizable and talented however, the other teams are lead by NHL superstars and will be just to much to handle. Martin Erat, Patrik Elias, and Tomas Fleischmann are all having decent seasons for their respective teams however, I just don't think they have the squad this year to make much of a dent.

Team Finland- No one thought much of "boring" Finland in 2006. They then went on to win the silver medal. Teemu Selanne, Oli Jokinen, Saku Koivu, Kimmo Timonen, Anti Miettenen, Mikko Koivu and Niklas Hagman make this team one that maybe shouldn't be written off so early. They may be a bit weak on defense however, in goal they have Mikka Kiprusoff. My personal thought is that they will not compete for gold but have a shot at a bronze medal depending upon how USA fairs.

Team Slovakia- The Slovaks have a bit of firepower in the form of Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Zdeno Chara and Ziggy Palffy makes his return. In goal they are unproven but the play of Jaroslav Halak in Montreal will have him as the starter. The last Olympics in Italy saw Slovakia go 5-0 to start the tournament only to fall to the Czechs in the first elimination game. That alone makes this team a bit unpredictable and when mixed with USA, Finland and the Czech Republic the Slovaks may have a chance to upset.