Blackhawks foursome seeks Team Canada roles, but jobs are scarce there, too
The Blackhawks will have an opportunity to really show the world how good they are beginning tonight at the Calgary Saddledome. Defensive partners Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, along with forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp, will be representing Chicago when this very talented quartet try to win jobs on Team Canada.
Orientation camp with scrimmages through Thursday for the Canadians won't garner nearly as much coverage here as U. S. orientation camp. The damn fools just don't know how to put on a show with mug shots to ramp up the excitement.
No one has been charged with assaulting a cab driver yet and so no press conferences have been called for the Saddledome in which Seabrook, Keith, Sharp or Toews will be asked to look contrite the same way Patrick Kane did last week at Woodridge.
No, this time the focus strictly will be on class acts. While Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman, a class act himself, won't announce his team until just before Christmas for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, the Blackhawks should be able to measure their advance in the hockey world by how many of their high-class four players are selected.
There could be disappointment ahead. The Hawks could go 1-for-4 with Toews as their lone representative. That's how much talent Team Canada has. They could go 3-for-4 if somehow Keith and Seabrook are considered to be inseperable.
They could go 4-for-4 in a perfect world if Sharp's versatility makes him a longshot winner, which one NHL expert says is possible. Whatever happens, this group will make Chicago proud and that will be a welcome change of pace.
What about 0-for-4? I won't consider that possibility.
To me, Toews and Seabrook are probable additions to Team Canada. So I vote for the Blackhawks batting 2-for-4 in this process. In any league, batting .500 is excellent.
Keith ranks as a strong perhaps, but that could be wishful thinking on a Chicagoan's part. Parochialism lives here. That's what blogs are for.
Sharp--to quote former NHL general manager Craig Button--is an interesting long shot.
"When I start to look down that list, the only (long shot) that interests me is Sharp, only because of his versatility," Button explained to the Toronto Globe and Mail. "He has shown an ability to kill penalties, play all three forward positions, check when necessary and also jump up to an offensive line.
"One of the things in this type of tournament is, you need that versatility. I think he offers that. Other than that, I don't see anybody else challenging for a spot."
As for Seabrook and Keith, Button can see them on the team after their postseason play was noticed.
"I thought they acquitted themselves not just adequately--I thought they were excellent," he said. "They were consistent and dependable through the different challenges."
Sharp is a right wing and Ottawa's Dany Heatley a left wing. But Team Canada would prefer a player with Sharp's versatility and attitude to Heatley's controversial and quite spotty temperament.
You know Sharp is going to give you an effort. You know Heatley is going to give you nothing but some goals and lots of heartburn, unsure how he will react if he isn't played in roles he finds satisfying.
Those are the type of character/talent issues with which Yzerman will be dealing. It's also one more reason to believe that Toews and Seabrook will be on the club.
Some analysts believe that the most difficult calls will be at center for Team Canada. There is speculation that centers such as Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Philadelphia's Mike Richards could be shifted to wingers for the Olympics.
That would help Toews win a job in the middle, along with Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier and Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf. But the Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson, a veteran scribe, mentioned in his story Monday that there are only two locks to play center if Crosby and maybe others move over to be wingers.
"Maybe Crosby will slide over to the left," he wrote. "Maybe Jeff Carter, too. Lecavalier and Getzlaf are locks at center, but that's it."
That shows you what Toews is up against. We love him. The world has yet to discover him in his full glory.
But Toews isn't just considered the face of tomorrow for the Blackhawks. He is the type of quiet and determined player on which Team Canada will count for years to come. Count him in.
Matheson also makes a strong point in questioning whether Seabrook and Keith would be just as good individually on Team Canada as they are together. Is it take both or neither?
"Keith, maybe the most underrated player in the league, and Seabrook might be the NHL's best defense pair, but can they play apart?" he wrote. "Are they just a tag team?"
The general belief is that Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger top the blue liners, followed by Robyn Regehr, Jay Bouwmeester and Shea Weber.
That leaves two spots for a wealth of talent. Can Seabrook and Keith be that pair? Will Seabrook win out with his strength and power needed on a North American ice surface that is smaller than international play? Is Keith's speed not as important off international ice?
Questions abound about the four Blackhawks vying for roles on Team Canada. But they are all better questions than why Kane, 20, was running around town in Buffalo at 5 a. m., acting just like a sportswriter rather than a developing U. S. star.
Let's count today as the day that the Blackhawks season officially starts. Four important elements of it will be on the ice in Calgary and hopefully will demonstrate what awaits us soon at the United Center.
"O, Canada, With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free!...God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!"
Drop the puck. Before we have to hear the terms of Kane's plea agreement.
9 Comments
Forklift said:
Yzerman and Babcock both love Toews, he's in.
Keith's play is more suited to the International ice surface than Seabrook - which makes Campbell all the more conspicuous by his absence.
Sharp would need to have a huge start to the season to be considered, only because Canada is ridiculously deep in forwards - their second 12 forwards would be better than anyone but Russia's top 12.
Mike Kiley said:
You and I may think Toews, the next Yzerman, is in, but the news hasn't reached Canada, where he's rated no better than the taxi squad. Maybe Kane would be best off on the taxi squad. It brings out the fight in him.
FFJohn said:
The games are being played on an NHL surface with the majority of the games being played at GM Place.
Don't forget about Phaneuf too, he's pretty much a shoo-in on the defensive side.
Mike Kiley said:
After a down year I read he's on the bubble, but who knows? The man has the goods and a strong start could do the trick.
FFJohn said:
Also, I forgot about Mike Green. He's a lock. Long story short, their ridiculously stacked.
Forklift said:
I thought I read somewhere GM Place was being refitted with an International rink, like the Saddledome was.
But they can almost do what has been proposed for World Juniors - one team from Ontario & Quebec, and one from the rest of Canada. Both teams would probably medal.
BTW, downgoesbrown.com has the best write-up on USA Hockey out of everybody.
Dave Morris said:
Geez, how did Team Canada do in Turin in '06?
While it's nice to think several of the Blackhawks could make the squad, I'm one of the dissenters. As we've seen, a freak injury to a key player can derail a strong season for that player's team.
And yes, I know, playing for your country is a great thing. I even remember when Olympic athletes were amateurs, and when the Trail Smoke Eaters won the gold at the World Championships...same year as the Black Hawks last copped the Cup.
Hey Mike, you remember that, right? ;-)
Mike Kiley said:
I guess it's my job to buck up the Canadians. For shame, you should be saluting after I quoted the national anthem and everything. God save the loonie.
Dave Morris said:
Hey Mike, ya done good by us Canoodlers. I'll buy you a beer anytime, eh. Or two. Or three. Howzat fer a deal?
BTW, I thought the Galt Terriers were a pretty darn good team too.
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