FanHouse's 2010 Olympic Hockey Rosters

The 2010 Olympics will drop the puck on its men's ice hockey competition on Feb. 16 and award medals on Feb. 28, and, though there's a world's worth of talent taking part, it's fairly safe to say that the Canada and/or USA teams will leave on that last day with some new hardware.

What would each team look like if FanHouse was given the keys?

Below are our hand-picked rosters for both teams, along with some thoughts from Kevin Schultz and Bruce Ciskie.

---

Kevin Schultz: While our roster selections were unanimous, there were some interesting snubs, which we'll get to in a moment. But first, in my opinion, the most noticeable thing about these two rosters is that three-headed monster in goal for Canada. Each player has a serious case for being the starter. Martin Brodeur is the veteran with three rings, a gold medal and countless NHL records. Marc-Andre Fleury has two straight Finals appearances, one ring, and is the youngest of the trio by five years. Roberto Luongo is, well, Roberto Luongo. He doesn't have the awards of the other two but certainly has the reputation and statistics to match. We're starting Brodeur.

Bruce Ciskie: He's won everything you can win. He's playing well this season. Not only that, but he's motivated because he was the one in net four years ago when Canada failed.

"... it seems in this case we ended up with what happens when I do a fantasy draft on NHL 10 -- draft the best available player for your all-star team because chemistry and role players don't factor in nearly as much in the virtual world."
-- Kevin Schultz(Not blaming him, but facts are facts.)

No disrespect to Fleury or Luongo, but I think Brodeur is the most experienced and the best fundamental goalie of the group.

KS: He's still at the top of his game and won't be around for 2014 -- assuming NHLers play -- while the other two should be. Now let's talk for a minute about who got left off our Team Canada, most notably Vincent Lecavalier, Jonathan Toews and Dion Phaneuf. Are these snubs due to their performances of late or simply the team being so deep especially down the middle and on defense?

BC: I don't have a defense for Toews or Jordan Staal being left off our team. Frankly, I believe strongly that you need role players, even on an all-star type of team like this.

This team will still take penalties, face key defensive zone faceoffs, and will need to match a line up against top offensive threats like Kovalchuk, Malkin, and Ovechkin. Expecting guys who don't necessarily do much of this to suddenly do it on a huge stage is asking for trouble.

(Maybe Iginla's this guy, but I'd much rather have Staal fill that role so Iginla can score goals, which is something I think he's much better at.)

I think my point is only helped by the enormous pressure that is on the Canadians to win gold on their home soil. Coming off a no-medal Olympics four years ago, the magnifying glass is out for every decision Yzerman and Babcock make as it relates to who is on this team and what roles they play.

KS: I see what you're saying about role players and it seems in this case we ended up with what happens when I do a fantasy draft on NHL 10 -- draft the best available for your all-star team because chemistry and role players don't factor in nearly as much in the virtual world. But since Canada is so deep, it's hard to argue that those guys are being left out in favor of someone undeserving. It's a little bit different on the American side.