|
MY TEAM CANADA WITH ... GREG WESTLAKE
An offensive star for Canada’s National Sledge Team, Greg Westlake has a Paralympic gold medal and a world
championship gold medal under his belt at the tender age of 22. While known best for his offensive exploits,
Westlake is also well-known for the ability to get under his opponents’ skin. The Oakville, ON native
authored one of the greatest moments in Canadian sledge hockey history at the 2008 IPC Sledge Hockey World
Championship, scoring the game-winning goal with just eight seconds to go to defeat Norway in the gold medal
game.
| Forwards |
Defense |
- Jeff Carter
- Sidney Crosby
- Shane Doan
- Ryan Getzlaf
- Dany Heatley
- Jarome Iginla
- Vincent Lecavalier
- Brenden Morrow
- Rick Nash
- Mike Richards
- Ryan Smyth
- Joe Thornton
- Jonathan Toews
|
- Jay Bouwmeester
- Mike Green
- Duncan Keith
- Scott Niedermayer
- Dion Phaneuf
- Chris Pronger
- Shea Weber
|
| Goaltenders |
- Martin Brodeur
- Roberto Luongo
- Marty Turco
|
Goaltenders: Luongo and Brodeur are without a doubt the top two goalies Canada has. It is
hard to argue against Brodeur starting, but I would like to see Luongo get a shot at taking the job in 2010.I
would bring Turco as my third goalie because if he ever needed to see action, I really like his ability to
play the puck. At the Olympics the goaltenders will have free range to do just that.
Defense: Canada has produced some incredible blueliners in recent years that can do it
all. Weber, Phaneuf, Green, Bouwmeester and Keith have proven to be effective NHL stars on the power play, as
well as on the penalty kill. They are all big and have speed as well. I also chose Chris Pronger and Scott
Niedermayer to bring a veteran presence to the blue line. Both are proven winners and will thrive on the
NHL-sized ice surface.
Forwards: With the 2010 games being on the NHL-sized ice, I think that having speed, size
and grit will help bring home the gold. It is time for guys like Crosby, Getzlaf, Carter, Richards and Toews
to show that they can win gold at the senior level, just like they did with Canada’s juniors. When I was
choosing my ‘checkers’ for the team, I wanted them to be versatile (able to score and be defensively
responsible), but I also wanted leadership. In guys like Smyth, Richards, Morrow and Doan, all four of these
players have either worn a letter for an NHL team or currently wear a letter. All are capable of chipping in
offensively if the scorers aren’t getting it done. One honorable mention goes to Milan Lucic. He will likely
get little to no consideration, but he is a power forward in the mold of another great Bruin, Cam Neely, and
down the road I expect him to be a big part of Canada’s plans.
|
