Aye Aye Captain!

There was no shortage of reaction from players named to Canada's Olympic orientation camp on Thursday.

 

While public debate began as to whether or not Jason Spezza, Marc Savard and Steven Stamkos should have been on the list, almost all the players invited agreed executive director Steve Yzerman faced a difficult task in arriving at the 46 man list.

 

"After looking at the [camp] list, it looks like they're bringing in guys with different roles - guys who have put a lot of points up or who have played different roles on their respective teams," Sidney Crosby tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

 

In 2006, an 18-year-old Crosby was left off the Olympic team that went to Turin and finished a disappointing seventh. At that time, Hockey Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky was criticized for relying too much on older players. That doesn't appear to be a mistake Yzerman is keen on repeating with the likes of Milan Lucic, Eric and Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews and Drew Doughty representing the next generation of Team Canada.

 

"That's maybe the approach Canada is going to take," Jordan Staal tells the Post-Gazette. "There's a lot of great hockey players from Canada who will be there but to be able to go with two of my own brothers is special."

 

The absence of Stamkos from the list has raised a few eyebrows, given his recent performance at the World Championships for Canada. While the 19-year-old Tampa Bay Lightning forward admits he wasn't expecting to get an invite, that didn't stop fellow teammate and camp invitee Vinny Lecavalier from voicing his support for the former number one draft pick.

 

"Yeah, he deserves a chance," Lecavalier tells the St. Petersburg Times. "The fact that he's a young guy, maybe they overlooked him. But the way he finished the season, the way he played in the world championship, he definitely should go and get his chance."

 

For Bruins forward Milan Lucic, the invitation brought back memories of a time in the summer of 2003, just after Vancouver had been awarded the 2010 Games.

 

"Me and some people were joking around saying 'I'll be 21 then and, you know, there's a chance I'll make the team,' but we were just joking around," he tells the Vancouver Sun. "Now that it's a reality, it would be a really, really special feeling if I did get to play for Team Canada on home ice, in my hometown. And it would be even better if we won."

 

Goaltender Steve Mason, who acquitted himself well at the World Championships for Canada in Switzerland, may be the underdog among the five goaltenders invited but that's familiar territory for the 23-year-old.

 

"It's never a bad thing to be an underdog; it motivates you," he tells the Columbus Dispatch. "I'll be going in as the youngest goaltender and I just want to make the best of my opportunity."

 

Mason will have a strong supporter in associate coach Ken Hitchcock, who is also his head coach in Columbus.

 

"I think he is the future of Hockey Canada," said Hitchcock. "The Brodeurs and Luongos aren't going to play forever and you need that backup plan. Mase is one of those guys who's going to really benefit from going through the camp this summer."

 

While it may be early for Team Canada executives to begin focusing on who will be the captain of this team, it hasn't stopped hockey observers from voicing their opinions. Two names sure to get strong consideration are Jarome Iginla and Crosby. Throw in Joe Sakic's name, if the Colorado Avalanche player is fit enough to play and makes the team. Having gone through two Olympic Games, Iginla says talk of who will wear the "C" is a long way off.

 

"Looking back at the other Olympic teams, there are always so many leaders around - so many guys who are captains or assistants on their own NHL teams," he tells the Calgary Herald. "So there are all kinds of possibilities for the managers and coaches to choose from. Leadership is one of Canada's strengths."

 

"Truthfully, there's not even just a handful of options," Crosby tells the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. "There's way more than that. A lot of guys that could play for Canada have proven they are leaders. We would have no shortage of leadership. Whoever wears the letters - it's a great accomplishment, great honour. But those guys will be well surrounded by leaders up and down the roster."

 

Final word goes to perhaps one of the more unlikely invitees to the camp, Detroit Red Wings forward Dan Cleary, who summed up the feeling most players had after being extended an invitation from Yzerman.

 

"When I heard the message from Stevie - it's hard to explain the feeling," he tells the Detroit Free Press. "I was just overwhelmed with joy. I've only had that feeling once before, when my wife told me she was pregnant, and I thought, 'I'm having a baby.' Now it's, 'I'm going to Team Canada.'"

 

SOURCE: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/