Category — 2010 Winter Olympics

The resurgent play this season of center Patrice Bergeron should be a benefit to more teams than just the Bruins. If Hockey Canada is serious about constructing a balanced team that can play well over 200 feet for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver this February, Bergeron should be a candidate for a roster spot. [Read more →]

Boston Bruins winger Phil Kessel is in Woodbridge, Ill., for the USA Hockey men’s national team orientation camp and today he addressed the media there, including Kevin Allen of USA Today.

“It’s at a stalemate and I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Kessel told the media. “… I think it could go either way at this point.”

Allen writes that Kessel estimates his health at 95 percent since his shoulder surgery earlier this summer. One might have liked Kessel to express his undying desire to return to the Bruins, but he chalked up the situation to being “a business.” Obviously that’s a shrewd way to play it when the leverage is all on the Bruins’ side.

Thomas

There might be better ways to cool off on a 90-degree day in August than thinking ahead to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, but right now I don’t even want to think of one.

Craig Custance at The Sporting News took some time yesterday to ponder four issues the U.S. Olympic team will have to address during its upcoming camp in Illinois and beyond. Among the issues, the goaltender battle between Boston Bruins All-Star Tim Thomas and Buffalo standout Ryan Miller. [Read more →]

With the USA Hockey and Hockey Canada Olympic orientation camps ready to take place over the course of the next couple of weeks (U.S. from Aug. 17-19 and Canada Aug. 24-28), ESPN.com contributor Terry Frei, a great writer from the Denver Post, took the time yesterday to examine the impact the Winter Olympics may or may not have on the 2009-10 NHL regular season.

The NHL will take a two-week break so its players can compete at the Olympics in Vancouver in February. This will be the fourth time such a break will occur to accommodate the Olympics. [Read more →]

Spezza

With center Joe Sakic retiring from active duty with the Colorado Avalanche and fellow pivot Ryan Getzlaf of Anaheim undergoing offseason surgery, Hockey Canada needed to add at least one more forward to its roster for its National Men’s Team orientation camp Aug. 24-28 in Calgary.

And Hockey Canada selected … Ottawa center Jason Spezza, not Boston Bruins playmaker Marc Savard.

Savard was also snubbed when the initial roster was released in late June. The camp will be held as a way for officials to evaluate players for this winter’s Olympic Games in Vancouver. [Read more →]

Savard

Colorado all-time great Joe Sakic’s retirement from playing after 20 seasons in the NHL has opened up a spot at the Hockey Canada orientation camp scheduled for next month in preparation for the 2010 Olympic Games.

Now it’s time for Hockey Canada to correct the error it made when it omitted Boston Bruins All-Star center Marc Savard on the first list of invitees last week and send him to Calgary. Just the fact that Savard has been among the league’s leading scorers the last five years and is arguably the most creative passer in the NHL should’ve earned him the nod right off the bat. But there are more reasons why Savard should replace Sakic. [Read more →]

Lucic

Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic was today announced as one of 46 invitees to attend Canada’s National Men’s Team orientation camp from August 24-27 in Calgary. The camp will be used as a tool to pick the team that will compete at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver in February.

The 21-year-old Lucic just completed his second NHL season, during which he set career-highs for goals (17), assists (25) and points (42). [Read more →]

Gordon

If Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas fulfills expectations and earns a spot on the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team (and he should be among the invitees for tryout camp announced tomorrow), the Vezina Trophy winner will be reunited with one of the best mentors in his career.

Today former Providence Bruins head coach Scott Gordon, currently the head coach of the New York Islanders, was named as an assistant coach for Ron Wilson’s staff in Vancouver this February. New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella was also named as an assistant coach.

Gordon, a former collegiate and NHL goaltender, was instrumental in helping Thomas develop his game on the puck-stopper’s road to becoming one of the best in the game during Thomas’ time with the P-Bruins.

MONTREAL — A large group of members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association were addressed today by Dave Fischer from USA Hockey and Andre Brin from Hockey Canada about upcoming announcements and camps in preparation for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

Hockey Canada, which named its entire coaching staff yesterday, will send out invitations to its camp in the next seven to 10 days. The camp will be Aug. 24-28 in Calgary. As I’ve mentioned before, Boston Bruins centers Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron could be candidates for spots at the camp.

USA Hockey will announce head coach Ron Wilson’s assistants Monday. The camp roster will then be released on Tuesday. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas and winger Phil Kessel could be on the list. Defenseman Mark Stuart might even garner some interest. The USA Hockey camp will be Aug. 17-19 in Woodbridge, Ill.

Babcock

MONTREAL — As expected, Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock was introduced today as the head coach of Canada’s Men’s Olympic Hockey Team for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.

Babcock’s assistant coaches will be Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff, Columbus’ Ken Hitchcock and former Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils bench boss Jacques Lemaire.

“I was looking for someone who would encourage the team to play the way I foresee the Canadian national team playing,” said Olympic team Executive Director Steve Yzerman, who knows Babcock well as a player and now Vice President of the Wings. “I not only expect us to be a strong offensive team, but our best players have to be responsible defensively. Having worked with him for a few years, I know that’s exactly what he expects from his top players.” [Read more →]

Over at The Star, Damien Cox in his The Spin blog reports that Team Canada is expected to name it’s Olympic coach (probably Detroit’s Mike Babcock) before the June 26 NHL Entry Draft and that invitations to the Team Canada orientation camp scheduled for late August in Calgary should be finalized before July 1.

Cox writes:

It’s expected that somewhere between 40-45 players will be invited, perhaps 25 forwards, 15 defensemen and five goaltenders. While the camp itself isn’t a tryout per se, the players invited will certainly take the opportunity to size up the competition at different positions.

In my mind, Boston Bruins centers Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron should both get invited, with Savard having a better shot to make the Olympic squad for Vancouver in February.