Hardly a week from the start of the Winter Games in Vancouver, I figured I should start this blog already. And there couldn't be a better time to start. This year's field of teams is certainly much more competitive than in Torino, In 2006, the rosters of most of these teams was either completely different from the 2010 version, or a lot of the younger players on young teams have simply matured a little. This is especially true in the case of Russia (Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Semin, etc). These players give that country a chance to run the table and seize the Gold Medal. And even still, the early juggernaught and favorite appears to be an absolutely stacked Team Canada(as usual), led by Sidney Crosby. Among the other teams, Sweden appears to have just as a solid a team in 2006, when it won gold over Finland, including one Peter Forsberg. But of course, one has to keep an eye on a young and hungry USA team with a ton of talent and physicality. Here is my analysis of each teams roster and commentary on their chances to win.
BELARUS (Group C)
Goalies:
- Vitali Koval (Dynamo Minsk)
- Maxim Malyutin (HK Vitebsk)
- Andrei Mezin (Dynamo Minsk)
- Not necessarily the talent level required to win many games at the olympics. Could be a tough draw for Belarus as they have to play Germany, Finland and Sweden in the opening round. Don't expect them to do much.
Defensemen:
- Andrei Antonov (Shakhter Soligorsk)
- Andrei Bashko (Shakhter Soligorsk)
- Vladimir Denisov (Dynamo Minsk)
- Viktor Kostiuchenok (Amur Khabarovsk)
- Ruslan Salei (Colorado Avalanche)
- Nikolai Stasenko (Amur Khabarovsk)
- Vadim Sushko (Shakhter Soligorsk)
- Alexander Syrei (Shakhter Soligorsk)
- Wow! An NHLer! Don't know how reliable he'll be though, he's been hurt most of the Avalanche's season. And if he's the best defenseman on the team (which he is), you know much can't be said for the rest. Forsberg on a line with the Sedins will eat that up offensively.
Forwards:
- Oleg Antonenko (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)
- Sergei Demagin (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk)
- Mikhail Grabovski (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Alexei Kaliuzhny (Dynamo Moscow)
- Konstantin Koltsov (Salavat Yulayev Ufa)
- Andrei Kostitsyn (Montreal Canadiens)
- Sergei Kostitsyn (Montreal Canadiens)
- Alexander Kulakov (Dynamo Minsk)
- Andrei Mikhalev (Dynamo Minsk)
- Andrei Stas (Dynamo Minsk)
- Alexei Uragov (MVD Balashikha)
- Sergei Zadelenov (Dynamo Minsk)
- Well, there are some talented players here from the NHL, but not enough of them. The Kostitsyns won't be that much help defensively, and Grabovski is hardly known to dominate anything, much less against the teams Belarus will be playing. The good players will score, but not enough to win. Belarus will not advance in the pool they are in, simple as that.
CANADA (Group A)
Goalies:
- Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils)
- Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks)
- Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins)
- By far and away the best goalies in the Olympics. No other group holds even a candle to the talent of these three. If one of them gets hot, which will probably happen considering their skills, the tournament will be over shortly.
Defensemen:
- Dan Boyle (San Jose Sharks)
- Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings)
- Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Brent Seabrook (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim Ducks)
- Chris Pronger (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
- Again, by far and away the best group of defensemen in the tournament. Not even close with all these dominant defensemen Canada has lined up on the blue line. All of them are dominant defenders, and all of them can absolutely wreck opposing players with their ability to hit. Scary good.
Forwards:
- Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
- Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks)
- Dany Heatly (San Jose Sharks)
- Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames)
- Patrick Marleau (San Jose Sharks)
- Brenden Morrow (Dallas Stars)
- Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks)
- Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes)
- Joe Thornton (San Jose Sharks)
- Johnathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Dear god, can it get any better than this collection of forwards? This is unstoppable, I don't care who your defense is (most of the best defenders in the world are on this team anyway). Even if Ryan Getzlaf misses the games, which he might, then the next absolute offensive force in Canada's reserve is Jeff Carter, who was 2nd in the NHL in goals last season. I don't see anyone stopping this lineup. I do see one team challenging them in Russia, but I just dont think Russia will win a shootout game with this team either. If its 6-5 or even 7-6, expect Canada to be on top. They should win the Gold Medal on their home turf.
CZECH REPUBLIC (Group B)
Goalies
- Tomas Vokoun (Florida Panthers)
- Jakub Stepanek (HC Vitkovice Steel)
- Ondrej Pavelec (Atlanta Thrashers)
- A solid group of goaltenders here. Vokoun should anchor them, how far that is depends on how well he plays. The best this team could do is get to the Bronze Medal game even if he is hot. Tough tests in Slovakia and Russia await them in the round robin.
Defensemen
- Miroslav Blatak (Salavet Julajev Ufa)
- Jan Hejda (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Tomas Kaberle (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Filip Kuba (Ottawa Senators)
- Pavel Kubina (Atlanta Thrashers)
- Zbynek Michalek (Phoenix Coyotes)
- Roman Polak (St. Louis Blues)
- Marek Zidlicky (Minnesota Wild)
- Some pretty good defenders here, including Kaberle. But none are better than mediocre at best. Don't get me wrong, they'll be fine, but they won't be able to contain offenses like Russia's, Canada's, the United States', or Sweden's come the medal round.
Forwards
- Petr Cajanek (SKA Petrohrad)
- Roman Cervenka (HC Slavia Praha)
- Patrick Elias (New Jersey Devils)
- Martin Erat (Nashville Predators)
- Tomas Fleischmann (Washington Capitals)
- Martin Havlat (Minnesota Wild)
- Jaromir Jagr (Avangard Omsk)
- David Krejci (Boston Bruins)
- Milan Michalek (Ottawa Senators)
- Tomas Plekanec (Montreal Canadiens)
- Tomas Rolinek (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
- Josef Vasicek (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
- A surprisingly good mix of players from the NHL, the Czech league and the KHL. As usual, they'll be able to score, the defense and goaltending is the question this year, though. There's no more Dominik Hasek in his glory days, they'll have to score a lot to win in all likelihood. At best they're in the Bronze game, but I don't see them winning it.
FINLAND (Group C)
Goalies:
- Niklas Backstrom (Minnesota Wild)
- Mikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames)
- Anterro Nittymaki (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- A really good group of goaltenders. Don't expect Nittymaki to get much playing time, especially if this team advances out of their pool, which they should. Both Backstrom and Kiprusoff are capable of backstopping a team to a gold medal, which they fell just short of in 2006 (the gold medal game was the only game Finland lost in the entire Olympics).
Defensemen:
- Lasse Kukkonen (Avangard Omsk)
- Sami Lepisto (Phoenix Coyotes)
- Toni Lydman (Buffalo Sabres)
- Janne Niskala (Frolunda)
- Joni Pitkanen (Carolina Hurricanes)
- Sami Salo (Vancouver Canucks)
- Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphia Flyers)
- All in all, this is a solid group of defenders that could potentially see them to a gold medal game if they can upset Russia or Canada. More offensive than defensive, though.
Forwards:
- Valtteri Filppula (Detroit Red Wings)
- Niklas Hagman (Calgary Flames)
- Jarkko Immonen (Ak Bars Kazan)
- Olli Jokinen (New York Rangers)
- Niko Kapanen (Ak Bars Kazan)
- Mikko Koivu (Minnesota Wild)
- Saku Koivu (Anaheim Ducks)
- Jere Lehtinen (Dallas Stars)
- Antti Miettinen (Minnesota Wild)
- Ville Peltonen (Dynamo Minsk)
- Jarkko Ruutu (Ottawa Senators)
- Tuomo Ruutu (Carolina Hurricanes)
- Teemu Selanne (Anaheim Ducks)
- A lot of veteran NHL players in this group of forwards. It will be interesting to see how the lines are constructed with these players and to see which veterans go with which of the younger players. I wouldn't say they necessarily have the offense to get them past the best defenses and the best goalies. This is a good team, but the furthest they get is a Bronze Medal, and thats assuming all the pieces fall together for this team.
GERMANY (Group C)
Goalies:
- Dennis Endras (Augsburger Panther)
- Thomas Greiss (San Jose Sharks)
- Dmitri Patzold (ERC Inglostadt)
- Well, certainly good goalies in certain contexts, but the Olympic games is not one of them. If they can't find a way to get hot against Finland and Sweden in the round robin, they won't make the medal round.
Defensemen:
- Michael Bakos (ERC Inglostadt)
- Christian Erhoff (Vancouver Canucks)
- Jakub Ficenec (ERC Inglostadt)
- Jason Holland (DEG Metro Stars Dusseldorf)
- Korbinian Holzer (DEG Metro Stars Dusseldorf)
- Chris Schmidt (Alder Mannheim)
- Denis Seidenberg (Florida Panthers)
- Alexander Sulzer (Milwaukee Admirals[AHL])
- A lot of solid defenders from the German league, but that simply won't be able to contain the plethora of NHL stars they'll have to deal with in pool play alone. I don't think the Belarus game is necessarily a slam dunk for this team either.
Forwards:
- Alexander Barta (Hamburg Freezers)
- Sven Felski (Eisbaren Berlin)
- Marcel Goc (Nashville Predators)
- Philip Gogulla (Portland Pirates[AHL])
- Thomas Greilinger (ERC Inglostadt)
- Manuel Klinge (Kassel Huskies)
- Marcel Muller (Kolner Haie)
- Travis James Mulock (Eisbaren Berlin)
- Andrei Rankel (Eisbaren Berlin)
- Marco Sturm (Boston Bruins)
- John Tripp (Hamburg Freezers)
- Michael Wolf (Iserlohn Roosters)
- Again, I'm sure this group is an effective German league All-Star team, but at this level, and considering the NHL laden rosters they have to deal with, they'll need a miracle to make the medal round. Finland and Sweden are simply too good for Germany to deal with, and they will not advance to the medal round. Since the Belarus game is not a lock by any means, if they lose that, stick a fork in Germany, they'd be done.
LATVIA (Group B)
Goalies:
- Edgars Masalskis (Dinamo Riga)
- Ervins Mustokovs (Dinamo Riga)
- Sergejs Naumovs (Dinamo Riga)
- Well, this is Latvian goaltending. Even at its best all it could boast was Arturs Irbe. In their pool, they are hopeless against Slovakia, Russia and the Czech Republic. They simply will be overwhelmed. I wouldn't hesitate to say Russia could beat this team 10-0.
Defensmen:
- Oskars Bartulis (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Georgijs Pujacs (Sibir Novosibirsk)
- Karlis Skrastins (Dallas Stars)
- Arvids Rekis (Wolfsberg)
- Krisjanis Redlihs (Dinamo Riga)
- Rodrigo Lavins (Dinamo Riga)
- Guntis Galvins (Dinamo Riga)
- Kristaps Sotnieks (Dinamo Riga)
- The only 2 NHL players are here, and neither of them are that good. The offenses they will face will tear them apart, and they have little to no chance. They are the epitome of a cupcake team in this year's group of teams.
Forwards:
- Herberts Vasiljevs (Krefeld Pinguine)
- Janis Sprukts (Dinamo Riga)
- Aleksandrs Nizivijs (Dinamo Riga)
- Martins Karsums (Norfolk Admirals[AHL])
- Martins Cipulis (Dinamo Riga)
- Girts Ankipans (Dinamo Riga)
- Lauris Darzins (Dinamo Riga)
- Aleksejs Sirokovs (Amur Khabarovsk)
- Michelis Redlihs (Dinamo Riga)
- Kaspars Daugavins (Birmingham Senators[AHL])
- Armands Berzins (Dinamo Riga)
- Gints Meija (Dinamo Riga)
- So who thinks Dinamo Riga plus a few other mediocre at their very best players can take on Russia, the Czech Republic or Slovakia? I'm waiting. This team is almost the worst in the tourney, but that honor is Norway's. 0% chance to make the medal round.
NORWAY (Group A)
Goalies:
- Pal Grotnes (Stjernen Frederickstadt)
- Andre Lysenstoen (Heki Heinola)
- Ruben Smith (Storhamar Dragons)
- These goalies come from the Norwegian and Finnish leagues. They have to take on Canada and the United States. Beating Switzerland would be considered an upset. I'd be surprised if this team won a game in Vancouver.
Defensemen:
- Alexander Bonsaksen (Modo)
- Jonas Holos (Farjestad Karlstad)
- Tommy Jakobsen (Lorenskog IK)
- Juha Kaunismaki (Stavanger Oilers)
- Lars Erik Lund (Valarenga Oslo)
- Ole Kristian Tollefsen (Detroit Red Wings)
- Mats Trygg (Kolner Haie)
- If this is the best Norway has for the teams its gonna be facing and the offensive weapons they'll have to face, they don't have even a puncher's chance. All the Canadian weapons and the young guns of the USA will simply have a feast on this defense.
Forwards:
- Mats Zuccarello Aasen (Modo)
- Morten Ask (Nuremberg Ice Tigers)
- Anders Bastiansen (Farjestad Karlstad)
- Kristian Forsberg (Modo)
- Mads Hansen (Brynas Gavle)
- Marius Holtet (Farjestad Karlstad)
- Mathis Olimb (Frolunda Gothenburg)
- Martin Roymark (Frolunda Gothenburg)
- Per-Age Skroder (Modo)
- Lars Erik Spets (Valarenga Oslo)
- Patrick Thoresen (Salavat Yulayev Ufa)
- Tore Vikingstad (Hannover Scorpions)
- Martin Laumann Ylven (Linkopings HC)
- A lot of these players are from the Swedish Elite league, so there is certainly some talent here. Thoreson has played in the NHL previously, and they do have one other NHLer in Tollefson. Regardless, they simply don't have the talent to be one of the top 2 teams in the pool that advances, save the miracle of olympic history. Expect Canada to destroy and demoralize this team, and the USA to do much the same. The game against Switzerland may be a good game.
RUSSIA (Group B)
Goalies:
- Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose Sharks)
- Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix Coyotes)
- Semyon Varlamov (Washington Capitals)
- This is certainly a talented group of goaltenders. Nabokov is really the balance between the two dominant traits of the others, speed and quickness for Varlamov and pure size and strength for Bryzgalov. Should be an easy task for this team, even against Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Defensemen:
- Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Fedor Tyutin (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Dmitri Kalinin (Salavat Yulayev Ufa)
- Denis Grebeshkov (Edmonton Oilers)
- Anton Volchenkov (Ottawa Senators)
- Andrei Markov (Montreal Canadiens)
- Konstantin Korneyev (CSKA Moscow)
- Ilya Nikulin (Ak Bars Kazan)
- This group of defenders is certainly skilled at hitting. The offensive skill is there as well, making this unit one of the best in the tourny, and certainly the best in their pool. This group should be able to control the teams they face in the round robin with little difficulty. It'll be late medal round before this group sees its first real challenge (perhaps the United States).
Forwards:
- Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)
- Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils)
- Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Maxim Afinogenov (Atlanta Thrashers)
- Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals)
- Alexei Morozov (Ak Bars Kazan)
- Viktor Kozlov (Salavat Yulayev Ufa)
- Alexander Radulov (Salavat Yulayev Ufa)
- Denis Zaripov (Ak Bars Kazan)
- Sergei Zinoviev (Salavat Yalayev Ufa)
- Sergei Fedorov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
- Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)
- Certainly as much firepower as Canada, but nowhere near as much depth. This team will need to ride the momentum of Ovechkin and Malkin if they want to win gold. The power play of this team is an absolute nightmare for other teams (Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, etc), and should be a source of motivation for this team. They will easily advance to the medal round. They should be in the gold medal game, as they are clearly the second most talented roster behind Canada. This team does need to beware of the upset in the medal rounds, though. Especially if they're playing an emotionally charged United States team. The sky is the limit for Russia, but in the end, I think they lose to Canada in the final game and get the Silver medal.
SLOVAKIA(Group B)
Goalies:
- Jaroslav Halak (Montreal Canadiens)
- Peter Budaj (Colorado Avalanche)
- Rastislav Stana (Severstal Cerepovec)
- Halak is usually an overachiever, and has outshined Carey Price in Montreal. It will be a battle with their territorial rival, the Czech Repiblic, that will determine whether or not they advance to the medal round. Budaj is solid, but by no means can carry a team to a medal.
Defensemen:
- Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins)
- Milan Jurcina (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Richard Lintner (Dinamo Minsk)
- Andrej Meszaros (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Andrej Sekera (Buffalo Sabres)
- Lubomir Visnovsky (Edmonton Oilers)
- Martin Strbak (HK MVD)
This is a solid group of defensemen, led by the biggest beast defenseman in the NHL. If it all comes down to their game against the Czech Republic, look for this group to surprise and take Slovakia to the medal round. It is within close grasp, depending on how they play. They can shut down their offense at the very least if thats what it takes to win. And to spite your rival in doing so would be special.
Forwards:
- Lubos Bartecko (SC Bern)
- Branko Radivojevic (Spartak Moscow)
- Martin Cibak (Spartak Moscow)
- Pavol Demitra (Vancouver Canucks)
- Marian Gaborik (New York Rangers)
- Michal Handzus (Los Angeles Kings)
- Marian Hossa (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Marcel Hossa (Dinamo Riga)
- Tomas Kopecky (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Zigmund Palffy (HK 36 Skalica)
- Jozef Stumpel (Barys Astana)
- Miroslav Satan (New York Islanders)
- Richard Zednik (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
- This is where this team hinges on whether or not it can make the medal round. If the offensive stars of this team can gel, they can easily make the medal round. If not, they won't. As far as their chances go for a medal, I don't see them getting to even the Bronze Medal game. Too much talent when it comes to the best 4 or 5 teams for them to crack it, even if Halak is amazing.
SWEDEN (Group C)
Goalies:
- Jonas Gustavsson (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Stefan Liv (HV71 Jonkoping)
- Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
- Lundqvist has already proven he can win a gold medal. Gustavsson is a solid backup in this Olympic context. The question is whether or not Lundqvist can get hot and carry this team on his back. If he can do that, the offense will take care of itself.
Defensemen:
- Tobias Enstrom (Atlanta Thrashers)
- Magnus Johansson (Linkopings HC)
- Niklas Kronwall (Detroit Red Wings)
- Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings)
- Douglas Murray (San Jose Sharks)
- Johnny Oduya (Atlanta Thrashers)
- Mattias Ohlund (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Henrik Tallinder (Buffalo Sabres)
- This group is a good mix of young defenders and veterans who have won olympic gold in the past. Lidstrom has won 2 gold medals, and his presence certainly is huge in determining how far this team can go.
Forwards:
- Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators)
- Peter Forsberg (Modo)
- Tomas Holmstrom (Detroit Red Wings)
- Patric Hornqvist (Nashville Predators)
- Fredrik Modin (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Samuel Pahlsson (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Daniel Sedin (Vancouver Canucks)
- Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks)
- Mattias Weinhandl (Dynamo Moscow)
- Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings)
- Obviously, this is the best team in group C. I wouldn't count them out on defending the gold they won 4 years ago, the have the offensive talent and the goaltending to do it again. They will advance to at least the Bronze Medal Game, and if they are in it, they have a good chance to win. Their challenge is simply taking care of business, not letting any outside pressure fall on them.
SWITZERLAND(Group A)
Goalies:
- Martin Gerber (Atlant Mytishchi)
- Jonas Hiller (Anaheim Ducks)
- Tobias Stephan (Geneva-Servette)
- Hiller is a solid starting option even in the Olympics. Switzerland really wasn't going to get a good draw in regards to who they play in the round robin, and the United States and Canada should each be too much for this team to handle.
Defensemen:
- Goran Bezina (Geneva-Servette)
- Severin Blindenbacher (Farjestad Karlstad)
- Rafael Diaz (EV Zug)
- Roman Josi (SC Bern)
- Luca Sbisa (Lethbirdge Hurricanes)
- Mathias Seger (ZSC Lion Zurich)
- Mark Streit (New York Islanders)
- Yannick Weber (Hamilton Bulldogs[AHL])
- Solid, servicable defensemen all accross the board, but definitely not enough to contain the USA or Canada. Should be able to manhandle Norway, though.
Forwards:
- Andres Ambuhl (Hartford Wolf Pack[AHL])
- Thomas Deruns (Geneva-Servette)
- Hnat Domenichelli (HC Lugano)
- Sandy Jeannin (HC Fribourg)
- Thibaut Monnet (ZSC Lions Zurich)
- Thierry Paterlini (Rapperswil)
- Martin Pluss (SC Bern)
- Kevin Romy (HC Lugano)
- Ivo Ruthemann (SC Bern)
- Raffaele Sannitz (HC Lugano)
- Julien Sprunger (HC Fribourg)
- Roman Wick (Kloten Flyers)
- Well, this is a Swiss team. I hear they're hoping to win a medal, but there is just no way that is going to happen in my mind. For them to do so, they would need a collapse from the USA team, and there is just too much talent on that roster for that to be even likely. Again, should be able to beat Norway, but don't expect them to beat either the USA or Canada.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA(Group A)
Goalies:
-Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins)
- Johnathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings)
- Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres)
- This is probably the second best group of goalies in the tournament, the other happens to be in their pool. Miller and Thomas should be able to handle Switzerland and Norway, and their showdown with Canada likely won't mean a thing except tournament positioning.
Defensemen:
- Ryan Whitney (Anaheim Ducks)
- Erik Johnson (St. Louis Blues)
- Jack Johnson (Los Angeles Kings)
- Tim Gleason (Carolina Hurricanes)
- Brian Rafalski (Detroit Red Wings)
- Ryan Suter (Nashville Predators)
- Brooks Orpik (Pittsburgh Penguins)
- This is also a young, talented, physical group of defensemen that could take this team deep if it dominates. The offenses they're facing (excluding Canada) are easily dealt with, or should be, by this group. Some solid offensive strength here as well, and the powerplay has no shortage of weapons on the back end.
Forwards:
- David Backes (St. Louis Blues)
- Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings)
- Ryan Callahan (New York Rangers)
- Chris Drury (New York Rangers)
- Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Ryan Kesler (Vancouver Canucks)
- Phil Kessel (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Jamie Lagenbrunner (New Jersey Devils)
- Ryan Malone (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils)
- Joe Pavelski (San Jose Sharks)
- Bobby Ryan (Anaheim Ducks)
- Paul Stastny (Colorado Avalanche)
- This is a scary team. Assuming they take care of whats in front of them, an honest break in the pool they were placed in should get this team to the medal round. That's where they become the team that no one wants to play. The death of Brenden Burke, team general manager Brian Burke's son will motivate this team to perform at its best. I think they will win Bronze safely, and it is not set in stone that the Gold Medal game is set as Canada Vs. Russia. This team, especially if Ryan Miller or Tim Thomas carries them with spectacular play, could win the Gold medal, in all actuality. It would be tough, but talent wise, this team is almost as stacked as Canada, and probably as stacked as Russia. This team is deep, and talent is everywhere for different reasons. This team is physical, and Brooks Orpik should set a tone of physicality from the start. Like Russia, the sky is really the limit for this American team, and anything they want is in their grasp.
FINAL PICKS
GOLD MEDAL GAME: CANADA VS. RUSSIA
BRONZE MEDAL GAME: SWEDEN VS. USA
GOLD: CANADA
SILVER: RUSSIA
BRONZE: USA
Tournament MVP: Sidney Crosby
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