Team Canada will rule world
By MIKE ULMER -- Toronto Sun
Yes, the World Cup of Hockey is a cynical money grab contrived to bolster the war chests of the NHL and its players.
And yes, the actual Cup for the World Cup of Hockey is the ugliest trophy since the Avco Cup.
Canadians, put into a competitive coma by the dismal medal count at the Athens Olympic, are itching for a big can of whoop-ass.
The world, we are often told, has caught up to Canada on the hockey rink.
Could have fooled me.
The World Cup of Hockey promises to underscore the dominance of Canadian hockey on the global game.
That doesn't necessarily mean Mario Lemieux will be hoisting the monstrous championship trophy in mid-September, only that he should. Tournaments are notoriously fickle animals. A hot goalie, bad calls, chippy ice, blah-blah-blah.
This baby shouldn't even be close.
Two years after reasserting Canada's standing at Salt Lake, Canada has retooled while the rest of the hockey world has treaded water.
With Lemieux's career drawing to a close, the heir apparents in Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley are set to accept the baton, as Lemieux did from Wayne Gretzky at the Canada Cup in 1987. Any one of Canada's three goalies would be the starter for any other team in the tournament.
As good as Canada is, the rest of the field, as a grammarian would say, aren't.
The Swedes can ice a terrific lineup that includes Mats Sundin, Nik Lidstrom, Mattias Ohlund, Daniel Alfredsson, Fred Modin and Kim Johnsson but they are insubstantial in goal with only Leafs prospect Mikael Tellqvist and the tortured Tommy Salo between the pipes.
Finland, thanks to Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, can bring better netminding to the table than the Swedes but they lack front-line talent.
With Evgeni Nabokov undergoing knee surgery, the Russians have no one to backstop a skilled offensive team. Political problems around the makeup of the club prompted standout goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to take a pass. Khabibulin gave the team zero chance of winning, which, you know, isn't very good.
The death of Czech Republic coach Ivan Hlinka casts a pall on that country's entire system but even the masterful Hlinka wasn't expected to generate much out of a thin roster roster built around Patrik Elias and the burned-out Jaromir Jagr, especially with Roman Cechmanek in goal.
The Americans are a day older than dirt. Chris Chelios is 42. Brett Hull is 40. Brian Leetch is 36. Their goaltending, by contrast, is green. Rick DiPietro is only 22. Philly's Robert Esche played well in his first season as a regular but coach Ron Wilson was intrigued with the possibility of using DiPietro. The Americans have got it backwards. Repeat after me, old goalie, young forwards.
Thank Germany and Slovakia for coming out and that leaves Canada.
It's one thing, as the Russians must, to field a lineup full of young players. Virtually bereft of young talent, the Americans have to make due with the greybeards.
But injuries to Rob Blake, Steve Yzerman, Ed Belfour and Chris Pronger has afforded Wayne Gretzky and company the good fortune of building for the future while icing a team that should easily be the most dominant at the tournament.
Eleven members of Team Canada are 25 or younger: Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Brenden Morrow, Vincent Lecavalier, Simon Gagne, Roberto Luongo, Eric Brewer, Robyn Regehr, Scott Hannan, Jay Bouwmeester and Heatley.
Consider that Canada has seven players in their thirties and none in their forties. The U.S., finalists at Salt Lake, will bring 14 players 30 or over and the two geezers in Chelios and Hull. Mario Lemieux, 38, is the oldest Canadian player.
It's one thing to win. It's another to win while setting the table for future victories. Canada should manage that fine.
