GOLD RUSH

Day 3 Clue

2010-05-12T14:10:00.000-04:00

tesev itsnarm

Our Game

2010-03-01T15:48:00.001-05:00

I don't know about the rest of you but I have never had a night quite like that one.

The Parise goal was absolutely crippling. I should have known though. A Crosby overtime winner was in the cards from puck drop and Sid delivered in a big way.

Our country's shining moment...

GO CANADA GO

Canadian Women Win Gold

2010-02-25T23:08:00.000-05:00

How bout them Canadians?

The Canadian Women's Hockey Team came through in a big way tonight as they toppled the rival Americans on route to Canada's eighth gold medal. This team was under so much pressure to win coming into these Olympics and came through in a big way.

Interesting to see the reaction of the men's team as they looked on. The women have done their job, now it's up to the guys to get it done on home ice.

Say what you want about the women's game, this Canadian team was dominant from start to finish and deserved those gold medals they received this evening.

GO CANADA GO!

Canada to Face Slovakia in Semis

2010-02-25T04:36:00.002-05:00

Shocking upset in the late game last night as the scrapy Slovakian team upset the defending champs from Sweden.

Canada will now face Slovakia on Friday night at 9:30 PM EST. In the other semi final the Finns will play the Americans.

Obviously, Slovakia will be no push over. They have scored wins over Russia and Sweden in their surprising tournament thus far.

Luongo Will Start

2010-02-22T15:34:00.001-05:00

According to a report from Yahoo Sports, Roberto Luongo will get the nod tomorrow night against the Germans.

While losing to the Americans hurts, having Luongo take over and get a good warm up game against the Germans isn't the worst thing that could happen.

Gotta Be Luongo

2010-02-21T22:22:00.000-05:00

Canada dominated this game tonight but just could not get a save when they needed it and that falls on Brodeur. He was overactive all night and seemed to be guessing far too often.

Roberto Luongo has to be the guy from here on out.

The loss against the USA gives Canada a difficult route to gold which includes a game on Tuesday against the Germans and if they can win that, a quarterfinal match up with the Russians.

Could just be me but it seems like Babcock has been over coaching the whole way. Seems to be so desperate to find the perfect linemate for Crosby that he's hurting the team's best player in the process. Leave Nash and Iginla up there and let them work it out.

Pronger should not see the ice the rest of the way. To the "Pronger Sucks" guy who was always on the live blogs bashing Pronger; guess you were right!

Oh and by the way, how in the world does Babcock not call a time out after that shift from the Crosby line? You have to rest them and go back to them with the goalie pulled. No brainer...

Back at it on Tuesday! GO CANADA GO!

Line Juggling Ahead of Game with USA

2010-02-21T13:17:00.003-05:00

Mike Babcock is shuffling the deck in preparation for the game with Team USA.

Canada has struggled to find the right mix on the top line and tonight will start with Mike Richards on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Rick Nash. They have tried Bergeron, Iginla and Toews on that top line but have yet to find the right mix.

A good start would be to make sure Crosby is one the ice for each and every power play.

Canada will need to win in regulation to assure they take top spot in the group. The United States is currently holding a one point lead over the Canadians.

Here's hoping the stiff opposition helps the Canadian team elevate their level of play a little bit. They may have been able to get away with a soft approach against the Norwegians and Swiss but will need to get physical with the Americans.

There is a ton of skill on this Canadian roster but it's time to establish an identity against Team USA. Has the makings of the best game of the tournament thus far.

Puck drops at 7:40 eastern time...

GO CANADA GO!

Nail Biter Over Switzerland

2010-02-19T17:10:00.003-05:00

The unbelievable talent in this Olympic hockey tournament is really starting to show through.

Sweden was pushed to the limit by Belarus today. The Slovaks upset the Russians last night and the Swiss gave Canada everything they could handle.

An unbelievable performance by Jonas Hiller left Canadian shooters scratching their heads all night long. Luckily, a shootout winner from Sidney Crosby allowed the nation to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Because Canada needed overtime to beat the Swiss, they now trail the undefeated Americans by a single point heading into their Sunday showdown.

As well as Canada played at times last night, there's still room for improvement. There is a real lack of physical presence right now in that Canadian line up and it really showed last night against the Swiss.

Teams should be afraid to play the Canadians but last night the Swiss didn't back down in the slightest. Canada needs to start getting physical and it has to start against the Americans on Sunday.

All sorts of talent on this team but Babcock may want to consider shortening the bench right now. Rolling four lines has it's benefits but the top offensive guys need to have a chance to get into a groove.

Can't wait till Sunday...

GO CANADA GO!

Off and Running

2010-02-16T23:44:00.002-05:00

I think every Canadian can admit that first 20 minutes had us guessing a little bit.

As uneasy as the first 20 was, the final 40 was equally comforting.

As expected, the Canadians walked all over the Norwegians on route to an 8-0 victory in the tournament opening game for the host team.

Thought Luongo looked strong when necessary and looks ready to go should Babcock call on him in the next couple games. Brodeur will start on Thursday against the Swiss.

Putting Iginla on the top line with Crosby and Iginla seems like common sense right now. I'm sure Babcock will stick with that trio on Thursday.

GO CANADA GO!

Lines at Practice- Luongo to Start

2010-02-15T20:14:00.004-05:00

Team Canada finally hit the ice this evening for the first time as a team. First game is tomorrow night against Norway.

Here are the lines from practice...

Bergeron-Crosby-Nash
Staal-Getzlaf-Perry
Heatley-Thornton-Marleau
Towes-Richards-Iginla

Pronger-Boyle
Niedermayer-Weber
Seabrook-Keith

Correction from earlier. Roberto Luongo will start the tournament opener against Norway!

ONE MORE SLEEP!!

Getzlaf Playing Tonight

2010-02-14T19:44:00.003-05:00

Good news for Team Canada tonight as Ryan Getzlaf is in the Anaheim line up against the Oilers. There was some concern he may not be able to play in the Olympics but it appears as though he will be good to go.

Jeff Carter in in Vancouver and ready to dress if Getzlaf can't. Other names that have surfaced as "watch list" players include Chris Mason and Mike Fisher.

There was a bit of a scare tonight in Pittsburgh after Sidney Crosby was hit by a shot. The puck hit Crosby in the shin and sent him hobbling off. He did return to the game though and will be fine for Tuesday night.

Two more sleeps!

Carter Headed to Vancouver

2010-02-11T01:48:00.001-05:00

With the status of Ryan Getzlaf up in the air, word from TSN's Bob McKenzie is that Jeff Carter will be named as a replacement.

Getzlaf could still play but if he can't go it will be Jeff Carter that takes his place. After a slow start to the season, Carter has started to turn things around and could be a decent fit.

There are three players in Tampa Bay I would take before Carter but I'll trust Yzerman on this one.

Calm Before the Storm

2010-02-06T11:57:00.002-05:00

I realize things have been pretty quiet around here the last little while.

Well that should all change once the Olympics get underway next Friday. Spent some time in Vancouver last week and that city really is buzzing with anticipation.

My hope is that Gold Rush will be the place where people come to discuss everything related to Olympic Hockey. We'll have game day previews, post game wrap ups and talk about anything related to Team Canada.

Puck drop is just over a week away!

Team Canada Two

2010-01-25T18:34:00.002-05:00

Mike Brophy from Sportsnet has put together his selections for Team Canada II. Couple of head scratchers on Brophy's team, including Chris Osgood as one of his goaltenders. Not sure Ozzie is even cut out for the Wings line up at this point.

His defenceman include some obvious selection combined with a few odd picks like MA Bergeron and Jeff Schultz.

I actually like the looks of the group he has up front including guys like Ryan Smyth, Shane Doan and Mike Fisher.

Here's the link to Brophy's picks...

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=27900.html?cid=rssrsn

More Injury Trouble- Morrow Hurt

2010-01-17T11:11:00.000-05:00

Team Canada is hoping that forward Patrice Bergeron will make a return sometime this week and should be good to go by the Olympics.

But now there's a new injury to worry about...

Stars forward, Brendan Morrow, suffered an upper body injury last night and his status at this point is unknown. The Stars don't expect Morrow to miss significant time but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.

The Olympics are now less than a month away...

Projecting Line Ups

2010-01-14T11:02:00.001-05:00

Last night, before Wednesday Night Hockey, the guys at TSN took a shot at projecting the line up of a couple pre-tournament favourites in Sweden and Russia.

Here is what they had to say...

RUSSIA

Ovechkin-Fedorov-Semin
Kovalchuk-Datsyuk-Afinogenov
Zaripov-Malkin-Morozov
Kozlov-Zinoviev-Radulov

SWEDEN

Zetterberg-Backstrom-Holmstrom
Sedin-Sedin-Weinhandl
Eriksson-Forsberg-Alfredsson
Modin-Pahlsson-Hornqvist

Both line ups look damn tough.

Sweden and Russia have selected rosters that include 12 forwards and 8 defenceman. Team Canada went with 13 forwards and 7 defenceman. A team like Sweden could be in trouble if they lost a guy like Forsberg to injury with no forwards there to replace him.

What do you think?

The Defence Pairings

2010-01-12T09:24:00.000-05:00

With the 23 man roster now selected, Mike Babcock and the rest of the coaching staff take the burden from Steve Yzerman. Stevie Y has picked the ingredients, now it's up to Babcock to come up with a recipe for gold.

In the next couple of days, we'll start to look at some of the various line combinations available to Babcock, beginning today with the defence pairings.

One of the three defence pairings comes ready made. The Keith/Seabrook tandem has been a force in Chicago and will look to carry that chemistry over to the Olympic games.

The top four is another story. Pronger and Niedermayer have a past together in Anaheim and could be an option for the Team Canada staff. In the end I think it would be best if those two played on separate pairings.

Here is how I would line them up...

Niedermayer-Weber
Pronger-Boyle
Keith-Seabrook

As the 7th guy, LA Kings star Drew Doughty can hopefully slide in anywhere into the top four, ideally on a pair with Chris Pronger. If Seabrook struggles early in the tournament I wouldn't be surprised to see Doughty move up the depth chart and become the 6th guy.

How would you set up the Canadian defence?

Pre Tournament Rankings

2010-01-06T11:47:00.000-05:00

As if the Canadian Olympic team needed any more motivation, last night's World Junior disappointment should only further fuel Canada's desires to get back atop the medal podium.

But like the World Juniors, the Olympics will be no slam dunk. In fact, the Olympics will be even more difficult with as many as 7 countries having a legitimate chance at winning it all.

Like any tournament there will be favourites but amazingly, just about every team in the tournament has at least one game breaker that's capable of putting a team on their shoulders. That's what makes this tournament potentially one of the best of all time.

Here are my pre-tournament rankings...

1) CANADA- There are other teams that can match their talent but the drive to win on home ice makes Canada the favourites in my book.

2) RUSSIA- The Russians have unbelievable skill up front. Skill that will win them games single handedly. With Nabakov and Bryzgalov as a one-two punch in goal this Russian team is going to be hard to beat.

3) SWEDEN- Another team with all kinds of skill up front and money goaltening in Lundqvist. Not to mention they are the defending champs.

4) USA- They have a young roster but a very competitive one. With Parise and Kessel they have their game breakers and if Miller gets hot they could be a real dark horse.

5) FINLAND- Great goaltending in Kiprusoff and always seem to have a great "team" concept in international events. They lack the goal scoring that some other teams have but they will be no push over.

6) SLOVAKIA- With Halak playing as well as he has lately the Slovaks could really surprise some people. They have the most dominant defenceman in Chara and the NHL's leading goal scorer in Gaborik. Another team that could surprise some people.

7) CZECH REP.- All kinds of skill up front and the return of Jaromir Jagr to the spotlight. Hard to know what to expect from this team but with Vokun likely starting they have the weakest goaltender of the contending teams.

8) SWITZERLAND
9) GERMANY
10) LATVIA
11) BELARUS
12) NORWAY

How would you rank the teams with the tournament a little over a month away?

Bergeron Out 3 Weeks

2010-01-05T14:50:00.003-05:00

TSN's Daren Dreger is reporting that Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron suffered a thumb injury against the Rangers and will miss up to 3 weeks.

That means he should be back in late January giving him time to play a few games before the Olympics get underway.

Doesn't sound like a replacement will be needed although there were other reports out there suggesting it could be up to 6 weeks.

Bergeron Hurt vs. Rangers

2010-01-04T22:36:00.000-05:00

Team Canada member Patrice Bergeron was hurt in the Bruins game at MSG tonight. He was struck on the hand by a point shot. He did return briefly but eventually left and did not finish the game

Word is Bergeron will not travel with the team to Ottawa tomorrow and will be reevaluated back in Boston.

Still a ways to go till the games in Vancouver but this shows how easily the roster can change.

Injuries Could Happen

2010-01-02T11:49:00.000-05:00

It seems almost ridiculous to assume that every player on this 23 man roster will stay healthy leading up to puck drop in mid February.

With the number of injuries this year, it's entirely possible one or more players on the final 23 man roster will suffer an injury leading up to the games.

Yzerman was asked about that situation and said that a few players will be called in the coming days and told that if there is an injury to someone on the current roster they would have to step in.

On defence, you would have to think Jay Bouwmeester or Mike Green would be the leading candidates to step in. Up front, names like Jeff Carter and Mike Fisher could fill the void.

I'm not sure if these names will become public at any point but it would be interesting to know who is on Team Canada's "In case of injury" list.

Who do you think could step in?

The 23 Man Roster

2009-12-31T12:45:00.002-05:00

GOALIES

Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
Marc Andrew Fleury

DEFENCEMAN

Scott Niedermayer
Chris Pronger
Shea Weber
Dan Boyle
Duncan Keith
Brent Seabrook
Drew Doughty

FORWARDS

Sidney Crosby
Jarome Iginla
Rick Nash
Dany Heatley
Joe Thornton
Patrick Marleau
Corey Perry
Ryan Getzlaf
Jonathan Toews
Patrice Bergeron
Brendan Morrow
Eric Staal
Mike Richards

Thoughts?

Team Canada Announcement

2009-12-30T10:26:00.002-05:00

Team Canada Announcement

Tomorrow is the Day

2009-12-29T22:02:00.003-05:00

Steve Yzerman and the Team Canada brass will announce the 23 man Olympic hockey team tomorrow at noon.

If for any reason you aren't able to view the heavily hyped press conference, stop by GOLD RUSH for the final roster as soon as it becomes available.

We will have full analysis later that afternoon...

One more sleep Stevie Y...

SensChirp Picks Team Canada

2009-12-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

Alright folks, the time has come for me to announce my selections for Team Canada's entry in the Olympic Hockey tournament. It may not have the hype and hoop la that Wednesday's announcement will have but in some ways it's just as significant.

Hmm perhaps not...

Anyway, here are my selections for Team Canada...

Nash-Crosby-Iginla
Heatley-Thornton-Marleau
Toews-Getzlaf-Perry
Fisher-Richards-St. Louis
Doan

Niedermayer-Weber
Pronger-Boyle
Keith-Bouwmeester
Seabrook

Brodeur
Luongo
Fleury

Slap the C on Mr. Niedermayer and watch 'em go...

Thoughts? What are your final rosters?

The B Team

2009-12-26T15:35:00.001-05:00

I've often heard the argument that Canada could likely ice two competitive teams in the Olympic games. Well let me take a shot at putting together our B team.

GOALIES- Turco, Ward, Price

DEFENCEMAN- Green, Doughty, Jovanovski, Phaneuf, Hamhuis, Regehr, Robidas

FORWARDS- Carter, Bergeron, E. Staal, Lecavalier, J. Staal, Stamkos, B. Richards, Weiss, Camalleri, Penner, Sharp, Lucic, Cleary

Guys like Shane Doan, Brendan Morrow, Ryan Smyth and Martin St. Louis don't appear on this roster because I haven't decided if they would crack the actual team yet. Didn't want to give anything away...

Even after putting together the B team there are still quality players that get left behind. I don't know that this team would be a gold medal threat necessarily but you could make an argument that they would at least contend for a medal.

Steve Yzerman's job is not an easy one.

Goalies Set?

2009-12-22T12:26:00.000-05:00

Just had a chance to listen to Steve Yzerman on Hockeycentral at noon. This guy has perfected the art of answering questions without really saying anything. A true politician...

Throughout the 10 minute interview, Yzerman managed to not really divulge anything about the roster and which 23 players will be named on December 30th.

Despite the cryptic answers of Mr. Yzerman I really get the sense that the only place where he is 100% sure at this point is in goal. They have a pretty good idea how the team will shake down but goaltending seems to be the only place that is set in stone.

Martin Brodeur the starter. Roberto Luongo the back up. Marc Andre Fleury third string.

Yzerman said the Team Canada brass will meet one more time after Christmas and then again on the 29th before making the official announcement on the 30th in Saskatoon.

8 days....

Dan Rosen Picks Team Canada

2009-12-21T11:06:00.002-05:00

Over the next 9 days, everyone and their dog will be getting their say in about Team Canada.

For the record, I will be making my final picks on December 28, 2009. It may not be as highly anticipated as Yzerman's announcement but I'm sure you'll all want to circle the date on your calendars.

In the meantime, here are the selections made by Dan Rosen of NHL.com

GOALIES: Brodeur, Fleury, Luongo

DEFENCE: Niedermayer, Pronger, Boyle, Weber, Keith, Bouwmeester, Doughty

FORWARDS: Crosby, Iginla, Nash, Getzlaf, Perry, St. Louis, Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, Richards, Penner, Doan, Toews

Thoughts?

Who's the Captain?

2009-12-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

Just another one of the many questions that must be answered before the puck drops in Vancouver in a couple months.

Who do you select to lead this year's edition of Team Canada?

The three candidates listed on the right side of the page would all make terrific leaders. Niedermayer, Iginla and Crosby are all proven leaders and will all be part of the leadership group in February.

I just think that when it really comes down to it you need to go with Scott Niedermayer. He's a proven winner at every level and is just the kind of calming presence this team will need in the pressure cooker that is the Olympic Games.

I still think Crosby is a little too young to wear the C on a team stacked with so much proven talent and Iginla has nowhere near the resume that a Niedermayer does.

So I say give the captaincy to Scott Niedermayer in 2010.

Thoughts?

The Defence

2009-12-16T12:26:00.001-05:00

With the Team Canada announcement just two weeks away it's time to start making those hard decisions and there are still a handful of them to be made on the back end.

The way things are looking right now it seems as though its going to be a good mix of veteran guys with some younger stars. Team Canada should have no problems getting offence from their back end and that will be huge in this tournament.

Here is how I see the defence shaking down...

Niedermayer-Weber
Pronger-Boyle
Keith-Seabrook
Doughty

Those are the seven guys I would go with if I were Steve Yzerman.

I know Drew Doughty is young but he has just been too good to pass up. Bouwmeester is the biggest name that gets left off the list but tough decisions have to be made.

In most cases I think you would go with Bouwmeester over Seabrook but the fact that Keith and Seabrook play together in Chicago is a huge factor in a short tournament.

What do you guys think? Who cracks your seven man defensive squad?

World Junior Roster Set

2009-12-16T11:14:00.000-05:00

The Canadian World Junior Team is now set with the final roster cuts coming down this morning. Here are the 22 players that will represent Canada.

The roster features six returning players, three of which are on defence. The tournaments kicks off on Boxing Day when Canada takes on Latvia.

G-Jake Allan
G-Martin Jones

D- Colten Teubert
D- Travis Hamonic
D- Marco Scandella
D- Ryan Ellis
D- Jared Cowen
D- Calvin de Haan
D- Alex Pietrangelo

F- Taylor Hall
F- Gabriel Bourque
F- Nazem Kadri
F- Brayden Schenn
F- Adam Henrique
F- Jordan Eberle
F- Brandon McMillan
F- Greg Nemisz
F- Brandon Kozun
F- Stefan Della Rovere
F- Luke Adam
F- Jordan Caron
F- Patrice Cormier

The Top Line

2009-12-15T11:39:00.001-05:00

With so many question marks still facing the Team Canada brass, there is one thing that most people seem to agree on.

NASH-CROSBY-IGINLA

These three dynamic players figure to form the top line for Team Canada in 2010

Doesn't seem like offense will be a problem. This line has every opportunity to be one of the most dominant in the tournament.

They have the playmaker in the middle. Sidney has shown over the course of his short career that he is one of the best in the business at finding the open man. He has put up massive numbers in Pittsburgh but the issue there has always been finding quality wingers to compliment him.

No offence to Bill Guerin but I think Sidney finally has that in Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla.

The line will have terrific speed but also should be a strong on the boards and down low with the presence of Flames Captain Jarome Iginla.

Yzerman has all kinds of options up front and in the end it will be up to Mike Babcock to find the right line combinations and in a very short period of time.

This seems like a good place to start, Mr. Babcock.

What About Fisher?

2009-12-14T12:02:00.000-05:00

When the season started back in October, Jason Spezza was thought to be the only Senator who could possibly crack the Team Canada line up.

Here we sit in mid-December and all the talk in Ottawa has shifted to a different Canadian centre. While Spezza has struggled early this season Mike Fisher has excelled.

In the early parts of the 2009-2010 season the Peterborough native is making a strong case for a spot in the bottom six forwards when the team in announced on Dec. 30. While there's a ton of competition in that bottom six, Fisher has all the tools to make the cut.

Fisher has 13 goals and 26 points through 29 games with the Senators this season. He has shown an ability to play the power play, scoring 6 times, and is key cog on penalty kill.

What makes him interesting to the Team Canada brass is his ability to play both centre and the wing. He is a guy who can take a faceoff for you and plays a physical two-way game. Something a star-studded Team Canada will need.

Like every other position on the Canadian roster, a spot in the bottom six will be heavily contested. Fisher is going to have to beat out guys like Ryan Smyth, Brendan Morrow, Patrice Bergeron and Shane Doan if he's going to crack that final roster.

What do you think? Does Fisher make that 23 man squad?

The Schedule

2009-12-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago I mentioned that Canada is looking at a favourable group in the round robin portion of the tournament.

Well for Canada the schedule is looking pretty good too.

Canada will play their first game on February 16th against the team from Norway. Norway is likely the weakest team in the tournament and should give Canada a chance to shake off some rust and pre-tournament jitters.

After that Canada has a day off before they take on the Swiss on the 18th. Canada then closes out the round robin portion of the tournament with a match up against the United States.

The schedule should give Canada a chance to get their game going before going against a strong American squad.

The goal in these short tournaments is always to get better with each game. The schedule gives Canada every opportunity to do that in the round robin portion of the tournament.

The Doughty Debate

2009-12-11T12:26:00.002-05:00

There are no shortage of options for Canada on the back end heading into 2010. With veteran guys like Niedermayer and Pronger considered locks the remaining five selections figure to be a mix of established guys and younger stars.

But when picking this team Steve Yzerman will want to take a long look at Drew Doughty in Los Angeles. People don't know a lot about this guy because he plays on the West Coast but Doughty really is a game breaker.

Respected TSN analyst Bob McKenzie mentioned last night that he would have Drew Doughty has a part of his Canadian Olympic team and it's hard to argue.

Doughty has an unbelievable shot and is great on the power play. I've watched a lot of the Kings this season and I really don't know if there is anyone that carries the puck up the ice as well as Doughty does.

He's racked up 8 goals and 24 points and is a +10 on a strong Los Angeles team. While Doughty is known for his offensive game he really does play a solid two way game.

In the end, Doughty could get caught in a numbers game. Niedermayer, Pronger, Boyle, Weber and Keith are the consensus top 5 with a handful of other guys pushing for the last two spots.

Brent Seabrook will definitely get consideration primarily because along with Keith you have a ready made defensive pairing. The two of them play together regularly in Chicago and have been terrific so far this season.

After that you will likely see one of Drew Doughty, Dion Phaneuf, Jay Bouwmeester or Mike Green crack the final roster.

I think at this point I would lean towards Jay Bouwmeester but the 20 year old Drew Doughty isn't far behind.

Favourable Grouping for Host Canadians

2009-12-10T15:51:00.001-05:00

All the talk leading up to the Olympic games will be about the powerhouse teams from Canada and Russia and rightfully so. Both teams are stacked with NHL stars and will certainly be the favourites this February.

But before those two teams ever meet they will have to get out of their respective groups and that will be no easy task.

Here is a look at the groupings for the Olympic hockey tournament...

GROUP A: Canada, United States, Norway, Switzerland

GROUP B: Russia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia

GROUP C: Finland, Sweden, Germany, Belarus

There aren't any weak groups necessarily but you have to like the draw for the host Canadians. The United States will be no push over but Norway and Switzerland really aren't hockey power houses.

The Russians definitely have a tougher draw. The Czechs and Slovaks will both have strong entries and the Latvian team is always tough in international play.

Roster to be Announced Dec. 30

2009-12-09T12:30:00.001-05:00

Steve Yzerman had planned on making the announcement on New Year's Eve but that has been moved up a day.

Yzerman will name his 23 man roster during the World Junior tournament in Saskatoon.

That leaves just three weeks before the final roster will be released.

You would think at this point Yzerman has already made most of his decisions but with injuries always a possibility things could change in the coming weeks.

Welcome

2009-12-09T11:49:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone and welcome to GOLD RUSH.

I guess I should start with an introduction. For those of you who don't know me, I'm the guy who runs the Ottawa Senators blog called SensChirp. This blog is going to be something a little different though.

Gold Rush is your one stop shop for everything about Team Canada's Hockey entry in the 2010 Olympic Games.

With Steve Yzerman and the Team Canada brass set to announce the roster on December 30th the countdown is on. Here at Gold Rush we will do our part to help out Stevie Y with the tough decisions.

Does Steven Stamkos make the cut? What about Drew Doughty? Who's your starting goalie?

All these issues and more in the coming weeks...