TRAIKOS: Canada’s Olympic team has a strength at centre that could be a problem on the wing

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If there’s one factor that Staff Canada Olympic hopefuls have in frequent — apart from being among the most proficient gamers on the planet — it’s that they will all take face-offs.

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It’s a energy. But it surely will also be a little bit of an issue.

Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid are centremen. So are Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Level and Patrice Bergeron. Ditto for John Tavares, Steven Stamkos and Sean Couturier.

The checklist goes on and on … and on.

In actual fact, of the forwards on most projected lists heading into the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, solely Mitch Marner, Brad Marchand, Jonathan Huberdeau and Mark Stone are pure wingers. It signifies that if somebody like Mark Scheifele goes to make the crew, he’ll probably have to just accept a job at a place he isn’t used to.

“I’ll play wing,” stated the Winnipeg Jets centre. “If there are sacrifices that should be made, I’m prepared to make them and it’s all a matter of profitable and profitable a gold on your nation. The World Cup, a few years in the past, we had three centremen. I performed wing with McDavid and (Auston) Matthews. We had MacKinnon and (Jack) Eichel on the identical line. You may return to Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman taking part in on the identical line. You had Dale Hawerchuk profitable the face-off on the well-known purpose with (Wayne) Gretzky and (Mario) Lemieux.

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“By way of historical past, it at all times looks as if there’s a number of centremen on the crew and it’s guys that tailored to play the wing. I feel there’s a number of centremen on the market who will surrender issues to play on that crew. They’ll play web to make that crew.”

Certainly, there have been solely two pure wingers (Marchand and Corey Perry) on Canada’s World Cup crew in 2016, whereas the 2014 and 2010 Olympic groups had seven and 6 pure wingers, respectively. It’s extra out of necessity than by design. Of the top-30 Canadian-born scorers final season, solely seven performed the wing.

It may imply that somebody like Marner or Huberdeau may have an inside monitor at making the crew over Scheifele or Sean Couturier.

“I feel as a Canadian child, you at all times wish to play on that crew, whether or not it’s the world juniors or another crew, actually representing Staff Canada is the place you wish to be taking part in. Once more, that’s sooner or later. It’s a few months down the street. I don’t wish to actually take into consideration that an excessive amount of. It’s at all times going to be behind your thoughts in fact, however my fundamental thought is simply attempting to be right here and now and be with this crew and attempt to assist this crew win video games and when that comes, we’ll take it then.”

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One other place the place there’s an imbalance is at defence, with seemingly extra proficient right-handed gamers (Cale Makar, Alex Pietrangelo, Drew Doughty and Dougie Hamilton) than those that are left-handed (Shea Theodore, Morgan Rielly, Aaron Ekblad and Adam Pelech) — one thing that Ottawa’s Thomas Chabot and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse have paid shut consideration to.

“It’s there for positive,” Chabot stated of probably grabbing a roster spot. “You understand the Olympics are coming.”

“I feel to get to these higher echelons of being the highest within the league, you need to do it yr after yr,” stated Nurse. “I feel I’ve progressed to the purpose the place it wasn’t one thing like,’ Oh, yeah, he had a great yr.” There’s some areas I want to enhance and an entire different degree I can get to.”

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One factor is bound, with solely Crosby, Bergeron, Pietrangelo and Carey Worth anticipated to return from the crew that gained gold in 2014, the crew that Canada sends to the Olympics in 2022 ought to be loads youthful than standard. Simply how younger remains to be being decided. However after the season Montreal’s Nick Suzuki had, the 22-year-old rightfully believes he may have a shot.

That’s, if the pure centre can present he can play the wing.

“I feel I confirmed nicely competing in opposition to guys who’re going to be on the Olympic crew all season, like McDavid, Level, all these guys,” stated Suzuki. “Clearly, the crew goes to be actually deep. It’s positively a prime crew to make. But when I can present firstly of the season that I could be a prime participant for Canada, I feel I might need a good shot.”

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TALENTED AMERICANS COULD GET IN CANADA’S WAY OF WINNING GOLD

Whereas Canada would be the apparent favorite heading into the Olympics, count on there to be much more competitors from among the different international locations this time round.

Russia may have its deepest roster, with Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin and Alex Ovechkin up entrance and Andrei Vasilevskiy in web. Sweden, which was a finalist in 2014, has among the greatest defencemen within the NHL. Finland has Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, Patrik Laine and defenceman Miro Heiskanen.

After which there’s the Individuals, the place Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews headlines a harmful group that may have Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, 2020 Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck and a 32-year-old Patrick Kane, who completed within the top-5 in scoring final season.

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“I imply there’s loads of expertise clearly on each side,” stated Matthews. “You may go up and down each crew’s lineup they’ve acquired so many truly proficient younger gamers, veteran gamers, guys which were round. I imply I feel all people’s actually trying ahead to the chance to play. I actually hope it really works out as a result of all people I’ve talked to says that the Olympics is simply an unimaginable expertise.

“The World Cup was nice, however each man that I’ve talked to that’s skilled each [says] it’s not even shut. I’m actually hoping it really works out. There’s simply nothing prefer it. That’s what all people I’ve talked to about it says — and I imagine it.”