An excerpt from SI.com (Allan Muir):
And so the biggest concern this week is not the injury to hurdler Perdita Felicien or the loss of the baseball team’s ace starter Scott Richmond, but how best to craft a hockey team for 2010 out of the richest crop of talent in the world.
To get back in touch with my people, here’s how I see it going down:
When the 13 forward slots are filled, the Canadians should offer an unmatchable blend of size, skill, physicality and two-way play. No surprise that the first line pivot will be Sidney Crosby. If he’s not clearly the best player in the world at that point, he’ll be in the mix alongside Alexander Ovechkin. His running mates should include Canada’s top power forward — Jarome Iginla — and Dany Heatley, who became the country’s all-time leading scorer at the World Championships after putting up 12 goals and 20 points in just nine games this spring.
Pencil the silky smooth Vincent Lecavalier in for the second line. It’s impossible to forget his magnificent performance during Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup run in 2004, or his clutch overtime goal against the Czechs that advanced Canada to the finals of the last World Cup. His passing skills should make the most of Rick Nash, who has 21 goals in 27 games at the Worlds and should be motivated by his poor performance in Torino.