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Projecting Team Canada Rosters for 2018, 2022 Olympics

By Matt Duscharme

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Team Canada: How Will the Team Look in the Next Two Olympic Games? We Got An Idea, and It’s Right Here.

The NHL is still undecided whether or not the League will participate in the 2018 Olympics. However, we’re still going to predict what the Team Canada roster very well might look like.  We’re not just going to look two years into the future (2018 Olympics) but we’ll look ahead another four years to the 2022 Olympics.

The 2018 roster is going to be pretty similar to the one in 2014 since the majority of these players are still young and ones who are a little more “seasoned” will still be in the NHL in two years. However, it’s in 2022 when things start to change and get more interesting.

Finally, let’s dive into this prediction and see what we come up with.

2018:

The 2014 squad will most likely return with maybe one or two changes. In 2014 the roster consisted of: G Roberto Luongo, G Carey Price, G Mike Smith, D Duncan Keith, D Dan Hamhuis, D Shea Weber, D Drew Doughty, D Jay Bouwmeester, D Alex Pietrangelo, D Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D P.K. Subban, F Matt Duchene, F Patrick Sharp, F Patrick Marleau, F Chris Kunitz, F Ryan Getzlaf, F Jonathan Toews, F John Tavares, F Jamie Benn, F Corey Perry, F Martin St. Louis, F Patrice Bergeron, F Rick Nash, F Jeff Carter and F Sidney Crosby.

Players like G Smith, D Hamhuis, D Bouwmeester, F  Sharp and F  St. Louis (now retired) are getting much older and can be easily replaced with guys like G Corey Crawford, D Brent Burns, D Brent Seabrook, F Tyler Seguin and F Claude Giroux.

The depth chart might look a little something like this:

Forwards:
Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Patrice Bergeron
Rick Nash – Jonathan Toews – John Tavares
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Jeff Carter
Corey Perry – Ryan Getzlaf – Patrick Marleau
Matt Duchene
Claude Giroux

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Defence:
Shea Weber – Drew Doughty
Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Brent Burns – Alex Pietrangelo
P.K. Subban
Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Goalies:
Carey Price
Corey Crawford
Roberto Luongo

Looking at the Possibilities

Fairly similar to the team in 2014, swapping older players for teammates who will most likely bring scoring power always helps. And, in the case of Keith and Seabrook being together, that’s one of the top shutdown lines for Team Canada since they both do it at an elite level in the NHL.

Adding Seguin to play with Benn is something that should have happened last year, yet, unfortunately, it wasn’t.  Burns has stepped up to be one of the top-five defensemen in the NHL so he’s a shoe-in for the roster. In addition, Crawford would have no problem filling  Smith’s role, since out of the two, we know who the better goaltender is.

 Crosby‘s likely-hood of returning is more than 100% because he’s arguably the best player in the world and will only be 31 by the time of the tournament with a lot of hockey left in him. In addition, Getzlaf and Perry will also be back due to their elite level of play and obvious chemistry  together in Anaheim.  Bergeron is another player who will return since he and Crosby had unstoppable chemistry in 2014.

Finally, Crosby’s linemate in Pittsburgh, Chris Kunitz being back on that line will give it an extra boost. Jeff Carter, Rick Nash, and Patrick Marleau are players that will consequently be swapped in and out of round robin games for players like Matt Duchene and Claude Giroux.

Ahead to 2022:

Now this is where things get interesting.

First of all, all of these players will be four years older and guys like Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Chris Kunitz, Patrice Bergeron, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Roberto Luongo most likely won’t have the pace to keep up anymore, since the other National teams will be filled with younger faster talent as well.

So Team Canada’s 2022 roster will most likely consist of these players: G Carey Price, G Corey Crawford, G Devan Dubnyk/G Matt Murray, D Shea Weber, D Drew Doughty, D Duncan Keith, D Alex Pietrangelo, D P.K. Subban, D Brent Burns, D Brent Seabrook, D Kris Letang, F Matt Duchene, F Ryan Getzlaf, F Jonathan Toews, F John Tavares, F Jamie Benn, F Corey Perry, F Sidney Crosby, F Tyler Seguin, F Connor McDavid, F Claude Giroux, F Steven Stamkos, F Brad Marchand, F Taylor Hall and F Mark Scheifele.

Forwards:

Taylor Hall – Connor McDavid – Steven Stamkos
Jamie Benn – Sidney Crosby – Tyler Seguin
Claude Giroux – Jonathan Toews – John Tavares
Corey Perry – Ryan Getzlaf – Matt Duchene
Mark Scheifele
Brad Marchand

Defence:
Brent Burns – Drew Doughty
Shea Weber – Alex Pietrangelo
Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
P.K. Subban
Kris Letang

Goalies:
Carey Price
Corey Crawford
Devan Dubnyk/Matt Murray

New Looks in 2022

While the D core still remains almost the same, it’s the goaltending and the forward core that changes. Seeing Crosby knocked down to the second line is not unrealistic since Connor McDavid is going to be that much better in 2022. In addition, Taylor Hall will also be ready to take Kunitz’s spot and Steven Stamkos will be ready to fill Bergeron’s. Furthermore, Claude Giroux and Matt Duchene will go from extras in 2018 to full-time players in 2022, therefore leaving two extra spots open for Mark Scheifele and Brad Marchand.

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Furthermore, there’s a 50/50 chance that Roberto Luongo will be retired in 2022, hence why he could be replaced by either Devan Dubnyk or Matt Murray, two goalies who are moving into the top 10 in the league.  Carey Price will still be in elite form, as will Corey Crawford, making the goaltending similar yet deep and competitive.

The defense will surprisingly stay the same for the most part, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kris Letang and P.K. Subban fight for full-time spots. Therefore, possibly pushing out defensemen like Shea Weber and Brent Seabrook.

Olympic Anticipation

Either way, Team Canada is still going to be competitive in the next two Olympic games. The 2026 Olympics will be the year to see a new roster filled with new players that are already taking over the NHL. Therefore, they’ll take over Team Canada in 10 years time.

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Nonetheless, we can expect to see a truly impressive Team Canada. Do you agree with these lineups? Or do you see different players making these respective lineups? Whatever the case may be, feel free to let us know of your feedback in the comments section.

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