Team Canada Olympic roster is littered with former Oilers
By baggedmilk
6 years agoTeam Canada announced their Olympic roster this morning and it is littered with former Oilers.
One of the most interesting things about this year’s Winter Olympics is the fact that NHL players aren’t allowed to participate. The result is that players that would normally have no business playing at the Olympics are getting a chance to carry the torch. Personally, I hope that having these replacement players getting the opportunity will result in a much more evenly played tournament. As much as it’s fun to watch Canada dominate and leave a path of destruction in their wake after every game, it could be equally fun to add a little bit of ‘who the hell knows what’s going to happen?’ into the tournament.
I could definitely be wrong, but I actually look forward to having some closer matchups and games throughout the Olympics. It’s going to add a different flavour to the quest for a threepeat and it’s going to be interesting to see how things turn out. Maybe there won’t be as many runaway finishes like we’ve seen in past Olympics or maybe there will, but the fact that we don’t know should make things more interesting.
THE ROSTER
Considering how many players the Oilers have used over the course of the decade of darkness, it’s not really a surprise that a bunch of them are showing up on the Olympic rosters. I don’t know if I expected this many of those guys to end up on the Team Canada roster, but I guess that’s what happens when NHL players aren’t allowed to play.
Forwards
Rene Bourque – Gilbert Brule – Andrew Ebbett
Quinton Howden – Chris Kelly – Rob Klinkhammer
Brandon Kozun – Maxim Lapierre – Eric O’Dell
Mason Raymond – Derek Roy – Christian Thomas
Linden Vey – Wojtek Wolski
Quinton Howden – Chris Kelly – Rob Klinkhammer
Brandon Kozun – Maxim Lapierre – Eric O’Dell
Mason Raymond – Derek Roy – Christian Thomas
Linden Vey – Wojtek Wolski
- I think my favourite player is going to be ol’ Klink making his Olympic debut. After trading David Perron to get him, the hammer didn’t have the best run as an Oiler but he was still there, and still swarming.
- Shout out to the Yak Whisperer, Derek Roy, for making the team. You weren’t here for a long time, but we had a pretty good time.
- I’ll never forget the three part series that Wanye and Jonathan Willis planned to write about Gilbert Brule saving the team. He was going to be the man. I mean, it didn’t happen but there was a time when we had high hopes for this guy. Can you believe that was nine years ago? They were simpler times.
- NOW WE KNOW WHY CHRIS KELLY DIDN’T SIGN HERE! Alright, so maybe that’s an overstatement, but it is interesting that a guy that was hanging around the Oilers for the first couple months at the start of this season is now playing in the Olympics.
Defence
Stefan Elliott – Chay Genoway
Cody Goloubef – Marc-Andre Gragnani
Chris Lee – Maxim Noreau
Mat Robinson – Karl Stollery
Cody Goloubef – Marc-Andre Gragnani
Chris Lee – Maxim Noreau
Mat Robinson – Karl Stollery
- No former Oilers on D? BOOOOOOOO! Sorry, Cam Barker, maybe next time.
Goalies
Ben Scrivens
Kevin Poulin
Justin Peters
Kevin Poulin
Justin Peters
- Once upon a time, we made a 99 problem tee that was centred around Ben Scrivens coming in and saving us in net. Four years later, the Professor will be suiting up for Canada and going for gold. Life comes at you fast.
THE WRAP…
While I know that some folks on Twitter are still upset about NHL players not being allowed to play at the Olympics, I’m trying to look at the bright side. I mean, I wanted to see Crosby and McDavid play together too, but it’s not going to happen so I’m trying to put my hurt McFeelings aside and get past it. As much as the roster shown above is not at all what we’ve come to expect from a Canadian Olympic roster, you do have to appreciate how proud these guys must be to get a chance to represent their country.
Yes, there will be a reduction in overall skill due to NHL players not being allowed to participate, but it’s not like these guys have no idea what they’re doing. If anything, the lack of NHL polish could make things much more interesting in the medal rounds. Needless to say, this team’s Chop Wood and Carry Water/60 could be sky high and I’ll be cheering for them.
Source: Hockey Canada, Official Website, 1/11/2018, 10:30am MST
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