Anybody watching the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics, or reading the stream of coverage emanating from the BBC, will know that of all the medals up for grabs, the one they really want Gold in is the Men's Ice Hockey tournament.Vancouver very much expects Team Canada, led by Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, to deliver Gold. However whilst the Canadians appear to be the bookies favourites, a very strong challenge will come from the team that beat them in Turin's Bronze medal game, Russia.
The Russian set-up is by far the most intriguing out there. Centric around the stars of Russian Hockey, expect to see a team strong in the top lines, but with an Achilles Heel evident in it's lack of depth.
When it comes to the forwards, Canada are certainly matched. Megastar Alex Ovechkin will battle for the honour of being the teams top scorer with Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeni Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Malkins involvement could well hand the Games it's major story. Should the much vaunted final between Canada and Russia actually take place, then the clash of Pittsburgh's two top centers could be the focus of the media. Malkin will want to prove to Pittsburgh that he is is the top center, and not his club captain Sidney Crosby. What better way to do it than on the biggest stage of them all, and on Canadian territory.
Support comes in three-time all-star Ilya Kovalchuk, recently traded to the New Jersey Devils, and Ovechkin's Caps teammate Alexander Semin, who had scored north of 70 points in two NHL seasons.
Completing a triumvirate of Capitals we also see Semyon Varlamov filling a spot as third goalie, behind Evgeni Nabokov from San Jose and Ilya Bryzgalov from the Phoenix Coyotes. Nabokov has been a stalwart for the Sharks for ten years now, and flies to Vancouver as favourite to fill the net for the Russians.
In front of him will be veteran Sergei Gonchar, who faces his last Olympics at the age of 35, and will be keen to add to last year's Stanley Cup success with the Penguins.
The rest of the squad is a bit thin on top level experience, many of the lower lines will be occupied by players from the Russian Leagues. Don't expect them to be hapless though, the league has a great reputation, and many NHL stars moved out there to compete during the famous NHL lockout of the mid-2000s.
Overall, we can expect the Russian team to be very high scoring. Imagine taking a penalty and seeing Datsyuk, Ovechkin and Malkin all climbing over the boards for the Powerplay. Whoever wins the battle between Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur to take the net for Canada will be having nightmares at the prospect.
When it comes to the forwards, Canada are certainly matched. Megastar Alex Ovechkin will battle for the honour of being the teams top scorer with Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeni Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Malkins involvement could well hand the Games it's major story. Should the much vaunted final between Canada and Russia actually take place, then the clash of Pittsburgh's two top centers could be the focus of the media. Malkin will want to prove to Pittsburgh that he is is the top center, and not his club captain Sidney Crosby. What better way to do it than on the biggest stage of them all, and on Canadian territory.
Support comes in three-time all-star Ilya Kovalchuk, recently traded to the New Jersey Devils, and Ovechkin's Caps teammate Alexander Semin, who had scored north of 70 points in two NHL seasons.
Completing a triumvirate of Capitals we also see Semyon Varlamov filling a spot as third goalie, behind Evgeni Nabokov from San Jose and Ilya Bryzgalov from the Phoenix Coyotes. Nabokov has been a stalwart for the Sharks for ten years now, and flies to Vancouver as favourite to fill the net for the Russians.
In front of him will be veteran Sergei Gonchar, who faces his last Olympics at the age of 35, and will be keen to add to last year's Stanley Cup success with the Penguins.
The rest of the squad is a bit thin on top level experience, many of the lower lines will be occupied by players from the Russian Leagues. Don't expect them to be hapless though, the league has a great reputation, and many NHL stars moved out there to compete during the famous NHL lockout of the mid-2000s.
Overall, we can expect the Russian team to be very high scoring. Imagine taking a penalty and seeing Datsyuk, Ovechkin and Malkin all climbing over the boards for the Powerplay. Whoever wins the battle between Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur to take the net for Canada will be having nightmares at the prospect.
