The Americans announced their men’s ice hockey team for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia shortly after the conclusion of this year’s Winter Classic. While some of the choices were obvious, there were one or two players not named to the team that would appear to be, from this observer’s view, glaring omissions.
If only Canada had that problem.
Which is to say, the choices for Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman and company represent a veritable cornucopia of talent and skill. Far more than just one or two players thought worthy of inclusion will be on the outside looking in when the team is announced this coming Tuesday.
I, for one, am hoping that Patrick Sharp is not one of them.
The reasons for including the Blackhawks forward on this sure to be all-star roster are many. First and foremost has to be his obvious chemistry with linemate and former Selke winner Jonathan Toews.
Toews is, without a doubt, a lock for Team Canada, likely on one of the bottom two lines as an elite, two-way center. He and Sharp have combined for 40 goals and 88 points so far this season, propelling Chicago to first overall in the NHL. In a tournament where goal-scoring and familiarity are paramount to success, what these two have done together (not just this season, but through two Stanley Cup Championships) can’t be ignored.
Which isn’t to say that Sharp isn’t worthy of consideration on his own merit. He’s picked up not one but two hat-tricks in the last week to move his season total up to 25 goals in a little more than half a season, only 11 shy of his previous career high.
Overall, his 45 points are 8th in the NHL, ahead of such other hopefuls as Corey Perry, Patrick Marleau, Matt Duchene and Martin St. Louis (who are also worthy of consideration for Team Canada, but that’s another story for another day). His 171 shots on goal this season are second only to some guy named Alex Ovechkin.
In short: Sharp is a shooting machine, and his talent to get the puck on net simply can’t be ignored when considering an Olympic team roster.
Unlike Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan, who was infamously left of the American team for the Olympics in part because he wasn’t well rounded enough, Sharp can more than hold his own if given a “shut-down” style role alongside Toews in Sochi. Sharp is currently second in the NHL with a gaudy plus-22 in 44 games (and for those lovers of Corsi and Fenwick, his numbers are pretty outstanding there too), so he can more than hold his own.
There will be two main things working against Sharp: the sheer amount of talent to choose from, and Sharp’s relative inexperience on international ice. He has just one tournament on his resume played on the larger surface, the 2012 IIHF World Championships, however he performed very well in that tournament, netting eight points in eight games.
Choosing Team Canada is no small task and I certainly don’t envy some of the decisions that Yzerman is going to have to make over the next couple of days. There will be hand-wringing in all corners of the hockey world based on some of those decisions, and even more so should Canada fail to medal in Sochi.
Some of them will be justifiable, some of them will be borderline, while others will just seem silly. Not bringing Patrick Sharp to compete in the Red and White however would be, in my opinion, a travesty.
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