Part 2: Profiling Vancouver-bound Olympian Penguins

Click for Part 1: Profiling Vancouver-bound Olympian Penguins

Yesterday, three Penguins Olympic hockey players, Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and Sergei Gonchar were profiled and their projected roles for Canada and Russia were described.  Today, Pittsburgh’s two other Olympians, Evgeni Malkin and Brooks Orpik are similarly profiled.

What are their qualifications and what will their roles be on the Russian and American hockey teams?  Again, though preliminary determination of line combinations and planning of in-game strategies will occur right up to the drop of the first puck on February 16, the Olympic hockey picture is starting to come into focus for most countries.  The following, is a snapshot of the Penguins’ final two Olympic participants’ likely roles.

Evgeni Malkin, centre, Russia – His name is certainly in the conversation when the top five best hockey players worldwide are identified.  Forget for a moment his virtuoso performance in 2008-09 when he led the league in regular season and playoff scoring and had the honour of being the only Penguin to hoist two trophies after Game 7.  Forget how he carried the Penguins in 2007-08 when Crosby was injured and forget his Calder Trophy season in 2006-07.

The man from Magnitogorsk simply soars during international play.  In seventy-one games for Russia spanning two world under-18 championships, three world junior championships, three world championships and the 2006 Olympics, Malkin has scored twenty-seven goals and added forty-four assists – ironically, 71 points for #71.  On the GM Place ice in Vancouver at the 2006 world juniors, Malkin scored ten points in six games helping Russia earn a silver medal and made the tournament all-star team.

Next month, look for Malkin to centre one of his country’s top two lines and of course, see lots of time on the top power play unit.  Hockey Independent blogger George Prax did a great job proposing and analyzing line combinations on Christmas Day when the Russian roster was announced.  He envisions Malkin in between Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin.  James Mirtle of From the Rink sees Malkin on the second line between Maxim Afinogenov and Ilya Kovalchuk.  In this scenario, Pavel Datsyuk would drop to the third line to shut down opposition top lines due to his exceptional two-way game and Sergei Fedorov would take Malkin’s place between Semin and Ovechkin.  Personally, I think Russia will align their combinations on a game-by-game basis.  Expect Malkin and Datsyuk to centre the top two lines against weaker opponents whom Russia can easily blitz.  Against higher-calibre opposition, Fedorov would jump up between Ovechkin and Semin to form an explosive “all-Capitals (and former Capitals)” top line with Datsyuk taking a defensive centre role on the third line and Malkin on line two.

Brooks Orpik, defence, United States – Don’t be ashamed if you cringe or flinch when Brooks Orpik’s name is read out loud.  Many NHL players react the same away.  The hard-hitting San Francisco native is currently the longest-serving active member of the Penguins and definitely one of the most respected.  He was very candid two weeks ago when talking to the media about the club’s possible lack of mental focus and what he and his teammates needed to do to snap out of a season-long five-game losing streak.

Among American defencemen, Orpik has finished either first or second in every post-lockout season in hits.  His role on the U.S. Olympic team will be no different than his role on the Penguins: to ferociously check opponents off the puck in the defensive zone along the boards to reduce scoring chances and to create neutral zone turnovers with open-ice hits.  Many will remember “The Shift” in Game 3 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final when Orpik energized his teammates and the Mellon Arena crowd by recording four hits against the Red Wings in fifteen seconds en route to a Penguins’ victory.  Click above to relive the thunder.

A logical pairing at the Olympics would see Orpik matched with Bryan Rafalski – the former an intimidating physical presence and the latter a puck-moving, offensive specialist.  This would be a scenario Orpik is familiar with from playing regularly with Sergei Gonchar in Pittsburgh.  Expect to see Orpik on the ice during penalty killing situations with Mike Komisarek who like Orpik, excels in the defensive zone by hitting opponents mercilessly and lays down to block shots.

Statistical source: nhl.com