Tuesday Top Ten: Biggest Winter Olympic Snubs Of 2010

Welcome to the pilot installment of the “Tuesday Top Ten”, where every Tuesday presents us with a look at the ten biggest (insert topic)’s of the week. As expected, the countdown will be of relevance to current stories and headlines in the World of Hockey.

Olympic hockey, the crown jewel of the international hockey scene. Every four years, the best players from their respective countries lace them up and take to the ice to represent their homeland. For some, this is considered more important than winning a Stanley Cup.

While others enjoy the fruits of being named to represent the squad sporting the colors of their country proudly, there’s always that crop of players left off the roster, or “snubbed”. With every squads roster all set, just who makes the Top Ten Olympic Snubs of 2010?

10. Bill Guerin (Pittsburgh Penguins) - United States

With the (Olympically speaking) recent debacle of Team U.S.A. during the Winter Olympics of ’06, where the United States finished in eighth, Leafs GM and 2010 Team U.S.A. assembler Brian Burke was on a mission for a youth-movement. Understandably, old faces such as Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk, and Chris Chelios were no longer required. While the youth is good and necessary for the future success, the States seem to have neglected an old veteran who can still be a more than effective weapon: Bill Guerin. The 39-year old veteran, seemingly left for dead as captain of the Islanders last season, has been rejuvenated since making the move to join the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If you include the 2009 NHL Playoffs, Guerin has 58 points in 86 games since joining the black-and-gold of Pittsburgh. Attribute it to playing alongside Sidney Crosby if you must, but throughout his brief tenure with the Pens, Guerin has proved that he’s still mobile enough to keep up with the young guns, making his absence from Team U.S.A all the more puzzling.

9. Roman Hamrlik (Montreal Canadiens) – Czech Republic

Heading into the Olympic selection month, it seemed that the Montreal Canadiens would be proudly represented in the Winter Olympics by the Czech Republic club with Tomas Plekanec, along with blue-liners Jaroslav Spacek and Roman  Hamrlik. Unfortunately for Habs fans, it was only Plekanec who got the call to join the Czech’s national club come February.

After missing the 2006 Winter games in Turino, Italy, likely due to a lingering knee-injury, the “Hammer” seemed like a lock for the Czech Republic defense in 2010. All things considered, this was likely going to be the last trip to the games for the 16-year NHL veteran and when you’ve averaged nearly 33 points per season since 2006-07, it seems almost automatic that you’re going to be included on your national team. Add in the fact that Hamrlik’s a two-time Olympian and this one almost seems like a no-brainer.

Along with five goals in 40 games, Hamrlik leads the Habs with 101 blocked shots, and is third among Montreal defensemen in shorthanded time-on-ice per game while leading the Canadiens with over 24 minutes of time-on-ice per game.

Making the team over Hamrlik was St. Louis blue-liner Roman Polak. Considering the Czech’s blue-line includes names such as Kaberle, Kuba, and Kubina, it’s understandable that offense wasn’t exactly a pressing issue for the 2010 squad, but is Polak that much more of a defensive upgrade over the ‘Hammer’? Polak’s eight points don’t scream Olympic material, but his 91 hits are tops among Blues’ defensemen, but what I think the determining factor in this argument had to be the fact that Polak anchors a penalty kill slightly better than the Montreal Canadiens.

Blame it on my appreciation for the veterans of the game, but Hamrlik got hosed on this one.

8. Dustin Penner (Edmonton Oilers) – Canada

Outside of Edmonton, before 2009-10, did anyone know Dustin Penner as anything besides “the guy Edmonton gave up a boatload of draft picks for that made Brian Burke hate Kevin Lowe”?

Playing for the last place Oil, Penner has been putting together an absolutely phenomenal season for an Oilers club without their top scorer in each season since the lock-out, Ales Hemsky, who has been shelved for the season with a shoulder injury. Penner leads the Oilers in goals (20), assists (20), plus/minus with a +9 on a team without their number one goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, and has five goals on the power-play.

Fourth in the Western Conference for goals, sitting behind San Jose forwards Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau, along with Flames captain Jarome Iginla, what makes Penner’s contributions more impressive? Simply put, he doesn’t have anything close to the same caliber of playmaker’s centering those he trails.

Despite the 14 points that separates Penner and the Oil’s second leading scorer, what does Penner bring to Team Canada in 2010? At 6’4″ and 245 pounds, Penner’s big frame could be an advantage against a team like the Czech Republic, U.S.A, or Slovakia, teams loaded with bruising blue-liners. Regardless of their previous success and track record, players such as Eric Staal or Mike Richards have proved less than Dustin Penner in 2009-10.  Just sayin’.

7. Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators) – Finland

In the past decade, the country of Finland has established themselves as the new hot-spot for NHL quality goaltenders. Coming into Vancouver with obvious selections Miikka Kiprusoff, Niklas Backstrom, and Antero Niittymaki? Wait just a minute, Niittymaki has proved to be more of an elite goaltender than Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne?

At first, I chalked this one up to the hockey market Rinne plays in. Not having made the playoffs, it could be easy to ignore how the 27-year old goaltender had a 29-15-4 record with seven shutouts in 2008-09, right? But then as after further research, Rinne had a 12-7-5 record along with a noteworthy .908 save percentage against teams that made the playoffs in the Western Conference last season.

Kicking off the 2009-10 season, Rinne had a strong opening two months, posting an 11-6-0 record with a .913 save percentage while splitting starting duties with Dan Ellis.

Blame it on the even stronger crop of goaltenders coming in 2014 with Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask and Chicago’s Antti Niemi, but Rinne has a better record, has more starting experience, and all of this coming with a less high-powered offense than that of Antero Niittymaki’s Tampa Bay Lightning.

6. Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning) – Canada

Not getting any respect has been the story of Martin St. Louis’ career. This one though, this one just confuses me.

With 50+ assists in four of the past five seasons, and on pace for 70 helpers this season , Marty St. Louis seemed poised for his second straight stint with Team Canada. During his first trip with Canada, St. Louis had three points in six games for the red-and-white. Fourth in the NHL in assists with 38, could St. Louis’ speed and clutch performance history help Canada even more so? I could be alone here, but when a guy has 48 points in 45 career post-season games and has been relentless on the attack throughout his entire career, that’s a guy I want going to war for me.

A counterargument against Marty could be the level of talent he’s been surrounded with through his career such as Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier and most recently, Steven Stamkos. That being said, that argument doesn’t hold water considering he’d be playing alongside the best players from Canada, and perhaps the world.

At a generous 5’9″, St. Louis is undersized, and now, under appreciated.

5. Mikael Samuelsson (Vancouver Canucks) – Sweden

A member of the 2006 Team Sweden club that won the gold medal in Turino, Italy, Mikael Samuelsson was a little more than “hurt” when his home country opted to leave him off the 2010 club. “Probably going to get in trouble for this, but they can go (bleep) themselves.” an irate Samuelsson said after the announcement of the club, which didn’t include his name.

Understandably hurt by the snub, Samuelsson had four points in eight games for Sweden in 2006 and in the middle of a career year. On pace for over 50 points for the first time in career, Samuelsson has provided great secondary scoring for the Canucks second line, playing under fellow Swedish superstars Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

Getting the nod over Samuelsson include players such as Fredrik Modin of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Patric Hornqvist of the Nashville Predators, and Peter Forsberg, who’s been out of the NHL since the end of the 2008 Playoffs. What do all of these players have in common besides being on Team Sweden? They all have less points than Mikael Samuelsson over the past two seasons.

Is Samuelsson too old? Probably not, at 33, he’s three years younger than Forsberg. Does he have injury concerns? Nope, look at Fredrik Modin making the team despite just playing in 14 games this season. Just why was Sammy left off the Swedish club for 2010? Honestly, we’ll probably never know.

4. Jochen Hecht (Buffalo Sabres) – Germany

How many German born active-NHL players can you name? Honestly, no cheating. Uhhh, Marco Sturm, Christian Ehrhoff, and Jochen Hecht, right? A 10-year NHL veteran, and three-time member of the German Olympic squad, it was Jochen Hecht who was without question the most notable name missing from the 2010 German squad in Vancouver.

Never really the contender, the Germans elected to include the Sabres organization into their team somehow with their selection of Philip Gogulla to the team. Gogulla, in his first year of playing in the American Hockey League, has 17 points in 37 games for the Portland Pirates. The only other NHL-level forwards included on the German roster are Marcel Goc of the Nashville Predators and Marco Sturm of the Boston Bruins.

The Sturm selection obviously makes sense as he’ll be returning as the German captain, but is Goc more valuable than Jochen Hecht?

“Every time you’re left out of something, even though this is not the final team, it makes you upset,” Hecht said. “I think if you play in the NHL, that should qualify you for playing on the Olympic team,” hinting at his displeasure for the snub.

With 21 points in 44 games for the Northeast Division leading Sabres this season, and sitting just nine points away from 400 in his career, it’s clear that Hecht’s presence would do nothing but help the German team who has yet to make a real splash in the tournament. The lack of real competition for the spot on the roster for the Germans makes this snub all the more noticeable.

3. Ryan Whitney (Anaheim Ducks) – United States

When Chris Pronger left the Anaheim Ducks blue-line to join the Philadelphia Flyers, the Ducks knew they had a gaping hole on their blue-line to fill, a 6’7″ one to be exact. He’s no Pronger, but 6’4″ defensemen and Boston-native Ryan Whitney has done a more than adequate job in So-Cal.

The fifth overall selection from the 2002 NHL Draft, the 26-year old has established an offensive presence without lacking in the defensive department. Playing alongside captain Scott Niedermayer, Whitney checks in with 22 points in 46 games and 66 blocked shots.

On the NHL’s 10th best power-play unit, 11 of Whitney’s 22 points (50% for you geeks) and averages just shy under four minutes a game on the advantage.

Let the conspiracy theories about Burke selecting Maple Leaf defensemen Mike Komisarek (who has four points and a -9 in 34 games) over Whitney begin…

2. Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) – Canada

We understand, believe me, we understand that at just 19 years old Stamkos has plenty of time to make Team Canada in his career. Probably a good four trips to (insert Wintry location) left in him. However, how can Steve Yzerman justify leaving off such a naturally gifted goal-scorer off his 2010 roster?

After struggling under ESPN-Pundit turned back to bench-boss Barry Melrose during his rookie season in Tampa Bay, the Ontario-native has blossomed into one of the league’s most dangerous weapons. With 23 goals in 44 games in 2009-10, Stamkos has already matched his 2008-09 tally in 35 less games. Not only that, but Stamkos has arguably taken over for Bolts captain Vincent Lecavalier as Tampa’s number one power-play pivot.

Of course, we can blame it on the team’s wealth down the middle with names such as Thornton, Crosby, Staal, Richards, and Toews. However, for a 19-year old, I’m sure the transition to playing wing next to Joe Thornton would be more than do-able. Could you imagine?

Unfortunately, we’ll just have to imagine.

1. Kyle Okposo (New York Islanders) – United States

Brian Burke simply dropped the ball on this one.

The much-famed youth movement and underdog mentality Burke has been preaching about since naming Team U.S.A. may be epitomized in the greatest sense by a player not on the roster: Kyle Okposo. The Islanders seventh overall pick from the 2007 NHL Draft, Okposo has become a premier scoring threat for the Islanders in just his second season in the NHL.

A Minnesota native, the 21-year old winger went through a frustrating 19-game stretch without tallying a goal but has still managed to lead the Isles with 30 points on the season. Assuming a leadership role at an incredibly young age, Okposo leads by example and does a fine job at it with four game-winning-goals credited to him on the season along with 12 assists on the powerplay.

It’s when a player such as Okposo gets left off the U.S.A roster that the fact that Chris Drury is on the team becomes all the more maddening.

Snubbed From The List of Snubs

Mike Green (Washington Capitals) – Canada: It’s not often you’ll see a Norris Trophy finalist snubbed from his Olympic squad the next season. However, given Canada’s strength with offensive blue-liners (and just about anywhere else for that matter), it makes sense that Green was not as needed as one would think.

Brad Richards (Dallas Stars) – Canada: Averaging over a point-per-game is lovely for the Stars’ power-play star, but when you’re going up against Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby for that spot, you’re not going to win.

Milan Hejduk (Colorado Avalanche) – Czech Republic: I thought this guy was going to be captaining the Czech’s come February, or at least wearing the ‘A’. This snub makes more sense after the  Denver Post’s report that Hejduk opted to stay out of this year’s games.

Dustin Byfuglien (Chicago Blackhawks) – United States: A big body on a considerably undersized United States core of forwards, Byfuglien could have given the U.S another weapon on their bottom-six.

T.J Oshie (St. Louis Blues) – United States: High-energy forward, and with a fan in Jeremy Roenick, Oshie’s youth and speed and 21 points in 40 games could have helped energize the red, white, and blue in Vancouver.

P.J Axelsson (Frolunda HC) – Sweden: Call me a homer, but this guy was an absolute beast on the penalty-kill during his tenure with the Bruins. I find it hard to believe that a PK-unit consisting of him and Samuel Pahlsson would be beyond “tough to play against”.

Mike Fisher (Ottawa Senators) – Canada: With the fight for the last spot reportedly coming down to Fisher and Patrice Bergeron, at least Fisher goes home to Carrie Underwood every night, that has to be some sort of consolation.

Craig Anderson (Colorado Avalanche) – United States: Having a great season for the more-than-surprising Colorado Avalanche with 22 wins and a .918 save percentage, selecting the younger Jonathan Quick over Anderson seems to make sense for the future of U.S.A hockey.

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