The Caps definitely have four players headed to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February. Star forwards Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin and rookie
goalie Semyon Varlamov will play for Russia – along with former Caps Sergei Fedorov and Viktor Kozlov, who both spent the previous two seasons in Washington. Nicklas Backstrom was named to Team Sweden on Sunday and will play a major role for the defending Olympic champions. It also seems like forward Tomas Fleischmann (14 goals) is a mortal lock for the Czech Republic squad when that roster is finalized on Wednesday. That will give Washington five Olympians in all.
But what about No. 6? The last player waiting on pins and needles right now is defenseman Mike Green, who would be a lock if his last name was Sandstrom or Kozlov or Koivu or Mueller. Alas, he grew up in the hockey-player factory that is Canada. And while Green is definitely still in the mix for one of Team Canada’s final spots it will be close. After answering Olympic questions for months, Green’s about done speculating on his fate. So what do his teammates think of his chances when the final roster is announced on Wednesday at noon?
Brooks Laich
“In a short tournament like that Mike’s a gamebreaker. Somebody in a 1-1 game who can pinch in from the point and score a top-shelf goal and make it 2-1 and win you the game. In that tournament roles are so specialized and I think they could really use him on the power play. I think he’s a catalyst for any power play. We hope he makes it. He’s still young – very young. But he’s worked on his game a lot this year. But like I said – in a short tournament you need all the firepower you can get and I think Mike Green should be on that team.”
Green is making a late push with four goals and four assists in his last eight games. He scored again on Monday night against Carolina and leads all NHL defensemen in points (38) and is tied for first among all defensemen in goals scored (9) with Marc-Andre Bergeron (Montreal) and Stephane Robidas (Dallas). But his addition to the final roster hinges on Canada’s decision makers wanting a power-play specialist for that final spot.
Laich has some experience with international play. He was part of Canada’s World Junior team in 2003 and helped his country earn a silver medal at that tournament. It’s not a chance that comes along very often.
“Playing on the national team is – I was fortunate enough to do it at a World Junior. It’s the biggest honor there is. The Olympics are in Canada. We know Mike during the games is focused on playing our system and being a Washington Capital. But away from the rink it must be weighing on his mind, this selection coming up. As teammates all we can do is be advocates for him and pull for him and support him. Mike’s a professional. Whatever way it goes he’ll handle it. We just hope he gets picked and then he can show the world how good we know he is.”
Green earned the endorsement of several prominent Canadian analysts over the weekend, including Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada. They’ve seen his recent play and think he deserves a spot. But if I may quote one of the characters in “The Wire”, one of my all-time favorite TV shows: “Deserve got nothing to do with it.” Too true, Snoop. Too true.
Canadian officials have so many options with a talent pool that could probably field two or three medal contenders. So for now, Green waits. He’ll find out for sure sometime Wednesday morning. If it was up to his teammates he wouldn’t have to wait at all.
“He’s showing everybody why he’s one of the top defensemen in the league controlling a game,” Backstrom said. “I think if he’s not on there it would be a joke.”
