A ticket to Vancouver would leave Capitals defenceman overjoyed
Mike Green is a bubble boy, in terms of his chances of being named to the Canadian Olympic men’s hockey team roster.
So the question was simple: what would it mean to him if executive Steve Yzerman selects him to play at the 2010 Vancouver Games? “It would be the happiest day of my life,” the dynamic Washington Capitals defenceman said.
And if Green could have an audience with Yzerman, what would the candidate say to his potential boss? “That I care more than anyone else,” Green replied.
There is little doubt that Green cares. Ask any teammate or official associated with the Capitals on which player takes losses the hardest and the answer is easy, “Mike Green.”
If Green is not selected for the Canadian team, he will no doubt take the snub hard. But he shouldn’t. There is room for only a few offensive defencemen and despite his statistics, Green is no shoo-in. So if the likes of Chris Pronger, Shea Weber, Jay Bouwmeester and Duncan Keith, Robyn Regehr and Drew Doughty are in the mix as the team’s two-way blue-liners, Scott Niedermayer, Dan Boyle, Dion Phaneuf and Green are trying to make the Canadian roster as production providers from the back end.
