Olympic hockey: will there be another 1980 Miracle on Ice?
Sweden
Sweden went all the way last Winter Olympics in Turin, and there's no reason why they won't do it again this year, even though they're across the pond.
The Swedes are just as stacked as the Russians or the Canadians; they just have a different approach to their success.
Why do the Detroit Red Wings make the Stanley Cup year in, year out? It's because most of their best players (minus Pavel Datsyuk) are Swedes -- Swedes who know how to win.
Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Niklas Lidstrom, and Niklas Kronwall will bring their back-to-back Stanley Cup experience to the table when they go toe-to-toe with the higher ranked Russians and Canadians.
Other key members of Sverige include underrated goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, the Sedin Twins, Daniel Alfredsson, and Niklas Backstrom, among others.
A proper balance of experience and teamwork will give the blue-and-yellow an advantage. Their depth on defense is a drawback, yet even the highly touted Russians do not have the heaviest of blue liners.
- Niklas Pinkström
Canada
Is this a serious question? It's not even fair to have a debate about this: numbers don't lie.
This is basiclly the winning fantasy team for the NHL.
Let's begin with the fire power. They have one of the highest producing lines from the NHL with Joe Thorton, who leads the NHL in assists (59), Dany Heatly and Patrick Marleau, who is third in the NHL with goals (38) as a package deal.
Let's not forget "The Kid," Syndey Crosby, who is second in the league in goals and is one of the 10 Stanley Cup winners on the 23-man roster.
On defense are linemates Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Keith is second among defensemen in points (53). Seasoned veterans Chirs Pronger and Scott Neidermyer are familiar with each other after their time together on the 2007 Stanley Cup winning Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks' Dan Boyle completes the mix.
In the net they have Stanley Cup winners Martin Brodeur (3) and Marc-Andre Fleury(1) along with Rberto Luongo who notched the shutout against Norway on Tuesday. Any questions?
- Margeaux Consul
USA
Underdogs in this year's tournament, the young Americans must be opporunisitc if they want to win gold.
Michigan-native Ryan Miller, potentially the biggest story for the Americans, has stood on his head on a young Buffalo team to keep them competitve in the Northeast Division and is likely to do so while wearing red, white and blue.
Minnesota-native Zach Parise, who was third among NHL goal-scorers last year (45), and New Yorker Patrick Kane (first overall pick in 2007) have enough talent to put the puck past the world's best goaltenders.
Minnesotan Eric Johnson (first overall pick in 2006) and Ryan Suter, whose father Bob was on the 1980 team, will chew up ice time and make Miller's job easier.
The Shark's Joe Pavelski, a Wisconsin-native, has been overlooked through most of his career (drafted 205th overall in 2003) but can shine in the spotlight (three GWG in 2008 Playoffs) and should come through when America needs him most.
The Americans are capable of winning gold if Miller plays well and everyone pitches in at the right time.
- Tom Schreier