New Jersey Devils: Six Players Headed To Olympics

There has been plenty of fuss about this year's Olympics to be held into Vancouver, British Columbia, including who will come out on top and what the rosters will be comprised of. It's no secret that the Devils were going to have several members packing their bags and representing their countries, seeing as they sit atop the Eastern Conference and continue to pile up wins. In a way, there were some strong selections and a few snubs from the Olympic rosters. The Devils will be represented quite well with six players searching for the gold medal.

Let us start with the most obvious selection: Martin Brodeur for Canada. When people think of Canada and the goaltender position, it's always Brodeur's name that comes out first. The future Hall of Famer has been involved in the Olympics since the inclusion of professional athletes was implemented in 1998. Although he is known as the country's savior, he had a lackluster performance at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. Canada's disappointing 6th place finish was laid on an offense that couldn't score enough and bad play by Brodeur. Look for Brodeur to get his revenge in this year's Olympics, as he will more than likely be the starter.

What would the Czech Republic do without Patrik Elias? It's a no brainer for sure that the Czechs chose him and will also give him the honor of being captain. The Czechs don't seem primed to win the whole thing and will have tough competition for a medal but this team certainly has some skilled players. Just imagine what it's gonna be like for an opposing defenseman who has to face the line of Elias, Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Plekanec. Scary you say? Absolutely. I believe that Elias can bring a strong scoring presence to a bubble team.

Team Sweden chose Johnny Oduya to add to an up and coming defense that boasts mostly newcomers. The native of Stockholm will be a nice complement to veterans Nicklas Lidstrom or Mattias Ohlund, whichever one he gets paired with. Although Oduya struggled mightily early on this season, he has picked up his game and continues to provide strong defense. The Devils need Oduya to be healthy for the rest of the season so it's going to be up to Sweden to utilize him so that the Devils will be satisfied.

The final three Devils who were chosen will all be members of Team USA in February. Zach Parise, Paul Martin and Jamie Langenbrunner have received the call to play for the stars and stripes and make Americans proud. Parise is one of the best American players in the game right now so it was clear to everyone that he would make it. Parise has enjoyed a good season thus far (19 goals and 26 assists) and will be getting big minutes for Team USA. Depending on how they want to use him, the Devils' leading scorer could end up on the top line with Avalanche center Paul Stastny and Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane. Langenbrunner was officially named captain of USA so he will steer the ship in the right direction and has enjoyed a good season thus far. He is an exceptional penalty killer and drives hard to the net so his job description is basically leadership and grit. Martin will be on a young defense corps and will be expected to be an offensive d-man.

So the six Devils who will participate are the best selections, right?

Well I have a serious problem with the process of choosing members for the Olympic teams in general (see my article entitled No Love for Bergfors?). Fellow Metro Hockey writer Eric Bancker recently wrote an article questioning Brian Burke's picks for the United States Olympic team. I agree completely with his comments and also believe that Brian Burke had blinders on when he selected the roster to represent the red, white and blue. Burke doesn't deserve to run the American team, but that is a subject for another time.

To read the rest of this article, click here.