Olympic Hockey: The 10 Most Disappointing Players Thus Far

Heading into Tuesday night, there are several surprises amongst the Olympic hockey scoring leaders.

Belarus forward Sergei Kostitsyn has five points—good enough for a tie for fourth overall with Canada’s Sidney Crosby. Czech Republic defenseman Marek Zidlicky leads the tournament in assists with five, and American defenseman Brian Rafalski leads the tournament in goals (tied with Canada’s Dany Heatley) with four.

While Kostitsyn, Rafalski, and Zidlicky all represent big surprises at the Olympic Games for all the right reasons, there are several players in Vancouver that have been a surprise for the wrong reasons.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 10 most disappointing players at the Olympics thus far.

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Chris Pronger (Canada)

He was expected to be Canada’s top shutdown defenseman, but Pronger has struggled to find his game throughout the tournament. Through three games with Team Canada, Pronger has no goals, one assist, and a paltry plus-1 rating.

Statistics aside, Pronger has not been the force Canada thought he would be. He has been noticeably slow and often out of position—a definite disappointment to Canada.

To be fair, Canada’s entire defensive squad has played below expectations, especially offensively, where Canada’s defensemen are yet to register a goal. That said, Pronger has stood out the most—for all the wrong reasons.

Martin Havlat (Czech Republic)

He was expected to be a difference-maker, and Havlat has been anything but at these Olympics.

Through three games with the Czech Republic, Havlat has registered just one point—an assist—and, for the most part, has been invisible.

Sergei Gonchar (Russia)

Through three games with Russia, Gonchar has no points. With all that offense in front of him, it’s safe to say the Russians were counting on Gonchar to set up a few more goals and perhaps throw in a puck or two on the power play.

Like many veterans at the Olympics, Gonchar has looked slow at times and has not been as effective as Russia had hoped. Just another example of how the game of hockey is changing right before our eyes. It’s a young man's game now—just ask Canada’s Chris Pronger and Gonchar.

Henrik Zetterberg (Sweden)

Known arguably as hockey's best two-way forward, Zetterberg has struggled to find his game—especially offensively. Despite averaging just under 17 minutes per game, Zetterberg has failed to register a point and has a plus/minus rating of zero. Admittedly, Zetterberg has been excellent defensively, but we are yet to see the whole package—and that is disappointing.

Marian Gaborik (Slovakia)

Heading into the Olympics, Gaborik was ranked eighth overall in NHL scoring, with 69 points, and fifth overall in goals scored, with 35.

Through three games with Slovakia, Gaborik has just one goal and no assists—hardly the results Slovakia was hoping for.

Sure, Gabby came into the games with an injury, but he chose to play, so there are no excuses. Gaborik needs to be better.

Joni Pitkanen (Finland)

Through three games played, Finland’s Pitkanen has amassed a total of 27 penalty minutes—tops in the tournament. That’s an average of nine minutes per game, which clearly is far too many—especially at the Olympics.

Martin Brodeur (Canada)

Anyone who watched Brodeur play against Team USA knows that Marty has not met expectations at the Olympics.

Through two games played, Brodeur has a lofty 2.90 goals against average and a horrific .867 save percentage.

Despite Brodeur’s heroics in the shootout against Switzerland, his play has been subpar, forcing Canada to go with backup Roberto Luongo against Germany tonight—and likely, the rest of the tournament.

Mikhail Grabovski (Belarus)

Not known as the sharpest knife in the drawer, Grabovski didn’t disappoint his critics, getting arrested after an alleged street fight last week.

Hampered by a wrist injury, Grabovski has thus far been unable to dress for Belarus, which, in itself, hurt Belarus’ chances. Getting arrested serves as a source of embarrassment for Garbovski and Belarus—not to mention the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team Garbovski plays for in the NHL.

Grabovski’s lack of judgment was an act of stupidity and a huge disappointment

Joe Thornton (Canada)

Unless he manages to pick up his play, it looks as if Thornton will miss out on yet another opportunity to prove his critics wrong.

Through three games with Team Canada, Thornton has just one assist, and outside of some decent play on the power play, he has been invisible for Canada.

Poolies beware, Thornton has not changed, he still collapses in the big games. If I were you, I’d leave him off your playoff rosters, he's just not a big game player, end of story.

Nicklas Lidstrom (Sweden)

No points through three games with Sweden pretty much says it all. Lidstrom used to be dominant, but he has looked very average on the Olympic stage—something none of us is used to seeing.

*****To read more Olympic and NHL coverage, please visit my Web site at: http://theslapshot.com/

Check out my take on Roberto Luongo starting against Germany: Does this mean Brodeur is done as a member of Team Canada?