Olympics Are So February, It's World Championships Time!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE international hockey competitions.

During the Vancouver Olympics we all witnessed some of the best hockey in recent years, including the incredible gold medal game.

Canada winning gold again over USA was just...perfect.

But now it's playoff time in the hockey universe, so why should the focus be directed anywhere else, right?

However, the World Championships have started so you need to whip out the giant flag and face paint and remember how crazy you went for your national squad a few months ago.

Fortunately, for the players unfortunate enough to not make the playoffs in the NHL this year, most of the roster spots were up for grabs.

Teams will not have the depth they had in Vancouver, but luckily some of the best players aren't battling for the Stanley Cup.

Some players, fresh off of playoff defeats, are looking to take charge in the Worlds and take home the hardware for their home country.

Others are trying to make up for subpar finishes in the Olympics and bring back some glory to their respective homelands.

Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk are hoping to take team Russia to it's third straight World Championships victory, and make up for an embarrassing effort in Vancouver, where they ended up with a horrible sixth place finish.

Steve Stamkos, who was tied for first in goals this year in the NHL, and Vancouver gold medalist Corey Perry are looking to win Canada another gold this year, and tie Russia for most World Championship gold medals of all time.

Team USA, the underdogs turned favorites in the Olympics, are certainly missing their NHL teammates who are playing for the Stanley Cup.

America lost 2-1 to Germany in front of 70,000 fans in the tournament opener on Friday, and earlier today were stunned by Denmark, again losing 2-1.

The World Championships are certainly an important stage to be on for all the players involved.

The players who can lead their country to a medal will make a name for themselves for future World Championship rosters, and ultimately the Olympics in 2014.

Canadian forward Ryan Smyth was a surprising omission from the Olympic roster, and could make the people in Hockey Canada regret their decision over the next few weeks.

Czech Republic legend Jaromir Jagr has his own opinion about the tournament rosters, berating the young Czech players who turned down the invitation to play.

Jagr pointed out how the Czech team has had problems on the international stage in recent years and told the young players, "I think you've got to be a little bit more proud of your country."

So far, Canada, Switzerland, and Denmark have been playing well, but it's still early in the tournament.

Even though I'm completely biased, I would have to put my money on Canada to win gold. They have a solid, deep team, with a ton of international hockey experience from both the World Juniors and the Olympics.

A few of the other top-ranked countries are missing a large portion of their All-Stars, another reason why Canada could beat teams they had trouble with in the Olympics.

Of course, there is always the Cinderella team that makes a surprising run towards the medal round, but look for Canada to ultimately be the champions once again.

Maybe our national color should be gold and not red...