Canada’s missing ingredient?

It isn’t fare to judge a team before it even has the opportunity to play.

And who knows, playing before a home audience, the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team may sweep right through the Vancouver tournament this month and the men who put the team together will be anointed as geniuses.

But, if for some reason the team has trouble scoring, you just know there will be plenty of questions about the failure to include Steven Stamkos on the club. Stamkos, who turned 20 on Sunday, is tied for fifth in NHL goal-scoring with 32, the same number as Dany Heatley of the San Jose Sharks, although he has played in one fewer game. He is a supremely-skilled young man with a nose for the net like few others.

There seems to be a reluctance on the part of Hockey Canada to include young budding stars on the Olympic team. Four years ago, even though he was being praised as the best young player in the world, Sidney Crosby was not included on the team that had trouble finding the net in finishing a very disappointing seventh.

Maybe because Canada boasts so much depth, there is a tendency to over think certain situations. Depth can be a luxury, but it can also be a curse. When you look at the number of quality forwards available to play for Team Canada, it is easy to understand the organizers of the team looking at Stamkos’ youth and inexperience and opting to go for older players.

Full story here

Who knows, if Ryan Getzlaf’s ankle injury is to severe Stamkos may be the one added to Team Canada.