Olympic Second Glance

Flawed Approach?

On the heels of learning that the Canadian Olympic Committee admitting that Canada won't win the medal race, I'll admit my last blog was a bit rough on our dear Olympic Committee and athletes. Since I wrote it, a lot has happened. Team Canada hockey lost a game they were at the very least favoured to win, highly touted medal favourite Charles Hamelin (apparently pronounced Chal Amlah, according to TSN's awful Rod Black) managed to come up empty again, Mellisa Hollingsworth took a disappointing fifth place in the skeleton…as did Canada's best two-man bobsled team. Did I mention that Hamelin and his brother François managed to finish fourth and fifth in a five-man final after leading most of the race together?

However, that's not where I'm taking this blog…what I want to point out is the one Canadian Olympian that stands out more than any other who embodies how the C.O.C. should be building their team. His name is Jon Montgomery and he just so happens to have won gold in skeleton. Why Jon Montgomery? Because he's cocky without being arrogant, he takes his races seriously but off the track, he's intense but soft spoken, and he's obviously having fun and not succumbing to the pressure. The only other Canadian athletes to show this kind of fire are the mogul skiers. Canada's Olympic brass needs to focus on creating this type of attitude rather than the defeatist attitude that currently resides. Sure, Own the Podium is a nice idea…as long as you can back it up. But with favoured athletes choking badly time and again, it's obvious that our country's approach is sadly lacking in comparison to the Americans, Germans, Chinese, Koreans and even the Swiss.

In a country with ample ski mountains in the east and west, two Olympic speed skating ovals, two bobsled/luge/skeleton tracks, and countless cross-country skiing trails, along with likely the most indoor skating and hockey facilities in the world, there is no reason for Canada to struggle. We always bitch about funding for amateur sports but just adding money isn't going to change the fact that our athletes genuinely don't seem prepared for the pressure. The entire ski team – at least the men since the women's team is ravaged by injuries – is a colossal disappointment. They were given every opportunity to place well at Whistler and so far haven't. They trained on the run while skiers from other countries weren't allowed and yet, the highest any of the skiers can muster is a fifth place.

But it goes farther than our skiers. Our Canadian politeness is great as a day-to-day quality, but in the sports arena, there needs to be that killer instinct. However, to have that win-at-all costs mentality, our athletes need to learn that it's okay to be cocky like Montgomery. It's okay to have fun in the short time that you're an elite Olympic athlete and to be a character. Maybe, just maybe if our athletes were more entertaining off the field, more Canadians would pay attention to their sports more often than for two and a half weeks every four years. The Montgomery approach just might add the intensity that is sorely missing from our program. It's just too polite to accept constantly finishing just off the podium…let alone Canada not qualifying for more than a few finals in their own back yard.

After all, nobody remembers who finished outside the top three…or as my friend Shaun Deering calls fourth, fifth and sixth place, winning the Canadian Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Hockey Powerhouse Set for Demolition?

Like most Canadians, I'm rooting for the home team to flex their muscle and win the Olympic tournament. However, after watching them struggle mightily to score against the Swiss and the Americans I'm not of the belief that they simply ran into a couple of hot goaltenders. Sure, Jonas Hiller and Ryan Miller both made some incredible saves in frustrating the Canadian squad, but that's not the main reason the Canadians are snake-bitten so far.

There are a couple of elephants in the room that need to be addressed. We all know that Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton play together in San Jose. Unfortunately, we also should know by now that the Shark Line members are quite accomplished at disappearing when the pressure goes up and the game gets bigger. For that reason, they might as well be called the Tin Man Line. The issue with this line is a simple one…they play a strictly finesse game and none of them really excel when the checking gets tighter. Not to mention Marleau is the smallest of the three at 6'2" and 220 pounds, not one of them readily initiates much in the way of contact or throws a body check. Big perimeter players simply aren't built for big game hockey.

And yet, the coaches not only refuse to try splitting them up, they keep trotting them out there for the first unit of every power play and in the last minute of a game when a goal is needed. Not surprisingly, Canada's power play is woeful to this point. And it's not just the Tin Man line. The second unit comes out with the ice cold duo of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf along with the team's best forward to date, Sidney Crosby. The problem is, Crosby and Getzlaf are both playmakers and clearly aren't clicking. Of course, the best power play unit was the one we haven't seen since the Norway game with Rick Nash in front of the net, Crosby on the half wall and Jarome Iginla in the slot looking for a one timer.

Outside of that, Canada's roster of large gentlemen doesn't seem to remember how to drive the puck to the net and force the other team's defence. Instead, as a team, they choose to try fancy shinny plays and outside shots to the goalie's crest with no traffic in front. That's a sure-fire way to muster a paltry three goals on 45 shots. The solution is simple: use size and strength to dictate the play and force the other teams to take penalties. They certainly have the horses up front to play that way.

As for the other major concern: goaltending and defence. Everywhere you turn, people are screaming for Martin Brodeur's ouster and Roberto Luongo to come and save the day. Brodeur looked mediocre against the US; there is no doubt about that. However, he was also forced to face a lot of prime scoring chances despite the low shot count because three veteran defensemen were consistently exposed. Scott Niedermayer – who hasn't been anywhere near an elite player since he waffled on retirement in 2007, Chris Pronger and Dan Boyle were quite possibly the worst players on the ice against the Americans. However, that doesn't absolve Brodeur of blame. He played the puck surprisingly poorly and looked shaky on two of the four goals that went past him. As a result, Canada gets to play a qualifying match against Germany instead of a comfy bye into the quarterfinals.

Roberto Luongo will get the start against the Germans. For all those branding him the saviour, his shutout of Norway was as expected as the sun coming up in the east. He's a very skilled goaltender who is often mentioned in the conversation as one of, if not the best goaltenders in the world. However, the facts don't necessarily back up this praise. Luongo's been around for almost ten NHL seasons and to date has one Vezina nomination as best goaltender, won three international gold medals but only one as the starter (at the 2004 World Championships while the NHL playoffs were going on). He's also shown a bit of a streak of being unable to perform when needed most. He allowed seven goals in game six against Chicago in the second round of last the 2009 playoffs and the final game of the 2006 regular season…which would have earned the Canucks the final playoff spot (which the Oilers took on a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals).

It's now on his shoulders to backstop Canada, first past the Germans then against the Russians. I just hope, for Canada's sake, he's the Luongo of lore rather than the big game liability. Until he proves he isn't, count me as a sceptic.