Hockey Olympians -- Canada's Finest

In part one of this two part series, I spotlighted some USA Olympians you need to know. This time, it's Canada's turn.

Once again, these aren't the players who will necessarily make the team, these are a few players I think you need to know.

Since most hockey players are Canadian, a lot of these names should sound very familiar to you.

Goaltender

Curtis Joseph, Toronto Maple Leafs He's overshadowed by goaltenders named Roy, Belfour, and Brodeur, but without "Cujo," the Maple Leafs would be just another hockey club.

Defensemen

Rob Blake, Colorado Avalanche After many seasons of blocking shots for the Los Angeles Kings, Blake "headed for the mountains" of Colorado and found happiness and a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche.

Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues How good is he? In the 1999-2000 hockey season, not only did he win the Norris Trophy for best defensemen, but he won the Hart trophy as the MVP in the NHL.

Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils He's the captain of the Devils and known for the tremendous hits he puts on opposing players. He is a wanted man in every other NHL rink from Boston to Vancouver. (Just ask Eric Lindros and Carolina Hurricanes' Sami Kapenen who both suffered concussions as a result of a Stevens' hit.)

Forwards

Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (No, I'm not being a snob with the name. The team that's owned by the good folks that gave you "the happiest place on earth" isn't called the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, but the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.)

Now that Teemu Selanne has gone Shark hunting in San Jose, Kariya is the best known player on the Mighty Ducks. Heck, he just might be the only Mighty Duck player hockey fans recognize.

Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings If you looked in a dictionary under the words "Detroit Red Wings," you'd see a picture of Stevie Y. After all these years, he's still the heart and soul of the Red Wings.

Eric Lindros, New York Rangers He's BAAACK!!! He's also bigger and badder than ever, scoring goals on Broadway for the Rangers. Now if only he can stay healthy.

There you have some of Canada's finest. Unlike the USA Olympic team, many of these players will be wearing the red and white for Canada.

In 1998, Canada finished out of the medal round, losing to Finland in the bronze medal game.

To hockey mad Canada, nothing less than a gold medal will do.

So serious is Canada about winning the gold, they've hired as their Executive Director for the Canadian Olympic team, none other than the "Great One" himself, Wayne Gretzky. It's his job to make the final decision as to who will represent Canada in the Olympics. Talk about serious hockey, I don't think any other country even has an executive director, official or unofficial.

On paper, with the powerful lineup that they have, Canada looks like a sure bet to win the gold medal in ice hockey.

But, hockey games aren't played on paper. They're won on the ice. Canada, and the USA, for that matter, must show they're up to the challenge of facing such international hockey powerhouses such as Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, and even Russia. A fifth or fourth place finish by either team in the Olympics just won't do for fans of either hockey club.