When Canada Olympic men's hockey executive director Steve Yzerman selected the San Jose Sharks trio of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau, it was assumed, although not yet a given, that they would play as a line in Vancouver.
EMAIL
| PRINT
| REPORT TYPO
| SEND YOUR FEEDBACK
|
Sharks' Olympic trio proves inseparable
- February 9, 2010 3:25 PM |
- By Noah Love
Story provided by
By Jeremy Sandler, National Post
TORONTO -- When Canada Olympic men's hockey executive director Steve Yzerman selected the San Jose Sharks trio of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau, it was assumed, although not yet a given, that they would play as a line in Vancouver.
Sharks coach Todd McLellan says it may not matter what the Olympic coaching staff wants -- these three will find a way to get their wish. McLellan said Monday at the team's morning skate before the game with the Toronto Maple Leafs that the threesome is so comfortable together they resist being separated.
"There's nights where they're not going well or perhaps our second, third and fourth lines aren't being very productive and we split them up," McLellan said. "They do everything they can in their power to correct the game and then get themselves back together."
In their first season together since Heatley was acquired in a trade from Ottawa, their production has been stellar.
Heading into play Monday night, Marleau's 38 goals ranked third behind Washington's Alexander Ovechkin (42) and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby (39). Heatley's 32 goals put him fifth. Thornton leads the league with 58 assists and is fourth overall with 73 points.
"For a passer like me, it's pretty easy to play when you have two of the most elite goal scorers in the league on your line," Thornton said. "It's just passing the puck anywhere and they usually put it in the back of the net. But I think all three of us are competitive, we like to win, we rarely take a shift off. We're pretty hard to play against."
Observers such as Sharks teammate Rob Blake and Maple Leafs goalie J.S. Giguere would be loath to break them up for the Olympics.
Blake, himself a three-time Canadian Olympian, including 2002's gold-medal winning team, said the timing of the event makes chemistry valuable.
"When you only get one practice, it is a little challenging that way, so I really like what they did. Obviously that line will stay together," he said. "When you take a whole line and throw it in there, it's one practice, they already know what they are doing."
Giguere said: "It's such a short tournament, so chemistry can be a big deal. These guys having some chemistry during the whole season, for sure that helps them when they go there and they have that two-or three-game period to try to find the combinations that's going to work."
Coming off a disappointing 2006 Olympics in Turin that included losses to Russia, Finland and the Swiss, Canada's 2010 tournament opens with games against Norway and Switzerland before taking on the U.S. on Feb. 21.
Sharks centre and U.S. team member Joe Pavelski could draw the assignment to shut down his high-octane teammates.
"It's going to be fun; we play against each other in practice all the time, we know what each other can do," Pavelski said. "They're unbelievable. They've got some great skill, speed, size. They're a great line."
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
Recent Entries
- To Iginla, Crosby's call sounded like gold
- "Iggy!" It's a scream Jarome Iginla has heard many times in his career. But never this loudly, never with so much urgency.... Continue reading this post
- Olympic Memories: Heartbreak and triumph
- For all the moments that made you so damned happy you wanted to cry -- the triumph of Alex Bilodeau and his brother Frederic, the delirium of Marianne St-Gelais as she watched her boyfriend Charles Hamelin win gold, the pure... Continue reading this post
- Olympic Memories: The strength of a lion
- It happened in a blink. A skier was skittering down a steep and icy slope at Whistler Olympic Park and disappeared into the woods.... Continue reading this post
