CBC-Sports

Make no mistake, Canada is Babcock’s team

August 25, 2009 09:36 PM | Posted by   Jeff Marek  

While nobody can technically play himself on or off Team Canada at this orientation camp here in Calgary, there are a few things we can start to glean after two days of work.

First, this is Mike Babcock’s team. Period.

Yes, he is flanked by some outstanding assistant coaches in Jacques Lemaire, Ken Hitchcock and Lindy Ruff - who since he is the youngest of all assistant coaches gets to do the grunt work like shovel snow in front of the net - but make no mistake about it, Babcock is in charge.

Even at the opening press conference on Monday where Babcock laid out his now infamous “200-foot” hockey player analogy, you can tell in every interaction that the coach is leading this squad. Right away Babcock is on the ice at the opening session.

He gives out the instructions, he runs the drills and yes he stops players who aren’t doing exactly what he wants. And that includes the Sidney Crosby/Rick Nash/Jarome Iginla line, which he stopped Tuesday and made them start a drill over.

The assistant coaches had a little more responsibility at Tuesday’s sessions but the symbolic move of Babcock ruling over everything on opening day was not lost on anyone - especially the players.

As for this camp overall, it’s simply a chance for all these players to get to know one another. Sure many of them have crossed paths before; heck there is a sizeable chunk who played on the world junior team in 2005. That team won in Grand Forks, N.D., and you can even throw into that mix the last cut from that squad, Capitals defenceman Mike Green, but by and large these guys haven’t had any time to bond at all.

Team Canada will have exactly ONE practice before they drop the Olympic puck so a four-day camp like this is crucial for guys not to feel like they’re playing with strangers. It also gives the younger skaters a chance to ask anything and everything they need to know about the Olympic experience.

What’s the drug testing all about? What are the IIHF rules compared to the NHL’s? How does the Olympic village work? How does the international media differ from the NHL media?

All questions that can be answered not only by the executive director Steve Yzerman, but also players like Iginla, Martin Brodeur, Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. And considering how many young players there are at this camp the questions should go on all week long.

Niedermayer top candidate to wear ‘C’

Speaking of Niedermayer, while many in Canada are in love with the idea of Crosby captaining this team, it’s just not going to happen. Yzerman told us he is looking for someone with a lot of experience internationally and who he knows will not crack under pressure. And while I don’t think Crosby would snap, I’m pretty sure Yzerman is looking at the Cranbrook, B.C., blue-liner to wear the “C”.

And it makes sense too. He’s won at every level - Memorial Cup, Stanley Cup, World Cup, world championship, Olympics. In short he is the most widely decorated player in the history of the game. He’s the guy. Sure you could make a case for Iginla or even loyal Canadian foot soldier Shane Doan, but at the end of the day, pretty well all agree this will be Niedermayer's team. One day, maybe as early as 2014, this will be Crosby’s squad but it’s not time yet.

Crosby/Nash/Iginla line turning heads

However, if there one line that has turned heads and made Hockey Canada re-think of putting together the Ryan Getzlaf/Nash/Dany Heatley unit from the world championships of two years ago, it’s the Crosby/Nash/Iginla trio. Hands down, they have been the smoothest combo on the ice and the thought of Crosby flanked by two of the best finishers in the game has Hockey Canada drooling.

And the line looked great, right from their opening session as well. While it looked like some players still had their cottage hands and feet, Crosby, Nash and Iginla hit the ground running with Crosby feathering beauties to both wingers. The Cole Harbour, N.S., kid also scored a sick goal on Brodeur during a breakaway drill for some added punctuation.

The line of Mike Richards, Brendan Morrow and Dany Heatley has also demonstrated some instant chemistry as well.

Some individual players have started to answer questions about themselves too, most notably Vincent Lecavalier, who struggled the last season with a shoulder injury. However, there has been no evidence of that injury here as Lecavalier is back sizzling with the puck.

Corey Perry has looked impressive and there may be some temptation to add him to the team to keep together the chemistry he has with Getzlaf. Perry has looked really strong playing on a line with Joe Thornton and Eric Staal in the first two days.

Toews a treat to watch

It will be tough for Jonathan Toews to make the team but you can’t help but say after watching him play that “this kid gets it.” He understands each drill right away and executes them almost flawlessly.

He’s a treat to watch and will one day be a fixture on Team Canada, but with the bulk the squad has down the middle, he may find himself stuck in the same rut another famous centreman found himself trapped behind the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Bryan Trottier, and even Dale Hawerchuck: Steve Yzerman.

Coincidently, that’s the player Toews is often compared too.

Weber making waves

On the blue-line, Shea Weber has turned heads with his combination of size and skill.

And if there is a player who’s destined to shoot like Al MacInnis and hit like Scott Stevens, it’s this Nashville Predator. Weber was paired with Francois Beauchemin for the first session and then Duncan Keith on Tuesday morning.

Sticking with the backend, just about everyone is in agreement that it will be a longshot for Marc Staal to make this team but the experience he’s gaining by playing with these guys at this level will only help him take that next step when he suits up again for the New York Rangers this season. Look for him to cement himself as the Blueshirts’ top defenceman game in and game out.

Fleury stones shooters

The goalies have been tough to gauge since they are constantly facing some of the best shooters the NHL has to offer, but Brodeur has looked very good. Roberto Luongo has looked shaky at times, but you know the Canucks captain will be there in February if healthy. Perhaps most impressive has been Marc-Andre Fleury, who has stoned shooters with that quick snap of his pads.

Finally, and this should get Canadian hockey fans excited, stylistically this should be an exciting team.

During every session, Babcock is prodding these players to continually pick up the pace, transition faster and keep the tempo high. It’s an exciting practice to take in as players constantly challenge themselves to execute quicker.

And in just about every rush drill he runs, Babcock almost always has one of the defencemen jumping in to join the rush. That’s excitement.

So far it looks like this is going to be a wild ride. Let's see what the next two days bring with them.

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