Sharp thrilled to join 10 Hawks in Sochi
Patrick Sharp is going to Sochi, but Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford are not.
Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith were among the 25 players named to the Canadian Olympic team on Tuesday.
It will be the first Olympics for Sharp, who has 25 goals and 46 points for the Blackhawks.
“The past couple of days it’s been tough to go to sleep,” Sharp said. “It’s a special day for my family and for myself. I’m proud to represent my country, my parents, my family and of course the Blackhawks. I’m thrilled to have gotten the call.
“I really wanted to be a part of it this time around.”
Seabrook was snubbed after being on the 2010 Canadian team that won the gold medal in Vancouver.
“It was a tough call (Tuesday) morning when I got the phone call, but you know Canada’s got a lot of great players,” Seabrook said. “You saw the team they’re putting out there. It’s going to be a good team. I’m looking forward to watching, maybe having a few beers and relaxing over the break.”
Crawford wasn’t among the three goalies picked as Team Canada went with Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo, Montreal’s Carey Price and Mike Smith of the Coyotes.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” Crawford said. “It definitely was a goal of mine. I didn’t make it, so move on, focus on our team and winning hockey games here.”
In all, 10 Hawks are going to the Olympics, an increase from six in 2010.
Defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya and center Marcus Kruger were selected for Team Sweden on Tuesday.
Oduya played in the Olympics in 2010. Kruger and Hjalmarsson have not previously played in the Olympics.
“Olympics is something you’ve always seen on TV and stuff and you always wonder how that’s going to be,” Kruger said. “For me, being the first time going there is going to be exciting. And seeing the other athletes and everything else is going to be a lot of fun.
“It was great to see my name there.”
Marian Hossa and Michal Handzus made the Slovakian team. Both have played in the Olympics in the past.
“It’s a lot of fun playing for your country in the best tournament in the world,” Handzus said. “You cannot ask for any better. Just enjoy it. I had a lot of fun in Vancouver. We had a good team. We had a lot of fun in the locker room, a lot of fun in the games, just enjoyed it. … For me probably the last one, for a lot of guys maybe they get in a couple more, just enjoy it when you get back there.”
Patrick Kane made the U.S. team last week and defenseman Michal Rozsival was added to the Czech Republic squad on Monday.
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville isn’t concerned about the risk of injuries.
“I think it’s a good experience for guys,” Quenneville said. “It can make them a better player, playing against top guys in that type of setting can make you a better player as well. I hope they get a chance to win a medal.”
Team Canada was the big announcement on Tuesday and there were plenty of key omissions. In addition to Seabrook, San Jose’s Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Dan Boyle were bypassed along with Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis and Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux.
“Obviously, it’s a huge honor,” Keith said. “That gets said a lot, but it really is. You look at all the people who play hockey in Canada, to represent the country is very special.”
Keith and Toews were part of the 2010 Canadian team that won the gold medal.
“Most of all it’s great to see how many world-class players we have in our room,” Toews said. “You even look at some of the guys that won’t be going to the Olympics that definitely deserved to be and do have that type of talent.
“You can think of guys like (Seabrook) and (Crawford) and a few other guys as well. To have 10 guys in our room, I think is pretty special. It goes to show why we’re such a good team.”
Seabrook apparently lost his spot to Montreal’s P.K. Subban because coach Mike Babcock wanted a balance of left-handed and right-handed shooters on defense.
Keith, Dan Hamhuis, Jay Bouwmeester and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are left-handed. Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Weber and Subban are righties.
The Canadian forwards to make the team were Toews, Sharp, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Jamie Benn, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Chris Kunitz, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Steven Stamkos, John Taveras and Matt Duchene.
“In the end, we’ve put together the best group of players we possibly can,” Babcock said. “Now we have to become the best team we possibly can.”
Ÿ Follow Tim’s hockey reports on Twitter @TimSassone.
Olympic men’s hockey rosters
Heres a glance at the 2014 Sochi Olympics teams with the most NHL players on their roster:
<b>Team USA</b>
Goalies
Ryan Miller Buffalo Sabres
Jonathan Quick Los Angeles Kings
Jimmy Howard Detroit Red Wings
Defensemen
Brooks Orpik Pittsburgh Penquins
Ryan Suter Minnesota Wild
John Carlson Washington Capitals
Justin Faulk Carolina Hurricanes
Cam Fowler Anaheim Ducks
Paul Martin Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan McDonagh New York Rangers
Kevin Shattenkirk St. Louis Blues
Forwards
David Backes St. Louis Blues
Dustin Brown Los Angeles Kings
Ryan Callahan New York Rangers
Patrick Kane Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Kesler Vancouver Canucks
Phil Kessel Toronto Maple Leafs
Zach Parise Minnesota Wild
Joe Pavelski San Jose Sharks
Paul Stastny Colorado Avalanche
T.J. Oshie St. Louis Blues
Max Pacioretty Montreal Canadiens
Derek Stepan New York Rangers
James van Riemsdyk Toronto Maple Leafs
Blake Wheeler Winnipeg Jets
<b>Team Canada</b>
Goalies
Roberto Luongo Vancouver Canucks
Carey Price Montreal Canadiens
Mike Smith Phoenix Coyotes
Defensemen
Jay Bouwmeester St. Louis Blues
Drew Doughty Los Angeles Kings
Dan Hamhuis Vancouver Canucks
Duncan Keith Chicago Blackhawks
Alex Pietrangelo St. Louis Blues
P.K. Subban Montreal Canadiens
Marc-Edouard Vlasic San Jose Sharks
Shea Weber Nashville Predators
Forwards
Jamie Benn Dallas Stars
Patrice Bergeron Boston Bruins
Jeff Carter Los Angeles Kings
Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins
Matt Duchene Colorado Avalanche
Ryan Getzlaf Anaheim Ducks
Chris Kunitz Pittsburgh Penguins
Patrick Marleau San Jose Sharks
Rick Nash New York Rangers
Corey Perry Detroit Red Wings
Patrick Sharp Chicago Blackhawks
Steven Stamkos Tampa Bay Lightning
John Tavares New York Islanders
Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks
<b>Team Russia</b>
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky Columbus Blue Jackets
Semyon Varlamov Colorado Avalanche
Alexander Eremenko
Defensemen
Anton Belov Edmonton Oilers
Alexei Emelin Montreal Canadiens
Andrei Markov Montreal Canadiens
Nikita Nikitin Columbus Blue Jackets
Fedor Tyutin Columbus Blue Jackets
Slava Voynov Los Angeles Kings
Yevgeny Medvedev
Ilya Nikulin
Forwards
Artem Anisimov Columbus Blue Jackets
Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings
Nikolai Kulemin Toronto Maple Leafs
Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins
Valeri Nichushkin Dallas Stars
Alex Ovechkin Washington Capitals
Vladimir Tarasenko St. Louis Blues
Ilya Kovalchuk former NHL player
Alexander Radulov former Nashville Predators player
Viktor Tikhonov former Phoenix Coyotes player
Denis Kokarev
Alexander Popov
Sergei Soin
Alexei Tereshchenko
<b>Team Sweden</b>
Goalies
Jhonas Enroth Buffalo Sabres
Jonas Gustavsson Detroit Red Wings
Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers
Defensemen
Alexander Edler Vancouver Canucks
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Phoenix Coyotes
Jonathan Ericsson Detroit Red Wings
Niklas Hjalmarsson Chicago Blackhawks
Erik Karlsson Ottawa Senators
Niklas Kronwall Detroit Red Wings
Johnny Oduya Chicago Blackhawks
Henrik Tallinder Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Daniel Alfredsson Detroit Red Wings
Nicklas Backstrom Washington Capitals
Patrick Berglund St. Louis Blues
Loui Eriksson Boston Bruins
Johan Franzen Detroit Red Wings
Carl Hagelin New York Rangers
Marcus Kruger Chicago Blackhawks
Gabriel Landeskog Colorado Avalanche
Daniel Sedin Vancouver Canucks
Henrik Sedin Vancouver Canucks
Jakob Silfverberg Anaheim Ducks
Alexander Steen St. Louis Blues
Henrik Zetterberg Detroit Red Wings
Jimmie Ericsson
<b>Team Switzerland</b>
Goalies
Reto Berra Calgary Flames
Jonas Hiller Anaheim Ducks
Tobias Stephan
Defensemen
Severin Blindenbacher
Rafael Diaz Montreal Canadiens
Philippe Furrer
Roman Josi Nashville Predators
Mathias Seger
Mark Streit Philadelphia Flyers
Julien Vauclair
Yannick Weber Vancouver Canucks
Forwards
Andres Ambühl
Matthias Bieber
Simon Bodenmann
Damien Brunner New Jersey Devils
Luca Cunti
Ryan Gardner
Denis Hollenstein
Simon Moser Milwaukee Admirals
Nino Niederreiter Minnesota Wild
Martin Plüss
Kevin Romy
Reto Suri
Morris Trachsler
Roman Wick
<b>Team Slovakia</b>
Goalies
Peter Budaj Montreal Canadiens
Jaroslav Halak St. Louis Blues
Jan Laco
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara Boston Bruins
Martin Marincin Edmonton Oilers
Andrej Meszaros Philadelphia Flyers
Andrej Sekera Carolina Hurricanes
Lubomir Visnovsky New York Islanders
Ivan Baranka
Dominik Granak
Michal Sersen
Forwards
Marian Gaborik Columbus Blue Jackets
Michal Handzus Chicago Blackhawks
Marian Hossa Chicago Blackhawks
Tomas Jurco Detroit Red Wings
Tomas Kopecky Florida Panthers
Richard Panik Tampa Bay Lightning
Tomas Tatar Detroit Red Wings
Milan Bartovic former NHL player
Marcel Hossa former NHL player
Tomas Marcinko
Michel Miklik
Peter Olvecky
Tomas Surovy
Tomas Zaborsky
<b>Team Czech Republic</b>
Goalies
Ondrej Pavelec Winnipeg Jets
Alexander Salak former NHL goalie
Jakub Kovar
Defensemen
Radko Gudas Tampa Bay Lightning
Zbynek Michalek Phoenix Coyotes
Michal Rozsival Chicago Blackhawks
Ladislav Smid Calgary Flames
Marek Zidlicky New Jersey Devils
Michal Barinka former Blackhawks player
Tomas Kaberle former NHL player
Lukas Krajicek former NHL player
Forwards
Patrik Elias New Jersey Devils
Michael Frolik Winnipeg Jets
Martin Hanzal Phoenix Coyotes
Ales Hemsky Edmonton Oilers
Jaromir Jagr New Jersey Devils
David Krejci Boston Bruins
Milan Michalek Ottawa Senators
Ondrej Palat Tampa Bay Lightning
Tomas Plekanec Montreal Canadiens
Vladimir Sobotka St. Louis Blues
Jakub Voracek Philadelphia Flyers
Roman Cervenka former Calgary player
Petr Nedved former NHL player
Jiri Novotny former NHL player
<b>Team Finland</b>
Goalies
Kari Lehtonen Dallas Stars
Antti Niemi San Jose Sharks
Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins
Defensemen
Olli Maatta Pittsburgh Penguins
Sami Salo Tampa Bay Lightning
Kimmo Timonen Philadelphia Flyers
Sami Vatanen Anaheim Ducks
Lasse Kukkonen Former NHL player
Sami Lepisto Former NHL player
Ossi Vaananen Former NHL player
Juuso Hietanen
Forwards
Aleksander Barkov Florida Panthers
Valtteri Filppula Tampa Bay Lightning
Mikael Granlund Minnesota Wild
Jussi Jokinen Pittsburgh Penguins
Olli Jokinen Winnipeg Jets
Mikko Koivu Minnesota Wild
Lauri Korpikoski Phoenix Coyotes
Tuomu Ruutu Carolina Hurricanes
Teemu Selanne Anaheim Ducks
Leo Komarov former Toronto Maple Leafs player
Petri Kontiola former Blackhawks player
Antti Pihlstrom former Nashville Predators player
Juhamatti Aaltonen
Jori Lehtera