World Championships
From tsn.ca.
And for anybody who cares.
Team Canada roster taking shape
Canadian Press
4/7/2003
Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Sean Burke will represent Canada for a record-tying fifth time at the world hockey championships later this month in Finland.
The first 10 players were named to the Canadian team by general manager Steve Tambellini on Monday.
Burke, 36, will join Kirk Muller, James Patrick and Rob Blake among Canadian players having five world championships under their belt.
This year's tournament is scheduled for April 26 to May 11 in Helsinki, Turku and Tampere.
Canada promises to be strong in goal with Burke and Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers among the first players named to Canada's roster Monday.
``I feel our goaltending is probably as strong as it's ever been with Sean Burke and Roberto Luongo,'' Tambellini said Monday from Vancouver. ``I don't think we could ask for much more than that.
``They both expressed early on that they wanted to play at the world championships and we're thrilled to have them.''
Up front, rising star Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers was joined by Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks, Daniel Briere of the Buffalo Sabres, Kyle Calder of the Chicago Blackhawks, Shane Doan and Chris Gratton of the Coyotes and Anson Carter of the New York Rangers.
The lone defenceman to have accepted an invitation so far is Florida Panthers rookie Jay Bouwmeester.
That three Phoenix players accepted invitations should come as no surprise since Wayne Gretzky is the managing partner of the Coyotes and a strong believer in the Canadian Hockey Association and the world championship.
The same goes for Coyotes executive Cliff Fletcher, the GM of Canada's team at the 2000 world tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Gretzky wants to return as Olympic boss for the Winter Games in 2006 and look for him to push some of Canada's younger NHL stars to play in the world championship in the next few years.
Not among those named Monday was Calgary Flames winger Jarome Iginla, who is said to be nursing a stomach muscle injury.
Burke, meanwhile, last played at the world championship in 1997, when Canada last won the gold medal. He was the backup to Curtis Joseph. Burke also played in 1987, '89 and '91.
Burke followed up a career NHL season in 2001-02 with an injury-plagued year this season, going 12-6-2 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in only 22 games.
Luongo, who turned 24 last Friday, played for Canada at the 2001 world championships in Hannover, Germany, but was forced out of the lineup just before the medal round with a broken index finger. He was also named top goalie at the 1999 world junior championship in Winnipeg, where Canada lost to Russia in overtime in the gold medal game. He went 20-34-7 with a 2.71 GAA and .918 save percentage with the struggling Panthers this season.
Heatley, 22, played for Canada last year in Goteborg. Coming off his sensational rookie season (67 points) which won him the Calder Trophy, Heatley put up 89 points (41-48) in 77 games this year and was named the all-star game MVP after scoring four goals. He will be one of Canada's go-to guys in Finland.
Carter, 28, had 26 goals and 34 assists in 79 games with the Edmonton Oilers and Rangers this season.
Marleau, 23, will play in his third world championship after representing Canada in 1999 in Norway and 2001 in Germany.
Marleau had career highs of 28 goals and 57 points this season.
Doan, 26, was second on the Coyotes in points with 58 (21-37) in 82 games. The right-winger also played for Canada at the 1999 world championship. The power forward would look good on a line with Heatley and Marleau.
Briere, 25, continued to show he can put up offensive numbers in the NHL, scoring 24 goals and adding 34 assists in 82 games this season. His speed and playmaking abilities will be even more evident on the larger international ice. Ironically, Gratton and Briere were traded for each other March 10.
Gratton, 27, won gold with Canada in '97 and also played in '98. He had 45 points (15-30) in 80 games this season, although only one assist in 14 games with Phoenix.
Calder, 24, had 42 points (15-27) in 82 games this season, down from 53 last year. He played for Canada last May in Goteborg.
Bouwmeester, 19, is no stranger to international hockey, having played in three world junior championships. The six-foot-four, 210-pound blue-liner had his ups and downs in his rookie NHL season, collecting four goals and 12 assists and posting a minus-29 in 82 games.
The world championships will be great experience for the slick-skating Bouwmeester, who will probably end up being Canada's seventh blue-liner by the time Tambellini has done filling out his 23-man roster.
Tambellini was working the phones again Monday, along with his assistants Don Maloney of the New York Rangers and Jim Nill of the Detroit Red Wings and head coach Andy Murray of the Los Angeles Kings. There is still plenty of time to add players. Canada's first game isn't until April 26 against Latvia, four days after the last possible game in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
So Canada will have eight more NHL teams to pick through.
Canada hasn't won a medal at the world championships since the gold in '97 - when Murray was behind the bench. Canada has lost the quarter-finals the last two years with rosters lacking true NHL star power.
From tsn.ca.
And for anybody who cares.
Team Canada roster taking shape
Canadian Press
4/7/2003
Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Sean Burke will represent Canada for a record-tying fifth time at the world hockey championships later this month in Finland.
The first 10 players were named to the Canadian team by general manager Steve Tambellini on Monday.
Burke, 36, will join Kirk Muller, James Patrick and Rob Blake among Canadian players having five world championships under their belt.
This year's tournament is scheduled for April 26 to May 11 in Helsinki, Turku and Tampere.
Canada promises to be strong in goal with Burke and Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers among the first players named to Canada's roster Monday.
``I feel our goaltending is probably as strong as it's ever been with Sean Burke and Roberto Luongo,'' Tambellini said Monday from Vancouver. ``I don't think we could ask for much more than that.
``They both expressed early on that they wanted to play at the world championships and we're thrilled to have them.''
Up front, rising star Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers was joined by Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks, Daniel Briere of the Buffalo Sabres, Kyle Calder of the Chicago Blackhawks, Shane Doan and Chris Gratton of the Coyotes and Anson Carter of the New York Rangers.
The lone defenceman to have accepted an invitation so far is Florida Panthers rookie Jay Bouwmeester.
That three Phoenix players accepted invitations should come as no surprise since Wayne Gretzky is the managing partner of the Coyotes and a strong believer in the Canadian Hockey Association and the world championship.
The same goes for Coyotes executive Cliff Fletcher, the GM of Canada's team at the 2000 world tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Gretzky wants to return as Olympic boss for the Winter Games in 2006 and look for him to push some of Canada's younger NHL stars to play in the world championship in the next few years.
Not among those named Monday was Calgary Flames winger Jarome Iginla, who is said to be nursing a stomach muscle injury.
Burke, meanwhile, last played at the world championship in 1997, when Canada last won the gold medal. He was the backup to Curtis Joseph. Burke also played in 1987, '89 and '91.
Burke followed up a career NHL season in 2001-02 with an injury-plagued year this season, going 12-6-2 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in only 22 games.
Luongo, who turned 24 last Friday, played for Canada at the 2001 world championships in Hannover, Germany, but was forced out of the lineup just before the medal round with a broken index finger. He was also named top goalie at the 1999 world junior championship in Winnipeg, where Canada lost to Russia in overtime in the gold medal game. He went 20-34-7 with a 2.71 GAA and .918 save percentage with the struggling Panthers this season.
Heatley, 22, played for Canada last year in Goteborg. Coming off his sensational rookie season (67 points) which won him the Calder Trophy, Heatley put up 89 points (41-48) in 77 games this year and was named the all-star game MVP after scoring four goals. He will be one of Canada's go-to guys in Finland.
Carter, 28, had 26 goals and 34 assists in 79 games with the Edmonton Oilers and Rangers this season.
Marleau, 23, will play in his third world championship after representing Canada in 1999 in Norway and 2001 in Germany.
Marleau had career highs of 28 goals and 57 points this season.
Doan, 26, was second on the Coyotes in points with 58 (21-37) in 82 games. The right-winger also played for Canada at the 1999 world championship. The power forward would look good on a line with Heatley and Marleau.
Briere, 25, continued to show he can put up offensive numbers in the NHL, scoring 24 goals and adding 34 assists in 82 games this season. His speed and playmaking abilities will be even more evident on the larger international ice. Ironically, Gratton and Briere were traded for each other March 10.
Gratton, 27, won gold with Canada in '97 and also played in '98. He had 45 points (15-30) in 80 games this season, although only one assist in 14 games with Phoenix.
Calder, 24, had 42 points (15-27) in 82 games this season, down from 53 last year. He played for Canada last May in Goteborg.
Bouwmeester, 19, is no stranger to international hockey, having played in three world junior championships. The six-foot-four, 210-pound blue-liner had his ups and downs in his rookie NHL season, collecting four goals and 12 assists and posting a minus-29 in 82 games.
The world championships will be great experience for the slick-skating Bouwmeester, who will probably end up being Canada's seventh blue-liner by the time Tambellini has done filling out his 23-man roster.
Tambellini was working the phones again Monday, along with his assistants Don Maloney of the New York Rangers and Jim Nill of the Detroit Red Wings and head coach Andy Murray of the Los Angeles Kings. There is still plenty of time to add players. Canada's first game isn't until April 26 against Latvia, four days after the last possible game in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
So Canada will have eight more NHL teams to pick through.
Canada hasn't won a medal at the world championships since the gold in '97 - when Murray was behind the bench. Canada has lost the quarter-finals the last two years with rosters lacking true NHL star power.