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Grading the Olympic Canucks


Andrew Bucholtz

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The Olympic tournament has produced some exceptional hockey so far, and many Canucks have been prominently involved. It's worth taking a look at how they've played so far, as that may reflect what we can expect to see from them once the NHL schedule resumes. Without further ado, here's my grades of the Canucks' seven Olympic players:

<b>Ryan Kesler</b> (USA): <b>A</b>

Kesler's contributions haven't always been noticed, as he only has one goal (an empty-netter against Canada) and no assists for the U.S. so far. However, that's partly due to his role; he's been employed mostly as a checking centre, and he's done quite well with that. His most impressive showing has come in the faceoff circle, where he's won 38 of his 50 draws (76 per cent, the best mark in the tournament). Faceoffs are often underrated, but they can play a huge role in a team's success, especially on special teams where a draw can be the difference between a solid power-play scoring chance or a puck safely cleared by the penalty-killing team. I'd like to see Kesler contribute a little more offensively, but he's been playing his assigned role very well and has been a big part of the Americans' success so far.

<b>Pavol Demitra</b> (Slovakia): <b>A</b>

Somewhat surprisingly given his injury struggles this year, Demitra is the only Canuck to crack the top 30 in Olympic scoring leaders. He has one goal and three assists in four games for the Slovaks. He still doesn't seem to be in top form, especially defensively, but he's given a much better showing than I thought he would. We'll see if he's able to continue that down the stretch.

<b>Roberto Luongo</b> (Canada): <b>A</b>

Luongo started Canada's first game, shutting out the Norwegians, but then was replaced by <b>Martin Brodeur</b>. He got the call again for Canada after Brodeur's dismal outing against the Americans Sunday, and stopped 21 of 23 shots in a 8-2 victory over the Germans last night. He's second in save percentage in the tournament with a .947 mark, behind only the perfect-so-far Henrik Lundqvist. However, Luongo doesn't get an A+ because of the poor quality of competition he's faced so far and the two goals he allowed yesterday. In my mind, he remains the Canadians' best option in goal going forward, but we'll have to see how he does against the ever-dangerous Russians tonight.

<b>Daniel Sedin</b> (Sweden): <b>B+</b>

Daniel has a goal, two assists and a +3 rating in four games for the Swedes, which certainly isn't bad. However, given the way he's played for the Canucks this year, it definitely isn't as dominant as many might have expected. He's also only received 45:07 of ice time, well below most of the Swedish forwards, and he's been overshadowed offensively by the likes of Loui Eriksson and Nicklas Backstrom. I wouldn't count Daniel out yet, though; his brand of offence may come in handy against the Slovaks tonight.

<b>Henrik Sedin</b> (Sweden): <b>B</b>

As per usual for the Sedins, most of what's written about Daniel can also apply to Henrik. However, Henrik's been slightly more disappointing in this tournament, as he has only two assists in 48:53 of ice time. He and Daniel haven't been anywhere near as threatening as they normally are, and I'm not quite sure why. We'll see if they can work the kinks out as the Olympics progress.

<b>Sami Salo</b> (Finland): <b>B-</b>

Salo has been a consistent minutes-eater for Finland, receiving a team-high 71:21 of ice time in three games so far. That's reassuring given his usual fragility and recent injuries; it suggests that he's in good physical condition. He's been reasonably effective defensively as well, and is +1 on the tournament. However, I'd like to see him do more offensively; he has no goals and one assist so far. He is shooting the puck, as his seven shots place him fourth on the team, but he hasn't produced the results many would hope for yet. He's got a terrific shot, so I'd expect more from him on the offensive end in the games to come.

<b>Christian Ehrhoff</b> (Germany): <b>C-</b>

Germany was the most disappointing team of the tournament, in my mind. They had more NHL talent than most of the underdog teams, with seven current NHLers on their roster, but they just never seemed to click. Part of that blame can be placed at the feet of Ehrhoff, one of the Germans' top stars. He <a href="http://canuckpuck.com/2009/11/28/in-with-the-new-hoff/">had been playing tremendously well</a> with the Canucks and led all German skaters with 89:06 of ice time in their four games, but did next to nothing offensively, firing nine shots without recording a single point or coming particularly close to scoring. He was better defensively, and finished at -1 for the tournament (not bad when you consider that the Germans were outscored 12-3 in the round-robin portion and 8-2 in their playoff game last night), but more was expected. Hopefully, he'll be able to return to solid play at both ends after the break.

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I only watch about 5 mins of the Sweden and German game and Ehrhoff had about 4 or 5 chances, but yeah he was really quiet.

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