Top Line: The challenges of Team Canada's roster, more links
Taylor Hall stands a good chance to make Team Canada, but he is far from a guarantee to be included. (Rick Scuteri/AP)
By Allan Muir
An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:
• Eric Duhatschek has a terrific interview with Ken Hitchcock, who shares what he's learned about the challenges of Olympic hockey over the course of three stints behind the Team Canada bench. Some fascinating stuff here.
• When Globe & Mail staffers got together to assemble the perfect Canadian squad, the exercise only highlighted how tough it will be for team management to finalize their roster.
• Team Canada officials are keeping their lips zipped about their selection process, but they have revealed when they'll reveal their roster.
• Here's one guy who is making it really easy on Steve Yzerman. There's no way Team Canada can take every deserving player, but at this point it's hard to imagine him being left out on Tuesday.
• Martin Brodeur knows who he would start in goal if he was in charge of Team Canada.
• Chris Stevenson lists the Olympics, the trade deadline and the battle for first overall between Anaheim and Chicago as three of his top-10 second-half storylines.
• Team Canada may not want Chris Kunitz, but where would the Pittsburgh Penguins be without him?
• Ken Campbell says no apologies were needed in the wake of the Team USA/Bobby Ryan imbroglio. Not sure I agree with him here, but it's an interesting take.
• How about this Goal of the Year candidate from Boyd Gordon of the Oilers?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6vbN1yxytU
• As awesome as that was, it wasn't even the most memorable moment in the game. With six minutes left in the third and down three goals, the Oilers found themselves with a two-man advantage. Coach Dallas Eakins pulled Ilya Bryzgalov for a sixth attacker, but they failed to score. When the Ducks killed the first penalty, Bryzgalov had to change on the fly to get back into his net. When have you ever seen that?
• Dallas rookie Valeri Nichushkin talks about differences between the KHL and NHL, the comfort of Russian skates and his Olympic dreams in this wide-ranging interview with The Voice of Russia.
• The Maple Leafs are looking to emulate the Bruins and Oilers by erecting a statue out front of the ACC. The question is, barring an obvious standout like Bobby Orr or Wayne Gretzky, which of their legends to honor?
• The Jets have committed to building a winner through the draft, but that might not be the best plan for this team. They'll get a close-up look at another method this afternoon.
• Shane Doan talks about his bout with Rocky Mountain Fever and his return to the lineup in Phoenix tonight.
• Ryan Kennedy has the story of how an undiagnosed case of asthma led to the Maple Leafs getting the steal of the 2013 draft.
• The winter storm battering the East Coast dashed plans for a couple of rehab starts in the AHL this weekend, but Jonathan Quick is still on target for a return to the Kings' roster this week.
• This player is still considered the one that got away in Calgary. He might have helped the Flames avoid being shut out last night for the third time in four games.
• With the 2014 World Juniors winding down, talk is ramping up for future events. The United States is set to host the 2018 tournament, and one unexpected market is ready to throw its hat in the ring.
• Europeans are baffled by how deeply Canadians love the World Juniors.