This year is different  than most for a couple of reasons – 1) There won’t be as many players as usual to pick from; 2) It will be a hastily assembled team; and 3)  Players better answer when called upon.

The Lightning could have a lot of representation on Team Canada, especially with Tampa GM Steve Yzerman a key decision maker with Hockey Canada Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

To explain a little further:

1)  Usually, the Canadian team can be selected from the teams that do not make the playoffs as well as some who get beat in the first round.  That will not be the case this year.  Due to the lockout, the playoffs will not begin until April 30th, with the World Championships set to begin on May 3.  The first round will not be over until the team is well into the Worlds.

2)  With the regular season ending on April 27th, there will not be much time to get the team together and off to Stockholm, where Canada will play their round robin games.  This means that there will not be much time for practice and some of the European teams will have an advantage because many of their players, with a few NHL exceptions, will already have the better part of a month of practice together heading into the tournament.

3) The leadership group for this team will be the same decision makers that will be picking the Canadian team for the Sochi Olympics next year.  If a player is on the bubble and turns down the invite this year, that decision will be remembered when it is time for team selection for Sochi. The decision makers include Steve Yzerman (Tampa), Kevin Lowe (Edmonton), Doug Armstrong (St. Louis) and Ken Holland (Detroit) as well as Bob Nicholson and Brad Pascall from Hockey Canada.

So, with a number of teams already essentially eliminated and a bunch more on life support, here are some early candidates to get the call to represent Canada:

FORWARDS

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Eric Staal – Jordan Staal -Jeff Skinner

Martin St. Louis – Vincent Lecavalier – Steven Stamkos

Teddy Purcell – Cody Hodgson – Michael Cammalleri

Alex Tanguay – Matt Duchene – Jonathan Huberdeau

Mike Fisher – Claude Giroux – Scott Hartnell

P.A. Parenteau – Sam Gagner – Curtis Glencross

DEFENSE

Shea Weber  – Ryan Ellis

Brian Campbell – Erik Gudbranson

Justin Schultz – Mark Giordano

Dennis Wideman – Eric Brewer

GOALTENDERS

Devan Dubnyk

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

This list doesn’t include players from teams like the Stars, Coyotes, Blue Jackets, Devils, Jets or any team currently occupying playoff spots.

Players that could be available include Jamie Benn, Mike Smith, David Clarkson, Evander Kane, Andrew Ladd, Shane Doan, Stephan Robidas and Trevor Daley among many others.

While the forwards are very deep, just like the Olympic team, the defense isn’t really stacked.  And unless Smith is available and agrees to play, goaltending could be questionable as well.

It would be good for team Canada chemistry if they could get all of the units that might be familiar with each other, if not always playing together on a line, like the Edmonton, Carolina and Tampa units.

Any way, as long as players answer the call, Canada should have a pretty solid team.  And for most there is no reason to not say yes, since they are coming off a shortened season and wouldn’t have the usual 2-3 week-long break in between the end of their season and the beginning of Canadian camp this year.

Apr 5, 2012; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Jason Spezza (19) skates with the puck on a breakaway in the third period against the Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Place. The Bruins defeated the Senators, 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Well, circumstances now dictate another similar post.  One year away from the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and the projections are starting to come out.  I did my own version last week.

I took a look at 9 lists, ranging from Sun Media, TSN, Globe and Mail, National Post.

In all those listings, there were 9 different individual sets of players, including my own.  Seven forwards appear on all 9 lists:  Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux, Corey Perry, Rick Nash and Eric Staal.

Others, such as Patrice Bergeron, Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, and Jordan Eberle were on more than half of the lists.

One name noticeably absent from every list (except for my own) – Jason Spezza.

How can a player of his stature, entering or in his prime, be left out of the conversation completely?  Have people really overlooked the importance he has on the Senators?  When last time he was out for an extended period of time, the result was the blowing up of the team because of their record in the month and a half that he missed.

And stats don’t mean everything but Speza:

• ranks 2nd among all active Canadian players in points per game (Crosby)
• is 4th in active Canadian players in assists per game (Crosby, Thornton, Getzlaf)
• was 3rd leading scorer among Canadian players last season (Stamkos, Giroux)
• Is a +80 player over his career, despite being known as a more offensive player
• Consistently over 50% in faceoffs the last 4 years

I am not saying he should be a lock for the team, as there are a lot of very talented forwards out of Canada that will contend for a roster spot.  But shouldn’t he at least be in the conversation?

Hopefully this injury doesn’t have the same effect on the Senators as his injury just after Christmas 2011 had, but it would also go a long way to proving to the hockey world that despite his reputation as a very good player, he deserves to be in the realm of the elite around the league.

Perhaps I am biased, and perhaps injury played a role in his being left off everyone’s list, but Crosby doesn’t exactly have a great track record of health lately.