Sports Column: Olympic Buzz Surrounding Team Canada's Roster

(andPOP) - The Winter Games do not officially begin until February 2006, but Olympic fever in this country is alive and buzzing.

The deadline for Olympic hockey rosters is less than 20 days away. December 22nd is the day Wayne Gretzky and Co. will have to submit the 23 names of the players who will attempting to regain Canada?s Olympic gold medal won in the 2002 Salt Lake City games.

Paring the long list of 81 players down to only 23 will be a difficult task since there are many young, talented players making a strong case for their inclusion on the Olympic roster.

During the first quarter of the NHL season, youngsters Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, Dion Phaneuf and Sidney Crosby have all dominated the standings and the headlines.

Uncertainties surrounding players like Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and Rick Nash could open up spots for some of the young forwards as Phaneuf could find himself in a battle for the seventh [and last] position on the back end against the top-scoring defenseman in the League, Toronto Maple Leaf Bryan McCabe.

Prior to the start of this NHL season, it seemed that the only positions solidified were those of the three goaltenders; Martin Brodeur as the starter with Jos? Th?odore and Roberto Luongo serving as his back-ups. But thus far, the best Canadian-born goalie in the NHL is Curtis Joseph with a winning record of 11-7-0 along with two shutouts and a 2.12 Goals Against Average.

All of these scenarios put executive director Gretzky and his staff in a complex situation; do they opt for a younger, faster team to match the speed and skills of the European countries or do they continue on with a roster of familiar veteran faces? Do they take another chance on Joseph in net after his 2002 outing vs. Sweden? And most importantly, does NHL play really weigh in heavily on who is selected for the final team?

As a fun exercise, get together with your hockey buddies and brainstorm your own Team Canada roster, then on the 22nd of this month when the official 23-man list is released, you can see how you faired, and maybe you?ll discover you have a future as a general manager for a hockey club. Feel free to post your lists right here on andPOP?s comments section.

2006 Team Canada Men?s Olympic roster Frontrunners

GOALIES: Martin Brodure, Curtis Joseph & Jos? Th?odore, Roberto Luongo & Ed Belfour **Only 3 will be selected**

DEFENCE : Ed Jovonovski, Wade Redden, Chris Pronger, Scott Neidermayer, Bryan McCabe, Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Jay Bouwmeester, Robyn Regehr, Scott Hannan & Dion Phaneuf **Only 7 will be selected**

FORWARDS: Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla, Simon Gagn?, Dany Heatley, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards, Shane Doan, Ryan Smyth, Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, Paul Kariya, Steve Yzerman, Michael Peca, Rick Nash & Sidney Crosby. **Only 13 will be selected**