3 Maple Leafs in Top 10 Scoring that aren't in the Olympics
Posted 4:49 AM ET | Comments 0
As of tonight, there are three Canadians in the top 10 in NHL scoring that will not be heading to Vancouver for the Olympics. Here's how your top 10 breaks down by Nationality:1 Russian, 2 Swedes, 6 Canadians, 1 Slovak. Of the 6 Canadians in the top 10, Brad Richards, Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis are not currently Olympians. To begin with, I find it interesting that these 3 players are currently in the top 10 as none of them were when Team Canada named their roster. Was being left off the team the motivation that drove them to the upper echelon of the NHL scoring race? If so, Tampa Bay should be thanking Steve Yzerman for the absent names of St. louis and Stamkos on Team Canada. Stamkos not being named is debatable to many. There's all sorts of stats out there about how he has lit it up on pace with the likes of Crosby and Ovechkin since the 2nd half of last season. I figure, if Crosby couldn't make it at that age in 2006, no one will. St. Louis being left off is a mistake in my opinion. He's led the league in Scoring not too too long ago and more importantly I think he brings a dynamic that Canada can and has used. A shifty playmaking winger with great speed. Think back to Paul Kariya when Lemieux let that pass go through his legs (One of the greatest plays in Canadian Olympic Hockey. What vision!) Canada has plenty of skilled players with size and grit. I think that St. Louis brings an element of pure speed and playmaking that shouldn’t have been overlooked.