After much pondering here is my Team Canada roster:
C- Lemieux, Sakic, Thornton, Lecavalier, Lindros (5th center)
LW- Kariya, Smyth, Bertuzzi, Shanahan
RW- Iginla, Heatley, St.Louis, Carter
D- MacInnis, Blake, Morris, Jovanovski, Redden, Niedermayer, Pronger
G- Brodeur, Giguere, Luongo
First I just want to say that this is very tentative seeing as we have plenty of hockey to play. There are a few players on this list who are almosted guarenteed of making the team like Thornton, Kariya, Iginla, MacInnis, Niedermayer, Sakic and Lemieux (if he decides to play)
I think there are players like Carter, Jovanovski, St.Louis, and Lindros are going to be watched very closely.
Center: I know what you're thinking. Why Lindros and where is Yzerman? I actually surprised myself by including Lindros. I know his numbers were bad last year but I still feel he has an incredible amount of potential. I just feel that he fits in great as a 5th line center. He is a big forward who Team Canada can use in front of the net on power plays, and he can step in and play the wing if required. He also has quite a bit of experience playing international hockey, even though he did not live up to expectations. As for Yzerman, I'm just afraid that father time has caught up with him. With the exception of Lindros would you replace any of my other centers with Yzerman? Both Lindros and Yzerman are going to have to have good years to make the squad. There are also a few others good centers out there with a shot.
Left Wing: Pretty straight forward. I think Kariya, Bertuzzi and Smyth are a lock. If this was being played on the Olympic ice surface I would be a little more unsure of Shanahan but his physical presence will be needed on the NA ice surface. His inclusion might depend on the type of year he is having.
Right Wing: Picking the wingers was a little more difficult. Everyone agrees Iginla is a lock and probably Heatly as well. St.Louis impressed a lot of people last season. He is very very fast and an excellent playmaker. This makes up for his lack of size. However, it will all depend on how well he plays this season. To see whether or not he is for real. I went with Carter because I was really impressed by his performance at last years World Championships. Like St.Louis, much will depend on how well he plays. There are a number of good right wingers out there who can replace them.
Defence- I feel that Canada's defence could be the best in the tournament. I only have two players who I am concerned about. Morris has excellent potential but we will have to see how well he plays this season. With regards to Pronger, I am concerned about how he will come back from his injury. Canada does have more capable defencemen but Pronger is a very tough guy to replace.
Goalies- Canada has a great problem that many teams wish they could have. I really believe that if my three choices for goaltending (Brodeur, Luongo, and Giguere) all were injured that Canada's goaltending would still be strong. They could be replaced with Belfour, Theodore, and Turco for example. I feel strong about Brodeur being on the team just because of his experience and success. Luongo won a gold medal at the World Championships last year for Canada. I also think he is going to be the 'next big thing'. I picked Giguere based on his perfromance in the playoffs last year. It is hard to overlook playoff MVP honors. I do wonder if the change in the size of the goaltenders equipment will effect his play any. I also feel that Marty Turco would be more than capable of jumping in to replace any of these guys. An excellent case can be made for him to be on the team.
Unfortunately 18 players have to be named to the roster by March. My guess is that the respective countries will probably name 5 D-men, 11 forwards, and 2 goalies. Doesn't leave a lot of room to see who gets hot in the playoffs. There will be a lot of pressure on the GM's to make the right decisions.