Hey Stevie Y; Selection isn't that hard, is it?

Every four years the nation of Canada hangs in the balance of one person. A person who holds the greatest responsibility in a country. A person who will be hero or goat based on one result, gold or not gold. The lucky person this year is Steve Yzerman. He holds the cards and has to decide which ones to lay on the table. The ones he chooses will decide gold or no gold. Sure he has scouts and advisers to help, but if gold is won, he will be heralded as a genius, but if they get Silver or worse he will be the one answering all of the questions and facing all the blame. Not fair, but realistic. The now Hall of Famer will have legacy, no matter what, of one of the greatest players ever, but does not want the blemish of letting down an entire country. I thought since Stevie Y is so bogged down with big decisions, I would help him out.
The Canadian team for the 2010 Winter Olympics (according to me and not in a particular order).

Sidney Crosby - this is a given, no explanation necessary.
Joe Thornton - with his size and play down low on an NHL size ice surface he will be dominant, and he is the best play-maker in the league.
Patrick Marleau - was on the bubble, but has played himself on the team with his start this season, has great speed, great shot and grit.
Danny Heatly - finishes of the San Jose Line, pure sniper, is having a great season with the best passer feeding him the puck, no reason to split them up in Vancouver
Rick Nash - goes fairly unnoticed on Columbus, but is a force, a sniper, a big fast forward who also is a great penalty killer. Can play in all situations and flourishes on the big stage.
Jarome Iginla - some say he had a slow start to the season, but it doesn't matter, he can even be one of the captains. A leader, a goal scorer, speed, and gritty.
Cory Perry - being on NHL ice size can play more of a factor than in other Olympics. He brings size, skill and a power forward style, with touch and finesse with the puck.
Ryan Getslaf - he and Perry compliment each other and have great chemistry, probably one if the top five players in the league, has had a slow start, but he will be just fine.
Ryan Smyth - having a resurrection in LA (not that he really went away), Team Canada staple and a must have to compliment all the pure skill with his big game intangibles.
Mike Richards - a tough center who is one of the top 2-way players in the league. Will balance out a high skill offensive team with defensive responsibility and some offense as well, a great penalty killer to top it off.
Vincent Lecavalier - not having the best season so far, but he is an asset and adds real offensive and defensive depth and can fit on any line in any role. His all around game is to valuable to leave out.
Shane Doan - much like Smyth he has big game abilities and has a lot of experience on Team Canada. Brings grit and natural goal scoring and leadership. Is not a liability in any situation.
Jonathan Toews - he is a tough one, and leaves a guy like Spezza out, but he has serious big game intangibles, and adds speed, skill, and is a passing of the guard so to speak. He may be the healthy scratch until a spot opens.

Mike Green - Like having a 4th forward on the ice, but also good defensively, a big mobile D-man and a power play specialist.
Chris Pronger - Big, defensive stopper, with some offensive ability. Scares and hurts other players with physical sometime dirty play. You want him on your team, not to play against him.
Dan Boyle - Big shot, offensive defense man, powerplay specialist
Jay Bouwmeester - Big, mobile, puck moving defenceman, can skate with anyone and defend anyone
Scott Niedermeyer - Will be the Captain of team Canada with tons of experience and great all around skill
Brent Seabrook - a shut down defense man, young and steady, will be a 6th or 7th D-man.
Drew Doughty - A young high skilled D-man, another player deserved of having the torch passed down. Another 6th or 7th D-man.

Martin Brodeur - Until he proves otherwise, Marty is the goalie for the job. He is the greatest goalie in history and he won't be one of the 2 starters only if he chooses that, which of course he won't.
Roberto Luongo - He is the A in 1 and 1A with Marty. They will share duty throughout the tournament and the hottest goalie will be playing when it counts most.
Marc-Andre Fleury - He is number 3 and a great number 3 at that. Should one goalie go down, Canada won't miss a beat with Fleury. With Cam Ward playing himself out and now getting hurt, the job is Fleury's

Line 1 - Nash - Crosby - Iginla
Line 2 - Heatly - Thornton - Marleau
Line 3 - Perry - Getslaf - Lecavalier
Line 4 - Smyth - Richards - Doan
Toews

D 1 - Pronger - Green
D 2 - Bouwmeester - Boyle
D 3 - Keith - Niedermeyer
Doughty

In many cases it seems that players like Draper and Maltby (in the past) would get consideration because of their great penalty killing or other specialized skills. I don't agree with that, I think you put your best on the ice and put them in situations to excel. There are great penalty killers that offer a lot more as well, and are not one dimensional like a Draper for example. I know I did not go out on a limb with any of these players, but the thought put into it factored PK, grit, size, speed, shutdown players, experience, etc were all factored in.

There will be a lot of debate and to be honest Canada can put a second team in and probably win 2 medals, so there are a lot of players left out that deserve to be there.

Big Z