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...Wednesday's four medals--all by women--were promptly buried in the avalanche of gloom accompanying the loss that night by Canada's defending Olympic champion men's hockey team. Some $90 million of NHL talent was bounced from the Games by Russia, a turn of events team boss Wayne Gretzky called "absolutely devastating...
...Canada's gold-medal female hockey players don't dream of NHL careers. Its cross-country skiers have few chances to parlay their athletic prowess into pro-sports careers. "They're not going to get that, and they know it. It isn't about the money," says Lofstrom. "They're in sport because it's their passion and, corny as it sounds, for the love of sport." Lofstrom expects the female fortitude to continue in 2010. "The depth of the women's field is great. To have experience at these Games going into the next Games on home soil...
...reminded many of the players of their junior hockey heritage--Canada couldn't convert eight power play opportunities. Three of five power play goals in the tournament were scored in the opener against Italy. "They have good coaching, but the offensive power, maybe they left it at home," said NHL veteran defenseman Darius Kasparaitis...
...Depleted by key pre-Olympic injuries, the defensive corps lacked the mobility to fully counter the waves of speedy Russian and Finnish forwards giddily exploiting rinks four meters wider than the NHL's. Highly regarded Calgary rookie Dion Phaneuf was one of the faster defensemen left off Canada's roster. "I suppose we'll get second-guessed on the roster but these young men played their hearts out," Quinn said...
...front, Gretzky and Quinn favored veterans over high-scoring youth such as Crosby and Eric Staal. Prototype NHL power forward Todd Bertuzzi, who'd hoped to redeem himself at this tournament for breaking the neck of Colorado forward Steve Moore in 2004, hardly seemed a factor. Moore filed a multi-million dollar civil suit against Bertuzzi at the onset of the tournament. And Quinn lacked faith in the younger players he did carry, notably remarking how Columbus forward Rick Nash seemed "in awe" of the situation. "Nobody could make me feel worse than I feel right now," Quinn said, referring...