Canadiens As Non-Canadians Olympic Hockey History

While Canada has been shunning what the Montreal Canadiens players have to offer, that certainly doesn't mean the Habs haven't been at the Olympics. In fact by the end of this tournament, 10 Canadiens will have participated in the last three Olympics.

As a complement to the look at the Habs on Team Canada, it's only fair to balance that with the Habs that have represented other countries at the Games. In all there would have been 48, but with Andrei Kostitsyn's scratch the total is 47 Olympic alums for the Habs family.

USA: 13

Current Habs: None
Habs Prospects: Chris Chelios (1984), Jim Campbell (1992)
One-time Habs: Chris Chelios (1998, 2002, 2006), Matt Schneider (1998, 2006), John Leclair (1998, 2002), Craig Conroy (2006)
Future Habs: Alphonse Lacroix (1924), Bill Baker (1980), Larry Pleau (1968), Eric Weinrich (1988), Scott Lachance (1992), Barry Richter (1994), Scott Gomez & Brian Gionta (2006)


Russia: 8

Current Habs: Alexei Kovalev (2006), Andrei Markov (2006, 2010)
Habs Prospects: Konstantin Korneev (2010)
One-time Habs: Valeri Bure (1998, 2002), Andrei Kovalenko (1998), Vladimir Malakhov (2002), Alexei Kovalev (2010)
Future Habs: Alexei Kovalev, Andrei Kovalenko & Vladimir Malakhov (1992), Sergei Samsonov (2002)


Czech Republic: 8

Current Habs: Martin Rucinsky (1998, 2002), Jan Bulis (2006), Tomas Plekanec (2010)
Habs Prospects: None
One-time Habs: Petr Svoboda (1998), Tomas Vokoun (2006, 2010)
Future Habs: Robert Lang (1992, 1998, 2002, 2006), Jaroslav Spacek (1998, 2002, 2006), Roman Hamrlik (1998, 2002)


Sweden: 6

Current Habs: None
Habs Prospects: Mats Naslund (1980), Thomas Rundqvist (1984), Patrik Carnback & Patric Kjellberg (1992)
One-time Habs: Mats Naslund (1992, 1994), Patric Kjellberg (1994, 1998)
Future Habs: Thomas Rundqvist (1988), Andreas Dackell (1994), Niklas Sundstrom (1998, 2002)


Finland: 3

Current Habs: Saku Koivu (1998, 2006)
Habs Prospects: Jyrki Lumme (1988), Saku Koivu (1994)
One-time Habs: Jyrki Lumme (1998, 2002), Saku Koivu (2010)
Future Habs: Janne Niinimaa (1998, 2002)


Slovakia: 3

Current Habs: Richard Zednik (2006), Jaroslav Halak (2010)
Habs Prospects: None
One-time Habs: Marcel Hossa (2006, 2010), Richard Zednik (2010)
Future Habs: None


Switzerland: 3

Current Habs: Mark Streit (2006)
Habs Prospects: Yannick Weber (2010)
One-time Habs: Mark Streit (2010)
Future Habs: David Aebischer (2002, 2006)


Belarus: 2/3

Current Habs: Sergei Kostitsyn (2010), (Andrei Kostitsyn (2010 – injured))
Habs Prospects: None
One-time Habs: Mikhail Grabovski (2010)
Future Habs: None


France: 1

Current Habs: None
Habs Prospects: None
One-time Habs: None
Future Habs: Cristobal Huet (1998, 2002)



Not only have the players been, but they've conquered too. 34 medals in all with 12 Gold. If you want to get picky, only one Gold wa won by a current Canadiens player (Rucinsky) and one by a prospect (Miracle on Ice, Bill Baker), but that goes with two silvers for Habs players and prospects and four bronze. Not such a poor tally.


Olympic Medals by Canadiens on other teams

Gold: 12
Bill Baker (USA, 1980)
Alexei Kovalev, Andrei Kovalenko & Vladimir Malakhov (CIS, 1992)
Mats Naslund, Andreas Dackell & Patric Kjellberg (SWE, 1994)
Martin Rucinsky, Petr Svoboda, Roman Hamrlik, Jaroslav Spacek & Robert Lang (CZE, 1998)

Silver: 7
Alphonse Lacroix (USA, 1924)
Jyrki Lumme (FIN, 1988)
Valeri Bure, Andrei Kovalenko (RUS, 1998)
Chris Chelios, John Leclair (USA, 2002)
Saku Koivu (FIN, 2006)

Bronze: 15
Thomas Rundqvist (SWE, 1984)
Thomas Rundqvist (SWE, 1988)
Robert Lang (CZE, 1992)
Saku Koivu (FIN, 1994)
Saku Koivu, Jyrki Lumme & Janne Niinimaa (FIN, 1998)
Alexei Kovalev, Vladimir Malakhov, Valeri Bure & Sergei Samsonov (2002)
Jan Bulis, Jaroslav Spacek, Robert Lang & Tomas Voloun (CZE, 2006)

Who Are You Supporting?

The assumption is often made that supporter of a Canadian NHL team equates to supporter of Canadian National Team.

But the Canadiens are supported around the world, and it's entirely possible that Habs fans in Switzerland don't like Joe Thornton either.

Before the games tonight, I want to know who all of you are supporting. If Canada's your first, then who's your second?

Let's hope the tournament starts with a bang and this really is the best hockey the marketers have been insisting it will be.

Kostitsyn vs. Gainey Habs Won't Win The Way They've Been Going

Just a day or two ago, wasn't it, that we were full of Sergei's obvious change in attitude as he scored a couple of goals and made AHL defenders look like, well, AHL defenders.

It seems that Sergei was also full of the same bravado that day as (after reading our praise, probably) he took off to whereabouts unknown. The assumption from the Habs and agent was Russia, the reality is that they probably didn't look very hard. So from suspended to reformed hero to suspended to AHL commuter again – quite a drama down on the farm.

As the facts emerge, we may get to know more on the specifics, but know this – this is a standoff between Gainey and Sergei Kostitsyn. It is a wrangle over talent assessment, fairness, expectation, discipline and who's in charge. It didn't begin yesterday, it began a long time ago.


It goes back to 4th line duty, full-period benchings and of course that scandal and demotion that last saw Sergei in the AHL last February.

Sergei's beef, which several people (surprisingly Michel Bergeron among them) see eye to eye with is that the player has been wrongly overlooked. Anyone with a modicum of hockey watching experience can see he brings much more to the table than Greg Stewart, Matt D'Agostini, Kyle Chipchura or Georges Laraque, and probably more than Pacioretty, Latendresse and Maxim Lapierre. To put it succinctly, Sergei believes as do some others that he is the 6th most talented forward in the whole organization. he believes Gainey is cutting off his nose to spite his face.

On the other side, Gainey has a point. Sergei could be more mature, he could be more concentrated and more prompt. In Gainey's version, he must not only be setting an example to others with demands, but also thinking that Sergei could learn something from dominating the lower league and riding some buses again. He must think that this injection of fury could turn to desire and ultimately performance.


But really, setting an example? Who for?

If we read it as a lesson to other players, it's clear enough: Work hard, do what we ask of you and you will play and play well. It's a nice message. Now, I'm all for setting examples of people. but there comes a certain point when you have to ask, just who is Gainey trying to set an example for with Sergei Kostitsyn?

The next players in the depth chart talent-wise aren't learning anything, because they're all on the Habs despite their poor play and poor attention to detail in their work. While the players after Sergei in Hamilton are Ben Maxwell, Ryan White and Brock Trotter. If any one of them sees the NHL light of day in the next 5 years for any reason other than injuries, it would be a surprise.

My take here is that sometimes, at risk of upsetting the lesser lights, sometimes a GM just has to provide a little more care, a little more attention to the talent that matters. Since finding another 131-point OHLer in the 7th round will be hard and teaching those skills to the schleps that are on the farm already is a pipe dream, Gainey's imperative with Sergei needs to be to hold on to what he has, at least he can return his value in a trade.

I tend to agree with Michel Bergeron (twice in a day, I need a long bath...) who says:

Je crois qu’on est un peu trop puritains à Montréal. Les bons petits gars qui restent assis à manger des biscuits secs et à boire leur verre de lait, ce n’est pas toujours ceux qui te font gagner!

I think they're a bit too puritanical in Montreal. Good little boys who go to bed with milk and cookies – it's not always the best way to build a winner.

He's right you know. Imagine, Chelios had been fined instead of traded. Ditto Corson first time around. If Patrick Kane were a Hab, he'd have been traded by now for fear of tarnishing the tradition of the past – a tradition so sacred that it may take 100 years of losing (seemingly) and a new tradition of total mediocrity to overturn.

If anything is clear from this debacle it is that Sergei is not responding to tough love – at least not without tender explanation on the side. He's a prima donna with some primo talents. If Gainey and co. continue to hard ball him, it appears that everyone will lose, most importantly the Habs.

I think it's high time they take stock of this situation and begin to channel a lot more effort into keeping their most talented prospects happy and wanted. If not, well mediocrity for years.


"We should stop drafting Russians..."

Of course, this whole series of events gives wonderful fodder to those who camped themselves under the anti-Kostitsyn flag. It's a popular place to be these days, and it will be interesting to see whether those there now will pretend this never happened just like when they kissed Kovalev's feet in 2007-08. Anyway, arguments on trading them, whether they should play and where are all bordering on fair. But I've seen quite a few nonsensical bits around starting to pop up about how the Habs are wasting their picks when they choose Russians (or former Soviet citizens at least).

I have to be frank, anyone who says we wasted a pick on Sergei Kostitsyn is more than mildly delusional. Sergei was picked 200th overall in the 7th round of the 2005 draft. Usually, one would be lucky to remember the name of a player like that. To have mined 108 NHL games out of that player in 4 seasons since the draft is remarkable.

Not only does this show me that the picks have not been wasted, it shows me that we need to keep drafting Russians (and Belarussians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Latvians, etc.). They simply offer more value for the pick.

People often wonder aloud how Detroit has managed to maintain their excellence over the past decade and they need not look any further than this same mentality they take into the draft. Whereas the Wings have been as dismal as the worst NHL clubs in picking up North American talent from well-scouted leagues, they have made a living out of taking chances where they know their chances will pay off. Fedorov, Konstantinov and Lidstrom made the first wave of the Wings dynasty tick. All looked like high risk picks to those that have neither the patience nor the whereabouts to develop a European talent into an NHL star. The fact that they have repeated the trick with Zetterberg, Franzen and Datsyuk only further proves the point.

Now that the Swedish scouting game has been blown wide open (see draft, 2009), Russia really represents the richest vein of talent at its most untapped. What's more, as more and more teams shy away from the hassle that a few long distance phone calls and maybe some disappointments after a long tease (instead of a retirement straight out of high school) good Russian talent is slipping further down the rounds. Witness the Canadiens taking the third Russian player in the draft this season at 109th overall. Now, even if he doesn't actually turn out to be the next Ovechkin, you could never convince me he won't be better than Nick Oliver taken 110th overall.


Best case scenarios

For the Habs there really are only two scenarios that work from here on with Sergei:

1) Gainey gets him to calm down long enough (months) to start excelling in the AHL, calls him up and then trades him for similar value

2) Gainey gets him to calm down long enough (days/weeks) to start playing in the AHL so the GM can save face, calls him up and he replaces the blank-firing youngsters we currently carry night-in, night-out on the roster with panache and attitude of his best vintage


I thoroughly hope that it ends up being one of these. As I indicate, both routes require a bit of work for Gainey, which we know is asking a lot in his holiday months of August to June...

Streit Ahead: Of Scouting and Gambles

Mark Streit is definitely the surprise of the season for me on the Canadiens. I'm not the only person to have noticed. The league is noticing too.

Andrei Kostitsyn becoming a highlight reel stalwart and 20-goal man in February, I might have imagined. Carey Price as a starter, it may be soon, but we all knew right from training camp that it was coming. Patrice Brisebois hanging on - nothing about him and the Habs could surprise me anymore after the re-signing.

If you would have told me Mark Streit's 2006-2007 was not a flash in the pan, I would have laughed. If you would have told me that he would have the same number of goals and points as Koivu in March, I would have asked if we'd ever have thought Koivu would be on pace for 25 points.


12 goals, 37 assists. In sync with Markov and Kovalev on the PP. Plays any position but goalie. Wow!

We are lucky to have him and we were lucky to ever get him. Streit's career prior to 2005 said anything but NHL PP quarterback and second-line winger.

Take the fact that Mark comes from Switzerland. Oh sure, we're happy to call the Swiss a hockey nation now (after they beat Canada and the Czechs at the last Olympic tournament), but when Streit was coming through the ranks a Swiss hockey prospect was akin to a Canadian ski jumping prospect.

Consider also that he made the jump to North America on his own in 1999 to improve his chances at cracking the big leagues. He didn't fail miserably. But he hardly did enough to sway the cantankerous old boys of the NHL to open their minds to players from the shadows of the Alps. Perhaps in the end it was his last game in North America before packing up for the Swiss A league - a one-game stint in Utah that would turn fate in his favour as Habs scouts overseeing their own slow-cook prospect projects may have noticed his skating and skills that day.

A further 4 seasons in Switzerland would see Mark temporarily resign himself to making his winter home in Europe and if nothing else helped him to develop his game further offensively. In 2004, some lucky scout earned a bonus when he advised Bob Gainey that Swiss hockey had come far enough to merit a 9th round pick for the best Swiss player of a generation. The following season with some NHL competition (and indeed help), Mark Streit would go on to justify the draft pick as he outshone a vast number of established pros in his own backyard during the lockout follies in Europe.

Looking at all I've written, I ask whether I'd be surprised if Streit were a Swedish or Canadian prospect blooming late. In fact, I'm sure many of the GMs in the league share the same attitudes.

So, while we thank our lucky stars for Mark Streit falling right into the laps of the Canadiens for nothing more than a late afternoon afterthought on draft day 2; there are lessons to be learned from the case of Mark Streit:

1) Hockey players can come from anywhere (even Switzerland, Austria, Belarus and Slovenia now).

If the Habs want to maintain a competitive advantage, continuing to look to these relatively untapped resources for bargains. It looks like the trend will continue for a while as we watch Yannick Weber develop and accept that Janne Lahti was a worthwhile gamble, if not an NHL player. We could also stay a step ahead by asking where is next for hockey players to emerge unnoticed.

2) It's worth taking a chance on standouts from "weaker" leagues.

As other teams trawl the third lines of WHL teams, picking a star from Switzerland, Germany or Austria is worth the gamble. You can always sign those fourth liners later.

3) Make place for talent on your team

As Streit battled for a 7th defenseman place, it was judicious to allow him to play forward where he could develop his skills at a high level. A talented skater and puck-handler is always valuable to a team no matter what way his stick is curved or what letter appears beside his name on the gamesheet.


A potential gamble for 2008

Thinking about Streit and how eyes should be peeled for the next unheralded NHL breakthrough I decided to take a quick look at the Swiss A League standings and statistics.

Nothing but the best for the Habs, of course, I looked up Erik Westrum.

So, he's from Minnesota. Check.
He played for the Springfield Falcons and Utah Grizzlies like Streit. Check.
After trying to make it in North America, he turned to the Swiss League, where he picked up his offensive numbers. Check.


What's even more interesting is that Erik's Dad is Pat Westrum, the Montreal Canadiens hotshot scout. We look no further than Minnesota for first round picks anymore, since Pat knows his stuff.

Could he be submitting a positive report on a wayward overage Minnesota boy this summer? We'll have to wait and see.