Written by The Staff | 16 February 2010

You can credit home ice just so far, after all, only the United States in 1960 at Squaw Valley and 1980 in Lake Placid has successfully defended home ice with gold medals. So familiarity with soil will not propel the Canadians to the top of the podium. Their big advantage can be summed up in a word. Depth. Waves of unrelenting talent pour off their bench.

They are a mix of old and new, fiercely talented and tremendously resourceful. Hockey success seems a birthright to Canadians which leaves the squad with a mission. The mission begins with the loneliest position on the ice and continues all the way to their front office. Click read more to continue reading about the skill of Canada's team and how they remain the odds on favorite in the Olympic men's ice hockey tournament. Steve Yzerman is the GM of Team Canada. He caused a stir declaring the Russians the favorite team. Part of that was acknowledging Russia's skill and that they had won the last two World Championships. But a bigger part of his comments was a reminder to his team that they may be praised throughout Canada, but they haven't won squat yet. Only when they stand atop that podium having vanquished the US, Russia and Sweden can they begin to believe the press reports that they are the best team ever assembled.

It is hard to disbelieve the hype. As Vancity Canuck tells us, "Team Canada has skill, size, speed and goaltending." And more than that, Cole Jones points out "They left players off of their team that would be first liners on most other nations. Give me Brad Richards and Vinny Lecavalier on Team USA any day of the week. When a team gets into philosophical discussions about which of their superstars is best suited to play a checking role, you know your team is stacked."

Canada's depth is typified in their goalie play. Although, he won the Stanley Cup last season with the Pens, Marc-Andre Fleury is the player mentioned most frequently among our bloggers as the player Team Canada least wants on the ice. LeNoceur didn't mince words: "If he's getting a lot of ice time, Team Canada is doomed." The tandem destined to log the most minutes in net is Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo. The duo propelled Team Canada to gold medals in both the 2004 World Cup and World Championships.

Canada doesn't have to dig deep for motivation, either. Jenna has grown weary of the oft repeated cliche but has no means of refuting it, "They have an amazing group of skaters. They have a lot of scoring power in that lineup. Also, this is their game (I heard that one too many times this summer) in their Country. They are going to want to win for the home crowd."

Looking at their forwards, think All-Stars. Maybe All-World. Sydney Crosby, Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Jonathan Toews, Michael Richards, Patrice Bergeron, Corey Perry, Eric Staal, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Dany Heatley, Brenden Morrow. The list reads like a collection of candidates for hockey's annual hardware handouts. Crosby is the NHL's poster child. Crosby, Iginla, Toews, Richards, and Morrow all are Captains of their teams. Marleau was the Sharks Captain for years, and before they sent him to San Jose, Joe Thornton wore the C on his Bruins sweater. They are leaders, standouts and skilled players. No team gets a break when they play Canada.

On defense, Team Canada's Captain, Scott Niedermayer anchors a set of equally gifted players. Cole Jones was most impressed with the selection of Blackhawks defenseman, Duncan Keith, "I've been impressed with his game for years now, and the option to pair him up with Chicago teammate Brent Seabrook makes him even more of a threat to shutdown the opposition."

With that level of talent, the Canadians have they have every reason to keep their eyes on the overall prize. Vancity reminds us though, despite the skill up front, it begins and ends with the netminder. "Whoever ends up being the starting goalie for Team Canada needs to better than amazing to bring the team to the gold medal match." The smart money says that will be Brodeur. We'll find out tonight when Canada skates against Norway.

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