On this coming New Year’s Eve Steve Yzerman will make one of the most important presentations in Canadian Hockey history. He will, as General Manager of the Canadian National Hockey team, unveil the roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Only once before has Canada hosted the Winter Olympics, 1988 in Calgary, and the Canadian hockey team at that event was comprised of mostly high-level amateur players. A few NHLers appeared, such as Sean Burke, Andy Moog, or Randy Gregg, who for various reasons were not with an NHL club at the time of the Olympics. This was due to the fact that the NHL did not take a break to allow its players to the Olympics until 1998.

The team in Calgary played well, but was over matched by the European teams whose leagues allowed their players to play. As expected the Soviet Union took gold, with future NHL stars, such as Vyachislav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, and Alexander Mogilny. Canada just missed a medal placing fourth.

Regardless of whom Yzerman picks to play, his choices will be endlessly debated by talking heads in the media, and by thousands of armchair GM’s across Canada. So in that spirit I present to you the players I would pick if I were in Yzerman’s position.

First off, the players that most people would agree will be wearing the hallowed Maple Leaf on their chest in Vancouver. These are your quintessential Canadians, the stalwarts of the Great White North who will (hopefully) lead our team to the top of the podium:

Sidney Crosby, Simon Gagne, Rick Nash, Dany Heatly, Jarome Iginla, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Robyn Regehr, Jay Bouwmeester, Martin Brodeur, and Roberto Luongo.

Now for my more debatable selections; Canadians who are good, but are they Olympic-greats? Here they are: Joe Thornton, Ryan Smyth, Marc Savard, Corey Perry, Patrick Marleau, Jordan Staal, Shane Doan, Mike Richards, Dan Boyle, Brent Seabrook, Mike Green, and Marc-Andre Fluery.

I’m not going to rationalize all my picks but there are a few that I’ll mention. Joe Thornton has taken a lot of heat the past few years, especially for the drop of production he and former line mate Jonathan Cheechoo experienced, as well as a reputation for not performing when the chips are down. However, the arrival of Dany Heatly has rejuvenated Thornton who currently leads the NHL in assists, as the two have found great chemistry, and if paired in Vancouver with Iginla could form a formidable second scoring line.

Patrick Marleau, Jordan Staal, and Shane Doan are three of the NHL’s better two way players and penalty killers. There are few other players I’d like to have on the ice against the top line of Russia or the Czech Republic.

Brent Seabrook has quickly become one of the NHL’s top defensive defensemen, and would do a better job than the more well known Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf has gone from being almost a lock to having to play his way onto team Canada. He saw his lowest point production ever last season, and this season has lost some of his defensive ability. At times he appears to risk good defensive position for a bone crushing hit.

I chose Mike Green not for his defensive abilities, but because in international hockey you are allowed to dress twenty-two players instead of twenty in the NHL. This opens the door for Power Play specialists such as Green. Put him on the point with a man-advantage with his shot that is both very hard, and very accurate. Green is also known in Washington as a clutch player. His nickname is “Game Over.”

I chose Marc-Andre Fluery as the third goalie for Canada over a number of other potential goalies for no particular reason. Mainly because if the third goalie is playing at any point in Vancouver, over Brodeur and Luongo, then are some very serious problems.

Unlike in Turin four years ago there are no Taxi-squads, where the team could take three additional players who would play in case of injury. The date the team is announced is purely cosmetic, changes can be made up until right before the beginning of the games in the event of injury or lemur attack. However, past February 15, only players named in the twenty-two-man roster may play, regardless of injury.