Olympic Hockey Predictions

Canada's the runaway favourite for the Olympics in ice hockey, and with such incredible depth I can't see anyone beating the defending champs along their path to golden glory. Their goaltenders Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Marty Turco are the best in the world and they could churn out goals from any of their four lines. Stars like Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley, Joe Sakic and Martin St. Louis line the covers of hockey video games everywhere. They are a team of genuine All-Stars.

Among the challengers, I expect the Swedes to win silver and the Russians to take bronze with Finland fourth. Sweden look a little thin without Markus Naslund (and possibly Peter Forsberg too), but with solid defence and a stack o' goals from Daniel Alfredsson, I think they can win through if netminder Henrik Lundqvist runs hot. The Russians have potent scorers in Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk and Alex Ovechkin, but look shaky elsewhere. Regular goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin's withdrawal gives Evgeni Nabokov a chance between the pipes and I feel he might make something of it. I'm picking an outsider in Finland to cause an upset and reach the semis. Had Miikka Kiprusoff not withdrawn, I would have predicted a medal. With personal favourites Olli Jokinen, Jere Lehtinen and Joni Pitkanen, I think they'll take care of business at both ends of the ice.

Ignoring the Czechs may prove to be daft, as they do look like a great team with Jaromir Jagr, Dominik Hasek and Patrik Elias all showing strong form at the moment. However, I will pick them to bow out unexpectedly, for no real reason. I'm not expecting the reigning silver medallists USA to do much beyond the group stage, but it'll be great to see their old guys like Mike Modano and Derian Hatcher in action in whatever hockey I expect to see broadcasted here. Plus they have Scott Gomez. Other teams I expect to progress through the round robin stage: Slovakia (thanks to Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa and Zdeno Chara) and ze Germans (thanks to Olaf Kolzig and an organised defence).

Most goals: Daniel Alfredsson (Sweden)
Most assists: Jarome Iginla (Canada)
Most points: Joe Thornton (Canada)

Lowest GAA: Martin Brodeur (Canada)
Highest save %: Dominik Hasek (Czech Republic)
Most saves: Italy's goalie. He'll be facing 60 shots a night, so by my calculations, he should be able to save 45 of those.

Most goals scored (team): Canada
Fewest goals conceded (team): Canada