For Canada's hockey team, pressure a part of the game

If Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook think Blackhawks fans have high expectations, they haven't seen anything yet.

Keith, Toews and Seabrook are part of a group of Canadian hockey players ready to start the Olympic tournament today with the expectations of an entire nation on their shoulders.

For Team Canada, playing on its home ice in Vancouver, only a gold medal will satisfy a country that eats, sleeps and drinks its hockey.

"The pressure started building on Team Canada the day Vancouver got the bid," said Team USA general manager Brian Burke.

Keith understands pressure. He helped take the Hawks to the Stanley Cup semifinals last spring and believes pressure is what you make of it.

"It's in our hometown, but I think there would be pressure on us as Canadians no matter where we were playing," Keith said. "I look at it as though being in Canada is only going to be a good thing for us, and help us more than anything.

"Having the country behind us and all the support, I think will be a good thing."

Don Cherry, the bombastic Hockey Night in Canada personality, recently said what many Canadians are feeling heading into the tournament.

"You cannot believe what this means to Canada," Cheery said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. "We cannot be second. Second means we're failures; we cannot fail, especially when it's in our barn. We have to win."

Many see Canada as the favorite ahead of a loaded Russian squad because of the home-country advantage.

Edmonton Oilers coach Pat Quinn, a veteran of the last two Olympics with Canada, believes the Canadians need to go into the tourney embracing the pressure and use playing in front of their rabid fans at GM Place as an advantage.

"There is no doubt there is more pressure," Quinn said. "Everyone is there right in your face. A lot of players on this Canadian team have been asked about it every day, so you never hear the end of it, but the home crowd is something you enjoy and take advantage of rather than let it drag you down.

"I don't know if you can possibly quantify (the pressure). It's there. You can't escape it. You need to know that it's there, accept it and somehow embrace it. Don't let it get in the way.

"Will we be considered bums if we don't win?" Quinn asked. "Probably. But if you get afraid of that, then you have that pressure that gets in the way."

While the rosters of Canada and Russia are dripping with talent, don't overlook Sweden or even the young Americans, who go into the tournament with probably the hottest goaltender in Buffalo's Ryan Miller.

"I think going in we're ranked fifth, but we feel like we have a pretty good team," said Hawks winger Patrick Kane, who will be one of America's key players. "Especially in a tournament like this, I think we have maybe the best goaltending in the tournament, and sometimes goaltenders win these kind of tournaments.

"It's a two-week tournament, and when you get to the playoff (round) it's one-game elimination and anyone can beat anyone on any given night. Obviously we're underdogs, but at the same time we like the position we're in."

Canada's goaltending isn't too shabby either with coach Mike Babcock having the luxury of choosing between Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo.

Led by Sidney Crosby up front, Canada is a virtual NHL all-star team, but how's this for Russia's first line: Evgeni Malkin between Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk?

Canada opens with Norway today, right after the U.S. plays Switzerland. The third game of the day pits Russia against Latvia.

Teams had only one day of practice on Monday to get familiarized with each other, but if Canada has one advantage other than home ice it's that Babcock plans to play Hawks defense partners Keith and Seabrook together and keep the San Jose line of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau intact.

"It's important we develop chemistry right away and play for one another and play as a team because the best team wins that tournament," Keith said.

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<li><a href="/story/?id=359424">USA-Canada hockey game must-see TV for Hawk fans<span class="date"> [2/15/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=359364">Olympic hockey preview<span class="date"> [2/15/10]</span></a></li>

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