SOCHI, Russia – When the Canadian management team, headed by executive director Steve Yzerman, gathered in recent months to evaluate the crop of players that would be selected to play for Team Canada at the Sochi Olympics two central attributes emerged above all else. Air Max Pas Cher En Ligne . There was the requisite hockey sense demanded from the countrys very best and of equal importance, if not more so, was the ability to burn up and down the ice, the latter of significant consequence on the generally unfamiliar international ice surface. "I think we have a really good mix of players here that bring a lot of elements," said Doug Armstrong, the Blues GM and a member of Team Canadas management team, "but the one element they all have is skating ability." Its likely why someone like 34-year-old Joe Thornton – a member of the gold medal winning squad in 2010 and top point producer again this season, but certainly not the fleetest of foot – was not named to the team this time around, replaced by explosive types such as Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn. In fact, the Canadian roster in Vancouver featured a number of players who were probably never be described as quick – Jarome Iginla, Brendan Morrow, Dany Heatley, Eric Staal – but could get around just fine, at that point in their respective careers, on the NHL-sized ice. "I think you see some players that can play on the North American ice [that are] not quite as fleet of foot, but the space they have to get to they can get to quicker and hold it longer. From the corners to the front of the net the distance isnt as great. I think its a different style," Armstrong said. "A bigger man can have success maybe in the North American game thats a little harder to have here." Absent is a single player on this roster who cant get up and down the ice effectively. Quickly adjusting to the larger international ice surface – 15 additional feet wide – will be among the greater challenges facing the Canadians as they look to become the first back-to-back gold medal winning squad in the NHL era of the Olympics. All of which explains why swiftness on skates – not to mention the ability to move the puck with equal speed and precision – was such a fundamental asset in the selection process. Canada managed to win its first gold in 50 years on the Olympic size ice in Salt Lake City, but fell badly short four years later in Torino – they finished a distant seventh. Though other gold medal hopefuls face a similar challenge – with the vast majority of talent migrating to Russia from the NHL – the Canadians (and Americans certainly) will be required to climb a somewhat higher hill, having only played on the 200 by 100 foot surface sparingly. "Theres no question," said head coach Mike Babcock, "when youve grown up your whole life playing on one surface youre probably pretty comfortable with that surface. I know we are in North America. So theres a little adjustment, well get it worked out." One adjustment Babcock will seek is shorter shift lengths: from the NHL standard of 45 seconds down to 40 seconds with more space to cover and ground potentially to protect. He and the coaching staff, which includes big ice expert and former Swiss National Team coach Ralph Krueger, will also stress the need to attack inside on the offensive end, rather than linger on the perimeter as an opponent would prefer. "As much wider [as] the rink is you still want to play an up and down, north and south game and I think its the strength of our team to be able to play at a high speed, high tempo, all four lines," said John Tavares, who played on the bigger ice in Switzerland during the last lockout. "I think thats where were going to be at our best." Other immediate challenges facing Canada (and just about every country) include the required role alterations demanded of NHL stars and energy-sapping jet lag, an adjustment most countries will face in some way or another. "We can talk about the size of the ice surface," said Yzerman, "but I think its adjusting to playing a lesser role. Youve got forwards that are used to playing 21-22 minutes a game that are going to play 10 and 11 and defencemen that are used to playing 27 playing 18. Thats a huge adjustment for them all." Stars and scoring champs are fighting for even the slightest bit of ice-time. Martin St. Louis was the oldest Art Ross winner in NHL history last season (he was 37) and has kept the Lightning afloat save the injured Steven Stamkos again this season, but he finds himself grinding amongst 14 forwards for an opportunity. He and Duchene, a fellow first-timer were on the outside of the forward lines on the opening day of practice at Bolshoy Ice Dome. "When I talked to St. Louis in Tampa I told him he was one of 14 forwards and that he has to grab his piece," said Babcock. "Thats what weve told everyone; theyve got to find a way to grab their piece." Babcock was flipping through lineups and line combinations from the triumphant experience in Vancouver alongside assistant coach Claude Julien and came to a very simple conclusion: things can change in a hurry. Mike Richards for instance, rose from the 14th forward to a key member of an effective trio which included Jonathan Toews and Rick Nash. "Its a competitive environment and we expect our guys to compete for their ice-time," Babcock said. The Canadian head coach got creative in his attempts to quell the effects of jet lag. Players were given a special package for the plane ride over to Sochi, a kit that included eye covers, ear plugs, melatonin, vitamins, and compression socks to reduce the possibility of swelling in the feet. They were also told to sleep no longer than four hours (some did anyway) and stay up until midnight if possible. All to curtail the effects of the drastic change in time zones. "Keep the players up," Babcock said of his goals for a practice that begin at 8pm local time. "We thought if we got some exercise at this time of night we had a better chance of staying up til midnight." Air Max Pas Cher Belgique .ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen, NFL Editor Ben Fisher, and Isaac Owusu discuss three hot fantasy football topics. Grossiste Air Max Belgique . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. http://www.airmaxpascher.be/ .Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda.The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup draw takes place Saturday in Ottawa and from that point on, Canada will know exactly what they’re up against when they host the globe’s top nations. Watch the drama unfold in the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup Draw LIVE NOW on TSN1, TSN3 and TSN4. Canada will undoubtedly be watching the draw closely, since it was largely a stroke of luck – bad luck – that helped derail their 2011 World Cup aspirations. Heading into the 2011 draw as CONCACAF champions, the Canadians found themselves in the second seeding pot for the draw and wound up in one of the toughest groups in the tournament. The Canadians were handed the two-time defending champions from Germany, the top African qualifiers from Nigeria and a French team that went on to finish fourth at the tournament. Of course, scoring just one goal in three group stage matches was the true death knell for Canada, but the stiff competition did the team no favours. So, what does Saturday’s draw have to offer the Canadian women in terms of hope? Well, a lot, it turns out. The first helping hand comes from an expanded field. The tournament has expanded from 16 to 24 total teams for the 2015 World Cup, with 16 of those advancing to the knockout stage. The top two teams in each group will automatically qualify for the knockouts as will, the top four third-place teams. In simple mathematical terms, the odds of advancing just improved from 50/50 to a two-in-three chance. The other bounce the Canadians will be getting is that they automatically fall into the top seeding group as tournament hosts, meaning they are guaranteed to be free of the top five teams in the world during the group stage. This advantage can not be stressed enough, since two of those five teams wound up in their group last time around. The other five nations emerging as top seeds include: Japan, the United States, Germany, Brazil and France. In order, that’s: the reigning Champions, the reigning Olympic gold medalists, a two-time World Cup champion, a team that has won all but one South American title ever handed out, and the fourth-ranked team in the world. With a two-in-three chance of advancement, the likelihood of a true Group of Death at this tournament is diminished. That said, there is no shortage of scenarios that could make a team’s opening round uncomfortable and – by proxy – make their potential road through the knockout stage a nightmare. The first land mine for any tough group draw will likely come from the European pot: Pot 4. Teams in that group include: Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, England, Norway and the Netherlands. For those unaccustomed to the recent history of women’s soccer, that’s a group that includes: a Norwegian team that has made at least the semifinals in four of five previous World Cups including winning the 1995 title, a Swedish team that has made two of the last three semifinals and an England team that went unbeaten in European qualifying and outscored their opponents 52-1. Pot 3, which houses the remaining Asian and African qualifiers, allso has its share of tough draws. Air Max Belgique Pas Cher. Its six teams are: Australia, China, Korea Republic, Thailand, Colombia and Ecuador. The strength of the Asian qualifying tournament displays just how tough three of these teams are. Keep in mind that Japan enters this tournament as defending champions and Olympic silver medalists. Australia tied Japan in Asian qualifying, and China and Korea drew on the other side of the tournament. Japan needed extra-time to get by China in the tournament semis and beat Australia by a 1-0 margin in the Asian Cup Final. Three of these teams can hang in there with the champs and could make life very difficult for one of the top seeds. The least threatening pot is likely Pot 2, which houses the African and Oceanic qualifiers as well as the remaining CONCACAF teams: Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica, Mexico and New Zealand. That said, it’s a group that still includes a Continental Champion in Nigeria and a New Zealand team that comes in just outside the top 16 teams at the tournament according to the latest FIFA rankings. But what does all this mean for Canada and the top contenders? The possibilities for Canada are vast, since the only guarantees they have are that they will not be drawn with Mexico or Costa Rica out of Pot 2. Since the rules dictate that no team in Pots 2 or 3 can be drawn with a team from their own confederation, Canada will get either New Zealand or one of the African nations in their group. The best news is for Japan. Under the aforementioned confederation rules, they are guaranteed to avoid Australia, Korea Republic and China in the group phase. Brazil, meanwhile, has a 75 per cent chance of getting one of the three. For the other five teams, however, the possibilities are nearly endless. With all due respect to the 24 qualified teams for their achievements in advancing to the Women’s World Cup, here is a best- and worst-case scenario for Team Canada heading into Saturday’s draw based on FIFA’s World Rankings. Best case (FIFA rankings in parentheses): Canada (8), Switzerland (18), Ecuador (49), Ivory Coast (64). Worst case (FIFA rankings in parentheses): Canada (8), Sweden (6), Australia (10), New Zealand (19). Watch the drama unfold in the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup Draw live Saturday at Noon et/9am pt on TSN1, TSN3 and TSN4. See below for a full table of the seeding pots. Womens World Cup Seeding Pots POT 1 POT 2 POT 3 POT 4 Brazil Cameroon Australia England Canada Costa Rica China Netherlands France Ivory Coast Colombia Norway Germany Mexico Ecuador Spain Japan New Zealand Korea Republic Sweden United States Nigeria Thailand Switzerland Draw rules: No team from Pot 1 may be drawn with a team from their own conference from Pots 2 or 3. Every group will have at least one European qualifier. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '