Three Sharks named
Olympians
Thornton, Ehrhoff & Goc get the
call
12/21/05 - by
Mike Lee
Canada and Germany announced their rosters for
the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy on Wednesday. Joe Thornton was named
to Team Canada, but Sharks captain Patrick Marleau did not make the final cut.
Marleau was snubbed in favor of the likes of Todd Bertuzzi, Kris Draper, Simon
Gagne and Ryan Smyth. Germany announced that Christian Ehrhoff and Marcel Goc
will represent Deutschland in February.
This will mark the first Olympic appearance for Thornton and Goc. Ehrhoff
played for Germany in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
Thornton has represented Canada at the 2001 & 2005 IIHF Men's World
Championship, 2004 World Cup of Hockey, 1997 IIHF World Junior Championships
and the Canadian Under-18 team at the Pacific Cup in 1996.
He was named Tournament MVP in 2005 and named to the 2005 World Championship
All-Star Team. His 16 points (six goals, ten assists) in nine games rank him
third all-time among Team Canada scorers in an individual World Championship
Tournament.
Goc has competed with Team Germany at the 2001, 2003, and 2005 World
Championships and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Goc played on his first of
three successive German teams at the Under-20 World Junior Championships
(B-Pool) in 1999. His other international experience includes competing at the
Under-18 World Junior Championships in 2000 and the Under-20 World Junior
Championship (A-Pool) in 2002.
He was one of Germany's finals cuts in 2002 in Salt Lake City, after suffering
an injury which limited his skating.
Ehrhoff has appeared with Team Germany in the 2002, 2003, and 2005 World
Championships, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 2002 Olympic Games.
Marleau was a contender for one of the thirteen forward positions available on
the Team Canada roster, but his mediocre play at the 2005 World Championships
failed to sway Canadian hockey officials.
Scott Hannan also represented Team Canada in the 2005 World Championships,
where he played substantial minutes but his poor start this season eliminated
him from consideration.
Canada elected to go with bigger players like Bertuzzi, Adam Foote and Ed
Jovanovski who punish opponents. Rick Nash, one of the thirteen forwards
named, played in his first game of the season earlier this week after returning
from a knee injury.
Rosters announced Wednesday:
Germany,
announced on Dec. 21
11
players remain from Salt Lake City-02
17 played at the World Cup of Hockey-04
16 played at the World Championship-05
11 first-time Olympic participants
Canada,
announced on Dec. 21
10
players remain from Salt Lake City-02
5 players remain from Nagano-98
18 played at the World Cup of Hockey-04
13 played at the World
Championship-05
13 first-time Olympic participants
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