Canada Is at Full Strength

Canada’s Olympic hockey roster, the subject of more debate in this country than any political or economic issue, was announced Saturday amid fanfare and flurry at the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 15 players added to the initial group of eight reflect a shift away from the grit Canadians consider uniquely theirs to an emphasis on creativity, puck possession and the intelligence to quickly adjust to the wider international ice surface.

“We wanted speed and we wanted people who could think through their game,” Coach Pat Quinn said, “and we think we made a pretty good decision.”

Theo Fleury and Eric Lindros of the New York Rangers continued their remarkable comebacks by winning spots. Fleury sat out several months last season while recovering from a substance-abuse problem, and Lindros sat out the entire season because of a concussion. He is idled because of a knee injury but expects to return soon.

“It’s a little bit of a cherry on top of what’s been a real good time here,” Lindros said.

NHL scoring leader Jarome Iginla of Calgary, Michael Peca of the New York Islanders, Simon Gagne of Philadelphia, Ryan Smyth of Edmonton, Brendan Shanahan of Detroit and Joe Nieuwendyk of Dallas were the other forwards added. Few surprises there, although Colorado’s Alex Tanguay and Boston’s Joe Thornton were considered favorites.

Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh, already designated Canada’s captain, Owen Nolan of San Jose, Joe Sakic of Colorado, Steve Yzerman of Detroit and Paul Kariya of the Mighty Ducks had been selected previously.

To the defense corps, which began with Chris Pronger of St. Louis, Rob Blake of Colorado and Scott Niedermayer of New Jersey, Team Canada’s coaching and executive staff added Adam Foote of Colorado, Eric Brewer of Edmonton, Al MacInnis of St. Louis and--in perhaps the lone surprise--Ed Jovanovski of Vancouver instead of New Jersey veteran Scott Stevens. All boast size and a good puckhandling skill.

“We’re trying to create a little bit more offense out of our defensemen,” said Wayne Gretzky, Team Canada’s executive director and a member of the team that finished fourth at Nagano in 1998. “We feel that’s going to be a very important part of the tournament.”

The goaltenders will be Martin Brodeur of New Jersey, Ed Belfour of Dallas and Curtis Joseph of Toronto, in no particular order.

A No. 1 goalie has not been designated, and that’s deliberate.

The Canadian men’s team has not won an Olympic gold medal since 1952.

The deadline for announcing Salt Lake City rosters is Saturday, and the United States on Wednesday will add a few players to its initial list of 15. However, teams can replace injured players up until a day before the tournament opener. Gretzky remains optimistic Lemieux will play, even though the Penguins’ captain is recovering slowly from hip surgery.

“He’s just so dominant. We need him to play,” Gretzky said.

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Team roster: D13