Pa te -§& Sats. The riddle of Pavol Demitra By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor ne of the most perplexing aspects O: the Canucks’ last season was the play of forward Pavol Demitra. Mike Gillis signed the now-34-year-old Demitra to a two-year, $8 million contract last summer and so far, the result has been open to debate. With the recent news that Demitra has had to undergo shoulder surgery after an injury sustained in the playoffs last year, and will therefore miss the first few weeks of the regular season, this debate has been thrust to the forefront once more. Last year, Demitra had a wide variety of descriptions for his play and his ability. Was he a skilled playmaker or an aging floater? A sniper who picks his spots or a soft player with no compete level? On the one hand, Demitra clearly has high-end talent. Yes, he’s getting older and is without a doubt past his prime, but supporters point to his 53 points in 69 games last year, or 0.77 points per game, which is a pretty good clip. He surged late in the season, and once he was matched up with Ryan Kesler and Mats Sundin, his numbers spiked, and he pumped out 28 points in the campaign’s final 32 games. He was also largely credited with Kesler’s increase in production and was undoubtedly a key reason for the late emergence of Vancouver’s second line. But then there is the negative side of Demitra. While he does indeed have skill to spare, it was maddening for Canucks’ fans last season watching Demitra. He was wildly inconsistent; he would go through stretches where he would dominate and make jaw dropping plays. Then, he would be invisible 16 for the next six games. It was no secret that Demitra wasn’t the grittiest player either. The corners may as well have been a foreign country and despite this, he was remarkably injury prone. Whereas guys like Kesler and Rick Rypien busted up and down the ice every shift for much less money, Demitra could often be seen gliding along, rarely going to the net or driving with the puck. But then again, this could be expected from the guy who won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2000 for gentlemanly play. Ironically enough, it was in an attempt to break from this image that Demitra hurt himself. Against Chicago in the second round, Demitra bolted towards opposing defenseman Brian Campbell and threw everything he had into him. Unfortunately, he popped out his shoulder in the process. For $4 million this upcoming season, Demitra needs to improve. He’s had success in the past during a productive eight-year tenure with the St. Louis Blues, and it is extremely important for both him and the Canucks to rediscover the game he had then. With his team pressed against the salary cap this year, Gillis can’t afford to have a $4 million, 50- point player. This isn’t a good start to a very important season for Demitra. He’ll need to make a quick comeback and put points on the board immediately if he wants to earn a new deal in anywhere near the same neighbourhood as his current one. This is a contract year for Demitra and he’Il be 35 by the season’s end. He has something to prove, and there isn’t any better time to get started than now. te Henrik and Daniel Sedin ith the 2010 Winter Olympics just a few months away, it seems a good time to discuss which Vancouver Canucks will, or should be, suiting up for the respective countries. So which Vancouver players will be playing in Vancouver? Starting at the top, the only Canuck who will be playing for Team Canada will be Roberto Luongo. He’ll battle Martin Brodeur for the starting goaltending job but after him, it’s highly unlikely that another Canuck will crack the Canadian roster. There was brief talk a few months ago that Alex Burrows would be in the discussion, but that has all but disappeared now. For Team Sweden however, there should be many more Canucks suiting up for the Nordic country. Henrik and Daniel Sedin are locks, and in all likelihood they’1l competing for front line duty. Mikael Samuelsson should also be in the line-up, assuming that he doesn’t completely tank in his first few months with Vancouver. Mats Sundin, assuming that he does return to the Canucks, is more of an open debate. After all, he has a long and decorated history with the Swedish national team, he captained them to Olympic gold in 2006, and he is undoubtedly one of the best players that country has ever produced. The problem is, Sundin has more than lost a step. While he displayed flashes of his old self last year, he only managed just nine goals in 41 games. The odds are that he’Il make the team as a sentimental favourite, but it’s up in the air. On the Swedish defensive front, Alex Edler is a pretty safe bet. There aren’t a lot of standout Swedes on the blueline, and Edler has displayed an increasingly well-rounded game over the past few years. Nicklas Lidstrom, Niclas Havelid, Nicklas Kronwall and Mattias Ohlund are all pretty much guaranteed roster spots so while Edler will likely make the team, he’ll have to \ fight it out for ice time. | <2. Cauncks players to make Olympic rosters Team Sweden to feature at least a few Canucks Garth - McLennan sports editor - For Slovakia and Finland, two nations that have seen their international hockey fortunes tumble in recent years, Pavol Demitra and Sami Salo will undoubtedly be key members of both squads, respectively. That is, god willing, they’re both still healthy at that point. Given both of their extensive injury histories though, and the fact that Demitra is already going to miss significant time at the beginning of the NHL regular season this year, that’s a real long shot. Christian Ehrhoff will be a leading man on defence for a terrible German team that has little chance of competing for a medal. He’s suited up for Germany many times in the past and is arguably their best player. Ryan Kesler should play a prominent role for Team USA. He’s emerged as one of Vancouver’s best forwards and a team leader, and for a youthful American side, he’ll be expected to play in almost every situation. That shouldn’t be a problem for the extremely versatile Kesler though. He was nominated for the Selke Trophy last season as the NHL’s top defensive forward while still posting 32 points in his final 32 games. Cory Schneider is unlikely to make the team though. The U:S. is strong in the crease with Ryan Miller and Vezina winner Tim Thomas. A long shot for the Russian team is Sergei Shirokov, who lit up the KHL last year and signed with Vancouver in the off-season. The problem is that Russia is deeper than any other country up front. They’re absolutely loaded with offensive firepower and it’ll be a job for Shirokov to break in. However, at just 23 years of age, he’ll be in the Russian line-up before long. So no matter how Team Canada does at the Olympics, Canucks fans should be excited at the prospect of seeing a lot of home talent playing for a variety of countries. S