Toronto Maple Leafs Will Be Well Represented At the Winter Olympics

For every Winter Olympics, Team Canada is viewed as a dream team. There is so much talent to choose from that hockey Canada could ice two Olympic hockey teams. After all, hockey is our game, so there is no wonder about the talent we have.

Unfortunately, Canada can only have one Olympic team. The hard part is figuring out which players to select for the team and which ones to leave out. There will always be four or five obvious choices. After that, there is a lot more thinking that goes into the selection process.

The team’s coaching staff are trying to picture the perfect lineup in their heads based on the style of play that each player possesses. Once the coaching staff figures out what they believe the best team will look like, the team starts to officially take shape. Players from Toronto who are likely to play for Team Canada this February in Beijing are John Tavares and Mitch Marner.

Both players are off to a good start this season, with each of them having 13 points in 13 games before Wednesday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. These two are an easy selection based on past international play and how well they have performed the past few seasons in the NHL.  Mitch Marner is 100% guaranteed to be on the team, while Tavares’ inclusion will be heavily dependent on how he performs this season up to the break.

Honorable mention for Team Canada from Toronto would be defenseman Morgan Rielly. He currently has eight points in 13 games for the Maple Leafs and is playing more like the Rielly from the 2018-19 season that fans have been hoping to see.  It is possible he makes the team, though Canada doesn’t lack for offensive blue-liners and may look towards better defensive players.