Four Leafs On Canada’s World Cup Bubble

Earlier today, Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky announced the preliminary list of fifty four players which consisted of thirty one forwards, sixteen defensemen and seven goaltenders. Four Maple Leafs were included on the list of possible players. Owen Nolan, Joe Nieuwendyk and Ed Belfour, who were all a part of the gold medal winning Olympic Team, are once again being considered. Bryan McCabe was also included in the list of defensemen. McCabe has really raised some eyebrows this year as he is in the midst of a career season having recorded eleven goals and twenty five assists for thirty six points.

Several notables from the 2002 Olympic team were left off the preliminary World Cup list. Eric Lindros, Theo Fleury (no surprise there), and Curtis Joseph were all left off the list due to downfalls in their careers.