How the Wings Control Canada’s Hockey Future

Well, maybe not entirely, but Eric Duhatschek in the Globe & Mail today does point to the relationship between the NHL team and Canada’s international hockey dreams. Hockey Canada has drawn heavily on the Red Wings’ organization these past six years for help assembling its annual world championship team. In that span, Holland, his assistant Jim Nill, and Yzerman have all taken turns at the helm, coinciding with a time when Canada’s world championship results have improved dramatically over the previous two decades.And then Duhatchek poses some more interesting questions like… Who plays goal? How young do you go? Is Sidney Crosby ready for the captaincy, or does that job fall to Jarome Iginla? With Pat Quinn and Jacques Martin no longer coaching in the NHL, is the main man behind the bench Ken Hitchcock, or Mike Babcock, or maybe Gretzky, who has embraced the challenge of turning around the Coyotes with a fervour that stunned many?My answers would be: Luongo plays The Goalie (although that one will really depend on how this upcoming season goes), Iginla plays The Captain and Babcock plays The Coach. Other suggestions?