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With the National Hockey League announcing Friday that its players will be heading to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, its time to start thinking about which players Canada will send to defend its gold medal in mens hockey. The selection of Canadas national team always makes for an intriguing debate and never moreso than right now as the team transitions from some of its long-standing veterans to a young core that began its foundation at the 2010 Vancouver Games. The 2010 team that captured gold on home soil was a mixture of decorated international veterans like Scott Niedermayer and Jarome Iginla, alongside an injection of highly skilled young players like Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews. So, which pieces of that team will return to the Olympic ice to defend the Maple Leaf? The most final line of defence is perhaps the hottest debate swirling ahead of the selection of Canadas 2014 team. A man that has recently been given his starters job back on his NHL club might just be the man to lead Canada into Sochi as Roberto Luongo has been tapped by TSNs panel to make the trip. After a years-long fight for playing time in the Vancouver crease with recently-traded tandem-mate Cory Schneider, Luongo is the right man to get the start according to TSN Hockey Insider Jamie McLennan. "Going into this season you know that hes going to be the starter for the Vancouver Canucks," McLennan said of Luongo. "Hes going to be in mid-season form come the Olympics. Lets not forget: He won last time, so he has the experience and the confidence to know what it takes to help Team Canada win." Joining Luongo in net for Canada is an Olympic newcomer in Montreal keeper Carey Price. While short on Olympic experience, Price will forever be remembered for standing on his head at the 2007 World Juniors to help Canada secure gold. Rounding out the crease crew is Chicago netminder Corey Crawford. Fresh off back-stopping the Hawks to a second Stanley Cup in four years, Crawford was believed by many to be a Conn Smythe Trophy front-runner before the award was eventually given to Patrick Kane. TSN tapped eight forwards to return for 2014, including Crosby, Toews, Eric Staal, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Rick Nash, and Mike Richards. Returnee Patrice Bergeron was also included as one of the surplus forwards. TSN Hockey Analyst Dave Reid thinks that Bergeron will not be an extra piece for very long on Canadas final team. "Even though hes in the number-five spot at centre on that list, I think hes going to quickly move up to be a huge player for Team Canada," Reid said. "Hes fantastic on the draws, he can play on the power play, he can kill penalties and can play in every situation. "He is a player that will be utilized throughout this tournament in many ways that only the players and the people within the team understand." Another Olympic vet also made the cut, but it was a member of the 2006 team that was sent to Turin in Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis. Rounding out the forward corps are St. Louis Lightning line-mate Steven Stamkos, and Flyers captain Claude Giroux who would slot in on the top two lines. The third line brings a blend of familiarity and youth to Toews flanks with a pair of Olympic rookies: John Tavares and Patrick Sharp. Meanwhile, the fourth line sees Richards slide over to the wing to play alongside the Ducks duo of Getzlaf and Perry. Jamie Benn joins Bergeron as a forward depth option on the roster. The defence is anchored by a trio of returnees who have all been nominated for or won the Norris Trophy since the Vancouver games: Chicagos Duncan Keith, Los Angeles Kings rearguard Drew Doughty and Nashville captain Shea Weber. All three were under the radar a year prior to the selection of the Vancouver team and theyre joined by another Norris winner in Montreal blueliner P.K. Subban. Vancouver returnee Brent Seabrook earns another Olympic engagement on TSNs list, which is rounded out by a trio of offensive-minded blueliners including Pittsburghs Kris Letang, Rangers veteran Dan Girardi and young St. Louis blueliner Alex Pietrangelo. Alex Smith Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Marcell Harris Jersey .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. https://www.49ersjerseysale.com/2472l-tevin-coleman-jersey-49ers.html . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. Steve Bono Jersey .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Gary Lewis Jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi States overhauled roster is young, versatile and filled with highly rated recruits.It remains to be seen if that will translate into a long-awaited return to the postseason.The Bulldogs will have an almost totally new look in the second year of coach Ben Howland, though holdovers like sophomore Quinndary Weatherspoon and senior I.J. Ready should provide some continuity. Still, theres no doubt that several of the abundant freshmen on the roster -- including Tyson Carter, Eli Wright, Lamar Peters, Schnider Herard and Mario Kegler -- will be asked to contribute immediately.Were obviously very young, Howland said. Its probably the youngest team Ive ever had in 21 years as a head coach, but there are some talented kids who were excited about and were excited about their futures.The 6-foot-4 Weatherspoon turned into the Bulldogs best all-around player by the end of last season, averaging nearly 15 points per game in Southeastern Conference play. The 5-foot-11 Ready led Mississippi State with 134 assists and also scored 9.2 points per game.This is a special group, Ready said. Theyve got so much talent that I want to be able to not only give them knowledge, but actually help lead the path for them so they dont hit the bump that most freshmen do.Mississippi State is going to need its freshman class to make a quick impact. The 6-10 Herard gives the Bulldogs a big body in the paint after the departure of veteran post scorer Gavin Ware while Wright, Carter and Peters should provide support on the perimeter for Weatherspoon. The 6-foot-7 Kegler could be a threat on the perimeter or in the post.The hope is itll be the nucleus that eventually helps lead Mississippi State back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.-----Some other things to know about Mississippi State this season:ITALY HELPS: Mississippi State had aa 4-0 record during its summer team trip to Italy, but more importantly, the Bulldogs were able to use valuable extra practice time to build chemistry coming into the season.dddddddddddd Several of the freshmen were big contributors. Said Howland: Our trip to Italy helped us so much with team unity. That is so exciting because we are going to be in a foxhole together. We will face a lot of adversity and how you deal with adversity as a team and as an individual is the key to success.YEAR 2 OF QUINNDARY: Weatherspoon was one of the biggest surprises in the SEC last season, emerging to become one of the best freshmen in the SEC by the end of the season. He said hes working hard to avoid a sophomore slump: Ill just keep working and playing as hard as I can. Even if Im not playing good on offense that night, Ill play defense as hard as I can.A NEW ERA: Mississippi State will be replacing a huge chunk of its scoring from a year ago after the departures of Craig Sword, Fred Thomas and Gavin Ware, who all scored more than 1,000 career points. The Bulldogs also lost former five-star guard Malik Newman, who had an underwhelming freshman season before deciding to transfer to Kansas over the summer.HOWLAND BRINGS HOPE: Mississippi State was a fairly constant presence in the college basketball postseason during the 2000s, but recent years have brought hard times. The Bulldogs havent been to the NCAA Tournament since 2009 and havent been to the postseason at all since an NIT trip in 2012. Howlands impressive recruiting have the Bulldogs hoping for a trip back to the postseason sooner rather than later.---Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP .---Online:More AP College Basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org . ' ' '