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 In just a few short weeks, the eyes of the international sports community will be focused on Vancouver and Whistler for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and when it comes time for medal presentations, Manitoba could be taking to the podium in a big way.
Both men and women from Team ‘Toba rank high on early prediction lists for our national teams and there’s a lot of optimism that not only will they make our squads, but also bring home the hardware.
Here are just a few of the men that we could see bringing home medals from Vancouver.
HOCKEY 
Photo courtesy of www.hockeycanada.ca For the past couple of years Winnipeg’s adopted hockey team has been the Chicago Blackhawks, and with good reason. No less than four members of its roster are from Winnipeg, including two Olympic hopefuls.
The first name that comes to the mind of any fan is Jonathan Toews. The current Blackhawks captain is admittedly still somewhat freshfaced with this being just his third season in the NHL, but he’s already helped guide the Hawks to a Western Conference Final berth (2009) and has a bevy of international experience playing in both the World Junior and World Hockey Championships.
His resume is certainly impressive, but it’s not going to be what Toews or any other player has done in the past, that’s going to get him on the Canadian team? as John Grigg, copy editor and writer with The Hockey News, explains, based on comments he got from Team Canada Assistant Coach Ken Hitchcock.
“What they’ve learned in the past is that going with guys that were hoped for–guys that you were loyal to for whatever reason or you thought their game would come around–haven’t worked. They’re going to go this year with players who at the time are playing the best when they announce the roster,” he says.
Grigg believes, however, that Toews, despite an injury in the NHL season, will make the squad.
“Toews is the perfect fit for a team like this,” he says. Not only is he dynamic offensively, but he’s responsible defensively. He’s young enough that he’ll be happy to defer to the older guys, play a fourth line role if needed, be a checker who can also score.”
Grigg adds that Duncan Keith, who himself has been an NHL all-star (2008) and is one of the hottest developing stars on the blue line, could be the seventh defenceman on Team Canada. When to watch men’s hockey:
February 16 16:30 Canada vs Norway
February 18 16:30 Switzerland vs Canada
February 21 16:40 Canada vs United States
February 23 Play-offs Qualifications
February 24 Play-offs Quarterfinals
February 26 12:00 Play-offs Semifinals
18:30 Play-offs Semifinals
February 27 19:00 Bronze Medal Game
February 28 12:15 Gold Medal Game SKELETON 
Jon Montgomery Sliding down a bobsled course, face-forward, chest down, on an apparatus with no steering or brake systems may seem like an odd choice of sport to some, but the daredevil aspect has enticed many athletes over the years. In fact, as Russell, Manitoba, native Jon Montgomery points out, skeleton is the oldest of all the sledding sports being contested at the 2010 Winter Games.
Olympic hopeful Montgomery got involved in skeleton after seeing an event while his parents were visiting him in Calgary. He recalls being hooked as soon as he got a clear picture of the sport.
“I saw an athlete come down headfirst on their stomach and initially thought it was a horrible luge accident,” he says with a laugh. “ Then I saw a few more athletes fly by me at 125 km/h and thought I’d like to try my hand at it.”
Montgomery looks to have a ton of momentum carrying him down the runs in Vancouver-Whistler. Having qualified for the World Cup season after winning the 2009 VISA Canadian Championships (his third), Montgomery embarked on a near two-month span of international meets before he finds out whether or not he could book his flight to Vancouver.
Montgomery told Winnipeg Men magazine in early November that he would find out whether or not he makes the cut in and around Christmas. Factors that will determine Montgomery’s fate include points during the current season and past performance.
“I still have a bit of work to do but I’m slowly checking off the required tasks and earning my spot on the Olympic team,” he says.
At the Olympics, like in other sports, Montgomery would be competing against the same individuals as on the World Cup circuit. Despite this familiarity, he admits that the Winter Games will be a new challenge.
“The atmosphere is going to be different,” he explains, “so you have to get your brain wrapped around that.” When to watch men’s skeleton:
February 18 18:30 Heat 1 19:45 Heat 2
February 19 18:20 Heat 3 19:30 Heat 4 CURLING 
Team Stoughton from left: Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Park, Rob Fowler and Steve Gould. While Winnipeg’s headline women’s team captained by Jennifer Jones has arguably drawn the most attention in the province, the men’s side has their own set of top-rank curling crews that could be on their way to Vancouver.
Leading the pack is Team Jeff Stoughton. Stoughton, the gold medalist at the 1996 World Curling Championships and silver medalist in the 1999 tournament, has continually been one of curling’s top-ranked players and arguably has the most momentum of any skip in the province, having qualified for three of the last four Brier tournaments.
Stoughton caught on with the sport early, learning the game from his family before entering junior championships, and now looks to earn his first berth in the Olympics. He remarks that he and his team fully have their sights set on Vancouver.
“It’s the only thing we’re focusing on,” he says. “If it doesn’t work out, we’ll rearrange our goals for the year and go from there, but for now this is it for the majority of teams that are playing in the events.”
Also competing for the Olympic spot is Kerry Burtnyk’s squad. Born in Reston, Burtnyk was the skip of the 1995 World Championship team and has five Brier appearances under his belt, the most recent coming in 2008. Along with winning the ’95 Brier, Burtnyk was a finalist in 2001. Though Burtnyk retired from the sport in 2005, he returned one year later with a new team and now looks to compete for the 2010 Olympic spot.
Also in the running is the team led by Winnipeg’s Jason Gunnlaugson.
At press time, both Team Stoughton and Team Gunnlaugson had earned berths into the final Olympic qualifiying tourney which will take place December 6-13 in Edmonton. When to watch men’s curling:
February 16 9:00 Norway vs Canada 19:00 Canada vs Germany February 18 9:00 Canada vs Sweden
19:00 France vs Canada
February 19 14:00 Denmark vs Canada
February 20 19:00 Canada vs Great Britain
February 21 14:00 Switzerland vs Canada
February 22 9:00 Canada vs United States
February 23 14:00 China vs Canada
February 24 9:00–19:00 Tie-breakers
February 25 14:00 Semifinals
February 27 9:00 Bronze Medal Game
15:00 Gold Medal Game
LONG-TRACK SPEED SKATING 
From left: Matt McLean, Kyle Parrott and Mike Ireland. Manitoba’s skating crew has a tough road ahead of them, but don’t doubt for a second that our boys aren’t up for the challenge.
After all, this is a group of guys who have an inspirational leader in front of them–Mike Ireland. The former world championship gold medalist in sprint (2001) has announced that this will be his final Olympics.
The emotion builds even higher when you add the fact that Ireland is on the comeback trail. After already incurring a major setback in 2004 after crashing his bike, Ireland took a nasty spill in the first competition of the 2008-09 speed skating season, injuring his shoulder. The recovery took more than half a year.
But Ireland now looks to have all this behind him. When he skated in October in the Canadian Fall World Cup Selection competition, he had already qualified for the Games. He would finish second in the 500 race during the competition, beaten only by another Manitoban, Kyle Parrott.
Parrott, who also finished second in the 1,000m competition at the October meet for long-track skaters, is himself an Olympic hopeful. The Minnedosa native was still on the Canadian National Development Team as recently as last year, where he showed great promise in the sport. In November 2008, Parrott earned first place in the 1,000-metre race in the Can Am International Speed Skating Competition, and in the process broke the record at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.
Also in Olympic contention is Matt McLean, who is currently skating on the Development Team. McLean, a Winnipegger, has been skating for 19 years, including four for Canada. He finished the 2008-09 season ranked 11th in the 500m and 12th in the nation in the 1,000m.
When to watch men’s speed skating:
February 13 12:00 5000 m
February 15 15:30 500 m Race 1 of 2
17:28 500 m Race 2 of 2
February 17 16:00 1000 m
February 20 16:15 1500 m
February 23 11:00 10000 m
February 26 12:30 Team Pursuit Quarterfinals 14:07 Team Pursuit Semifinals
February 27 12:51 Team Pursuit Finals |
