Team Canada's Seabrook
This is the second installment of player profiles for the six Blackhawks that will represent their nation at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. It’s now Brent Seabrook’s turn. Stay tuned for future installments, and feel free to comment below. Previous Olympic Profile: Tomas Kopecky
Birthplace – Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
International Experience – 2004 World Junior Championships, 2005 World Junior Championships and 2006 World Championships
After finishing seventh in Torino, Team Canada general manager, Steve Yzerman, knows that anything less then gold is unacceptable in front of the hometown crowd. Of the twenty-three players named to the Canadian roster fifteen are going to their first Olympics. Five of which are on defense (Dan Boyle was a reserve in 2006). Five of the blue-liners are twenty-six or younger. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook fit the mold and represent Team Canada’s youth movement.
Seabrook was a dark horse to make the Canadian Olympic roster, but when Yzerman and his cohorts selected the Richmond native to the national team it came as a surprise. The lack of production from the trio of Calgary defensemen, the need for a hard hitting defensive defenseman, the desire for new blood and his rapport with ‘lock’ Keith solidified his roster spot.
The twenty-four year old will have to cut down on some of the sloppy play that has plagued him this season. Seabrook has been a frequent contributor to turnovers and lapses in the neutral- and defensive-zone. Still, he is has a better defensive presence then his competition and has a plus/minus of +22, which makes him tied for eighth in the league.
Taking off my Blackhawk-colored glasses, Seabrook doesn’t make the team if it weren’t for the on-ice chemistry he has with Keith. I like the decision of Team Canada’s brass to keep Seabrook and Keith together. They go up against the opposing team’s best line every night, and are on the ice for over twenty minutes each game. The duo will be a second or third defensive paring.
With the firepower on Canada’s blue line, I wouldn’t expect Seabrook to see anytime on the power play. He should be used on the penalty kill though.
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