that responsibility may well start at the top

Steve Yzerman and Hockey Canada are getting a little bit of everything with the eight defenceman named to represent Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The eight defencemen named – Jay Bouwmeester, Drew Doughty, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Shea Weber – bring a blend of offence, defence, mobility, responsibility and physicality. For Canada, that responsibility may well start at the top with returnees Keith, Weber and Doughty. "To me they have everything you want in a defence pairing," TSN director of scouting Craig Button said of the potential top pairing of Keith and Weber. "They can skate, they can move the puck up the ice or they can join in the attack. They can play against the other teams best players and theyre going to play a lot of minutes." "Mike Babcock will have no hesitance to put those two out there against anybody at any time," Button added. While some of the players selected were academic, especially returnees Doughty, Keith and Weber, others such as P.K. Subban and Dan Hamhuis were believed to be bubble players until the day the roster was unveiled. Representing the oldest member of the defence corps and one of the youngest are both new additions to Canadas Olympic squad as 24-year-old Subban and 31-year-old Hamhuis will both be expected to fill Canadas niche needs. "The bottom pair is exactly what we thought it would be," said NHL on TSN analyst Mike Johnson. "Subban is there for an infusion of offence, a change of pace on special teams and Dan Hamhuis is there for the other end: defence, shot-blocking and penalty-killing depending on the situation." The defence is a perfect balance of right-handed and left-handed shots, which was a conscious effort by Canadas management. That balance may have played in Vlasics favour as he edged teammate and 2010 Canadian Olympian Dan Boyle out of one of the coveted blue line spots. Button praised Vlasics inclusion on the team, complimenting the 26-year-olds composure. "Hes steady, hes consistent and he plays at a high level," Button said. "Its not just skating and competing, his mind is very, very strong. Mistakes are going to be at a minimum in this type of tournament so you want a guy thats comfortable playing in those big minutes and those important times and hes not going to make mistakes." Felix Potvin Jersey . Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Dave Keon Jersey . And it showed Thursday night. The Canadiens, playing in their second game in as many days, however, got a good performance in the end from their backup goaltender as he filled in for an injured Olympic gold medallist . http://www.officialmapleleafspro.com/Tig...e-leafs-jersey/. 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In 82 games with the Flyers in 2013-14, Schenn scored 20 goals and added 21 assists.ALAMEDA, Calif. - The Oakland Raiders placed starting middle linebacker Nick Roach on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday after he was unable to recover from a concussion in the preseason.Roach originally got hurt Aug. 22 in the third exhibition game against Green Bay. He returned to practice Sept. 3 on a limited basis but only took part in individual drills and he was never able to be cleared for contact. Now he is done for the season.Its certainly a blow, no question about it, interim coach Tony Sparano said. Nick was one of our defensive leaders. Hes a guy that we rely an awful lot on. Its one of the body blows that goes on in our business.Roach was supposed to be the quarterback of the defence and his absence has played a big role in Oaklands early struggles. After playing every defensive snap in his first year in Oakland in 2013, Roach has been unable to make it on the field this year.After consulting with doctors, Sparano said the team had no indication of when Roach would be cleared to play, leading to the decision to shut him down.It was certainly going to take a little while longer and it was open ended at the end of it, Sparano said.The Raiders (0-4) have been plagued by miscommunication and alignment issues on defence without their signal caller. Oakland has the second-worst run defence in the NFL through four games with Miles Burris and Kaluka Maiava sharing the duty at middle linebacker.Roach is Oaklands second linebacker to be shut down for the season this week. Maiava was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a hamstring injury, leaving Burris as the starting middle linebacker on Sunday against San Diego.I bounce things off Nick all the time and I still will, Burriss said.ddddddddddddHes still going to be around. Hell still be just as big a part of this team because hell be helping everybody out. Nick sees football. He has a great football mind. He sees things that a lot of people cant see on the field so that will be big.The Raiders got some positive news at the position with outside linebacker Sio Moore back at practice Wednesday after missing the past two games with an ankle injury.Moore was limited at practice but his return will provide a boost to the defence.When youre not out there fighting every day, you feel sick to your stomach, Moore said. I just wanted to be out there doing my part to help, doing everything I can.The Raiders signed Jamar Chaney on Wednesday to replace Roach on the roster. Chaney is in his fifth season in the NFL and was cut in training camp this summer by Denver. He started 23 games from 2010-12 in Philadelphia, including all 16 in 2011, and played one game last season with Atlanta.Chaney has 161 career tackles with one sack, three interceptions, 12 passes defenced and one forced fumble.The Raiders had claimed linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong off waivers from St. Louis on Tuesday. Armstrong joined St. Louis as an undrafted free agent out of Miami in 2013 and played all 16 games as a rookie. Armstrong has played four games this season and has been almost exclusively used on special teams.NOTES: QB Derek Carr was limited at practice after hurting his left knee and ankle before the bye but is confident he will be able to play Sunday. ... 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