By Nick Obergan The Russians are the #1 ranked team in the IIHF thanks to back-to-back World Hockey Championships in 2008 and 2009. They are armed with the two most potent goal scorers of the last decade (Ovechkin, Kovalchuk), last year?s playoff MVP and Art Ross winner (Malkin), a back-to-back Hart Trophy winner (Ovechkin), two 2-time Selke winners (Datsyuk and Federov), some power play weapons on defense and all three nominees for the MVP last year (Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk). It?s going to be hard to stop this team from winning gold. 10. Maxim Afinogenov ? Atlanta Thrashers Just a few short months ago, Afinogenov was not offered a contract by the Sabres, a team he was with since his rookie year in 1999-2000. In fact, no one offered him a contract, and he settled for a training camp tryout with Atlanta ? a move that has benefited both parties greatly. He has battled various injuries in his career and has never played a full 82 game season. The three-time 20 goal scorer had his best season in 2005-06, scoring 22 goals with a career-best 51 assists and 73 points. Only one other time he reached 60 points, and it was the following year with his career-high 23 goals in only 56 games. This season has been by far his most consistent, only twice going more than 2 games without a point. Maxim has played in all 60 games for Atlanta, and has 19 goals (5 on the power play), 27 assists, and 46 points. 9. Andrei Markov ? Montreal Canadiens The former 6th round draft pick has rounded himself into the best blue-liner on Montreal?s roster. After spending his first two seasons in North America shuttling between the NHL and AHL, he stuck with the NHL club full time for the two seasons prior to the lockout. He broke out offensively when the NHL picked back up in 2005-06 with 46 points in 67 games, and managed to improve every year for the next three seasons: 43 assists and 49 points; a career high 16 goals and 58 points; and career highs of 52 assists and 64 points last season en route to his first All-Star game. This season started out as poorly as humanly possible, as he Markov suffered a major injury in the very first game of the season when an inadvertent skate cut his ankle. He returned in mid-December to play 26 games and has 18 points, but has struggled defensively lately with a -3 rating in his last four games. He is a dynamic presence on a power play (11 of his 18 points have come with the man advantage) that has the ability to score every time it is on the ice, and despite a lower-body injury, he is expected to play in the Games. 8. Aleksey Morozov ? Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) The name won?t sound familiar to many, but Morozov is a former NHLer who will captain the Russian squad in Vancouver, and he was also their flag bearer in the opening ceremonies. He was a first round pick in 1995 (24th overall by Pittsburgh) but never lived up to the offensive promise that he showed in Russia. He played 7 seasons for the Penguins, totalling 219 points in 451 games, reaching the 20 goal mark once, and the 50 point mark once (though what could have been his best season was ended by a broken wrist, when he had 25 points in his first 27 games of 2002-03). Ever since the NHL lockout, he has played in Russia for Ak Bars Kazan and has proven to be a dynamic offensive force, with 312 points in 268 games up until this year. He won a silver medal with Russia in 1998 and hasn?t played in the Olympics since, but he was a key member and the captain of the past two World Championships, leading to him retaining the title of this NHL-heavy squad. 7. Sergei Federov ? Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL) While at 40, he is not the star he was, the versatile leader will be an important player for Russia with his ability to play both forward and defense. It was that defensive play that made him so valuable as a forward for the Red Wings during the 1990?s and their back-to-back Stanley Cups in ?97 and ?98 (he was also a member of the 2002 Cup team). After being drafted in the 4th round in 1988, Federov was one of the best players of the 90?s, carving out what may be a Hall of Fame career. He made 6 All-Star games, and won league MVP for the 1993-94 season after finishing second in scoring behind Gretzky with 56 goals, 64 assists and 120 points. That year he also won his first of two Selke trophies as the top defensive forward. He had 30+ goals in 6 of his first 7 seasons, and 10 times in total in his career. Federov once scored 4 goals in a game, and on a separate occasion scored 5 in a game ? a rare feat. During the decade of the 90?s he had the 3rd most playoff points behind Lemieux and Jagr, and only the third player ever to have four straight 20-point playoff performances after Bossy and Trottier. After Detroit, he finished his NHL career with stints in Anaheim, Columbus and Washington, the latter of which he started to play defense when the team was ravaged with injuries. After 1,179 points in 1,248, the Russian with the most goals ever took his act back to his home country, and will play in his third Olympic games this year while donning an ?A?. 6. Sergei Gonchar ? Pittsburgh Penguins The 14th overall pick in 1992 has been one of the league?s top offensive defensemen since he entered the NHL in 1994-95. He is currently in his 15th season, and 5th with Pittsburgh after playing in Washington for 9 ? years and Boston for half of a season. The five time All-Star is sitting on 199 career goals and 671 points in 975 career games, and reached 50+ points in 8 consecutive seasons (2000 to 2008). In fact, between 2000 and 2004, no defenseman had more points than Gonchar. With 8 goals and 37 points right now, he is on pace for another 50 point season, as well as his 10th season with double digit goals. He was a key member of the Penguins? Stanley Cup championship last year, his first Cup win, and had 14 points in 22 games despite playing with a partially torn MCL since the second round. This will be Gonchar?s fourth Olympic appearance; he helped Russia win silver in 1998 and bronze in 2002. While he was not a member of the past two World Championship teams, it surely won?t hurt those great teams to have his calming presence on the blue line. 5. Alexander Semin ? Washington Capitals ?The other Alex? in Washington is proving to be almost as lethal as his teammate, though his career did not start as rosy. He started his NHL career in 2003-04 after being drafted 13th overall in 2002. He had 22 points in 52 games that year, but did not play in the NHL again until 2006-07 due to the lockout and some Russian military service controversy. But in his second NHL season (that 06-07 season when he returned), he propelled himself into first-line status with 38 goals and 73 points in 77 games. 2007-08 was disappointing, as he tallied only 42 points in 63 games (though he still managed 26 goals). Last season he was back to form, playing alongside Ovechkin and Backstrom as the most potent line in hockey, with the 25-year-old Semin being the oldest. He battled some injuries again, but it didn?t stop him from 34 goals, and career highs of 45 assists and 79 points in only 62 games. This year, he has already reached 30 goals (in 53 games) and has 65 points, good for 12th in the league. 4. Ilya Kovalchuk ? New Jersey Devils Most of Kovalchuk?s career accomplishments can be found in this recent article, so I won?t rehash much of what has already been written. The 26-year-old has 32 goals and 63 points in 55 games so far this season, on pace for his sixth straight 40 goal season. In 600 NHL games, the three time All-Star has 329 goals and 620 points. This will be the 3rd Olympics appearance for the former first overall pick, and he will be an assistant captain. 3. Pavel Datsyuk ? Detroit Red Wings Datsyuk is one of the best two-way forwards in the game, a point made valid by his two straight Selke trophies and last year?s MVP nomination. He is coy with the puck, has incredible hands and skill with his stick, is strong on the puck, and a shoot out dynamo. Not only that, he is a great leader (assistant captain for the Wings) and one of the most sportsmanlike players in the game; he has won four straight Lady Byng Trophies. Detroit took him in the 6th round in 1998, and he made his debut in 2001-02 with 35 points in 70 games and helped Detroit win a Stanley Cup. In his sophomore season he jumped to 51 points in 64 games and was a +20. The next season he improved again to 68 points, which saw a drastic jump in his goal total (from 12 to 30). Once the lockout ended, he came back as an elite player, dishing out 59 assists en route to 87 points and a +26 in 75 games. He improved again the following year (2006-07) to 60 assists and a +36 while once again scoring 87 points. He followed that up with back-to-back 97 point seasons (31 goals/66 assists, 32 goals/65 assists) with a combined +75 rating. In 2008 he was a key member of the Stanley Cup Champion Wings, providing great defense on Crosby and Malkin while also netting 23 points in 22 games. This will be his third Olympics, and he could very well center the two Capitals. 2. Evgeni Malkin ? Pittsburgh Penguins ?Gino? was picked 2nd overall in 2004 (behind the guy #1 on this list) and has excelled from the start of his NHL career; he scored a goal in each of his first six NHL games. He went on to win Rookie of the Year in 2006-07 after putting up huge numbers: 33 goals, 52 assists, 85 points in 78 games, showing no hangover from the Russian contract disputes that led to him fleeing the country secretly. In his second and third seasons he was nominated for the Hart Trophy (losing to #1 on this list) and finished sixth in scoring as a sophomore with 106 points, including a career-high 47 goals. He won the Art Ross last year with 113 points (78 of which were assists) and the Conn Smythe after piling up 36 points in 24 playoff games as the Penguins won their Finals rematch with Detroit. The sky is the limit for both the big 6?3? center and both his NHL and International club. 1. Alexander Ovechkin ? Washington Capitals To me, he is the most exciting player in the world. Nearly half of the goals he scores are highlight worthy, and likely can?t be duplicated by any other player. He plays at full speed every single shift ? which is exciting and commendable, but also worrisome for his future health. He has a bit of a tainted record because of that hard play, and that is a couple of sketchy hits. But I think it is more to do with the speed he plays the game than it is intent to injure. You can knock him for his rough and tumble play all you want, but you cannot take away from his gifted offensive play. He has more goals than anyone else since he came into the league, and more hardware in his trophy case. He won the Calder trophy in 2005-06 after finishing third in league scoring (106 points) as well as goals (52). He experienced the sophomore slump the following year, getting ?only? 46 goals and 92 points. He bounced back in a huge way in 2007-08, winning all 4 major offensive awards: Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals ? 65), Art Ross Trophy (112 points), Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP) and Lester B. Pearson Trophy (most outstanding player as voted by your peers); it was the first time since the Rocket Richard Trophy was created (1999) that a player won all 4 in the same year. Last year he won all but the Art Ross after putting up 56 goals, and 110 points in 79 games. This year he is on a tear, and is on pace for the 4-peat once again with 42 goals (1st in the league), 47 assists (6th in the league)and 89 points in only 54 games (he is also an amazing +43 ? 1st in the league). He was also named team captain of the Capitals after a mid-season trade that saw former captain Chris Clark dealt to Columbus. If he stays healthy for his career, it is possible that The Great One?s all-time goal mark gets eclipsed by Alexander The Gr8. i>Nick can be reached at [email protected] and on twitter: http://twitter.com/nickobergan Next (and last) up: Canada