No country faces a larger pressure to win than the hosts. As if being the home country wasn?t enough, they desperately need to atone for their ugly 7th place finish in 2006. Accuse me of homerism if you like, but on paper they have the most talent in the tournament; their top-11 forwards are better than that of any other team, they definitely have the most talented group of defensemen, and their goaltenders are as good as anyone else?s. They have a good balance of youth and veterans, as well as speed and power, a balance they lacked four years ago. Can they handle the pressure? Below are their 10 keys in coming out victorious. 8-10. The Young Captains Mike Richards ? Philadelphia Flyers Eric Staal ? Carolina Hurricanes Jonathon Toews ? Chicago Blackhawks As the heading states, these three captain their NHL clubs and are completely accustomed to heavy minutes and a major role. As the tournament goes on, and depending on the matchups and how well each plays, their roles and minutes will be both intertwined and inconsistent. The key for these youngsters (all of which are making their Olympic debut) is defense; there are no doubts about their offensive ability (Richards has 24 goals and 24 power play points, Staal has 50 points in 49 games, and Toews has 49 points in 55 games along with a +24 rating), but they will be major factors on the other end of the ice. Toews and Richards in particular will be key features on the penalty kill and will spend the majority of their 5 on 5 shifts on the checking line. Staal has lined up on the wing for the 2nd line so far, providing a physical presence. He has two 40 goal seasons and a 100 point season in his career, so it?s not like he is out of place in an offensive role, but his impact needs to be felt in the areas not on the stat sheet. 7. Dan Boyle ? San Jose Sharks & Drew Doughty ? Los Angeles Kings These two Olympic rookies are at different stages of their career, but have similar games. Boyle is 33 and with his third franchise after going undrafted; Doughty just turned 20, and was drafted 2nd overall in 2008. Boyle has had sustained success as an offensive-minded defenseman, and will surely have his fifth 50 point season this year. In 2004 he was the best defenseman on the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay squad, and is hoping to lead San Jose to that same feat now, giving them the puck moving blue-liner they have sorely lacked in the past. Doughty had a good rookie year with 21 points in 81 games, and was heavily lauded for the maturity he displayed. This season he has improved dramatically, already tallying 11 goals and 45 points (Boyle also has 11 and 45 respectively), while drawing comparisons league-wide to a young Ray Bourque. Despite the Sharks having a better team, Doughty?s +17 rating is quite a bit better than Boyle?s +5. They don?t necessarily have to flourish offensively in this tournament with the firepower Canada has up front, but it will be important for them to be catalysts on the power play. The main key, though, will be their defensive play. If they want to play heavy minutes, they will get the opportunity by playing well positionally in their own end, making good outlet passes and not turning the puck over. 6. Rick Nash ? Columbus Blue Jackets Nash was the first overall pick in 2002, and is the quintessential power forward today; he is big (6?4?, almost 220l bs), fast, has great hands and a hard shot. This season, while statistically successful overall, has been a bit of a roller coaster for him. He may have good numbers right now (28 goals/57 points in 63 games) but he went through a stretch from mid-December to mid-January where he only had 10 points in 17 games. But since then, he is back to his usual self with 8 goals and 15 points in 14 games. With two more goals this year, he will have his fifth 30 goal season out of seven despite never really having a top-line center to play with (unless you count a 35-year-old Sergei Federov). The Columbus captain is a four-time All-Star, was nominated for the Calder Trophy, and shared the Rocket Richard Trophy (with Iginla and Kovalchuk) during his sophomore season when he had a career high 41 goals. His assist totals have increased every season since his sophomore year, from 16 in 2003-04 to 39 last year; and at 29 this year, he is likely to see them climb for a sixth straight season. He has also improved leaps and bounds defensively thanks to former coach Ken Hitchcock, who turned him into an effective penalty killer, and an effective leader. Nash will be playing on the first line with Sidney Crosby, so he should see his point total dramatically rise from the 1 he had in 2006. 5. Duncan Keith ? Chicago Blackhawks Keith is a front-runner for the Norris Trophy this year, and this tournament could vault him from ?underrated? to ?elite? around the world. He was picked in the 2nd round of the 2002 draft and made his NHL debut to begin the 2005-06 season. He has led the team almost every season since he entered in minutes played and blocked shots, while improving his point-total every single season. He had 21 points as a rookie, and jumped to 44 last year. The 2008 All-Star has been on fire from the start this year, and is second among NHL defensemen with 53 points (in 61 games) along with a +23 rating; he also leads the entire league in total ice time. Defensively, he is considered one of the top shut-down D-men in the league along with his Chicago and Canada blue-line partner Brent Seabrook. The Blackhawks rewarded Keith this season with the biggest contract in franchise history: 13 years/$72 million, which should keep the 26-year-old in Chicago for the rest of his career. 4. Ryan Getzlaf ? Anaheim Ducks Getzlaf and teammate Corey Perry headline Canada?s second line, but it?s Getzlaf who provides an impact that cannot be replaced, and that is why the team waited until the last possible day to finalize its roster on Monday to make sure Getzlaf?s ankle injury wasn?t going to limit him in Vancouver. He is one of the best two-way centers in the game, who excels in every facet of the game: a good shooter, skilled hands, a deft passer, a physical presence in the corners, a good faceoff man, solid defensively and a quality leader. He is another player who has improved every season, from 39 points as a rookie right up to 91 last year ? tied for 6th in the league; his 66 assists last season are a Ducks? franchise record. He has won gold and silver twice for Canada on the junior circuit, and was a major part of the 2007 Stanley Cup Champion Ducks team, where he had 17 points in 21 games. The 24-year-old is locked in financially until 2012-13, and locked into an important role for this Canadian squad. 3. The San Jose Sharks line Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau Apart, these three are very good players ? Thornton and Heatley border on superstar on their own, if only for the regular season ? but combined, they are a top-2 line in the NHL. They have played all 62 games for their team this year, and have combined for 86 goals and 205 so far. Thornton was drafted first overall in 1997 by Boston and was more of a physical player and goal scorer there until his 65-assist/101 point season in 2002-03. However, Boston grew tired of his disappearing act in the playoffs and sent him to San Jose part way through 2005-06, and he ended up winning the Hart Trophy and Art Ross that year (96 assists, 125 points). The next year he had 92 assists, becoming only the third player in history with back-to-back 90 assist seasons (Gretzky and Lemieux being the others). However the playoffs are a different world for the 6 time All-Star, with 53 career postseason points in 76 games. Heatley seems to become unhappy wherever he goes, but the former 2nd overall pick (2000) is one of the league?s best goal scorers; he has two 50 goal seasons, and three others with 39+. Both Thornton and Heatley underachieved for the 2006 Olympic squad. Marleau is the Sharks? career leader in goals, assists and points, even though the former captain has only three seasons of 70+ points. This season, despite being stripped of his captaincy following another early exit in the playoffs, he has responded with a career year: 38 goals and 64 points through 62 games, former great chemistry with his linemates. It is that chemistry that caused all 3 of these players to be chosen to the Canadian squad, what with so little practice time ahead of the Olympics, chemistry could very well make or break a team?s chances. 2. Jerome Iginla ? Calgary Flames Talk to NHL fans, players, coaches and executives from any city, and you will be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn?t like Iginla. Throughout his entire career he has played his heart out every shift, aggressive yet sportsmanlike, a fantastic leader on and off the ice (let the record show, that he would have been my choice to captain the Olympic squad), doesn?t shy away from criticism or the media that follows his every move in Canada, and takes the ultimate pride in playing for his country and has no problem giving up personal glory for the good of the team. The Players Association voted him Most Outstanding Player after leading the league in goals (52) and points (96) in 2001-02, and he won his second Rocket Richard Trophy in 2003-04 with 41 goals. ?Iggy? has scored 35 or more goals in 7 straight seasons, and has had 4 campaigns of 89+ points, including each of his last three years. He is only 32, so it is likely that, with 1004 games played and 908 points, he gets well over 1000 career points and finds himself in the Hall of Fame. In the postseason, he has made one appearance in the Finals, but has never won. Sadly, his GM is more guilty than anyone of this, as Iggy has never had a first-line center to play with (the assortment has featured Langkow, Conroy, Jokinen, and now Stajan). The Flames? career goals and points leader, 5 time All-Star and 3 time Hart Trophy nominee was surprisingly a key player in the 2002 Olympic Champion team and will play anywhere from first-line to checking line with Canada this year. But, like much of his career, he won?t gripe about where he plays or how much, because the team comes first. 1. Sidney Crosby ? Pittsburgh Penguins Sid The Kid is under more pressure than anyone else in Vancouver. He was tabbed as a rookie as the savior of hockey, the future of the league, and the heir to Gretzky?s records and throne. While Gretzky?s career points record will surely never be broken, the throne is there for the taking for the young kid from Nova Scotia. After the lockout, the NHL needed to win fans back, and they have commercialized the you-know-what out of Sid?s face to make it happen. I will be the first to admit, his first couple of years in the league I was not a fan. He was 18 and he acted it, whining to the refs any moment he got, proving to be a boy among men. He showed tremendous skill though, scoring over 100 points as a rookie. As a sophomore he became the only teenager to ever win a scoring title ? in ANY sport ? with 120 points. He was named captain after his second season, the youngest captain in NHL history (he was still 19). He only played 53 games in year 3, but scored over 100 points again last year. In the playoffs, you could start to see a different Sid. He was always displaying his great vision, instinct, and passing touch, but now he was shooting more. He had 15 goals in 24 post season games while becoming the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup in NHL history. This year, the shooting has continued, and man is he burying them like never before. Sid has already eclipsed 40 goals for the first time in his career, currently sitting at 42 to tie his arch-nemesis Ovechkin for the league-lead. In fact it?s like watching Bizarro Crosby this year, as he has more goals than he does assists. However he had to, as Malkin has been underperforming and Gonchar has been injured, so he carried his squad on his young shoulders. Whether non-fans want to admit it or not, this is Sid?s team; this is the next step in his already great career. He needs this gold as much as the country he plays for. And thankfully, he is so committed, he won?t settle for less. Nick can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter at @nickobergan