When it comes to goaltending, Mike Smith and Braden Holtby have certainly had their share of headlines leading the Phoenix Coyotes and Washington Capitals in goal. Holtby, just 22 and third on the goalie depth chart to start the season, drew dramatic Dryden-esque comparisons with his playoff performance. Smith, who was placed on re-entry waivers by GM Steve Yzerman and the Tampa Bay Lightning just last year, has been instrumental in getting the Coyotes in the Western Conference Final. That said, you would think that Yzerman might be wanting Smith back on his side in the near future - not as the starting goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but perhaps as a No. 1 netminder for Canada at the Sochi Olympics. And at 22, does Holtby deserve some consideration? With less than two years to go before the Games, he may enter the discussion with other Canadian backstoppers like Carey Price, Cam Ward and Olympic holdovers Marc-Andre Fleury and Roberto Luongo. So heres Daves question to you: "Assuming theres NHL participation at the Sochi Olympics, who is your current choice as Canadas starting goalie?" Here are the answers that Dave liked best: "Imagine Carey Price with a good team in front of him." - John "Big goalie. No rebounds. I would vote for Smith and so would Chicago and Nashville." - K Larsen "Unless someone supplants the goalie who won gold the last time, and as yet, no one has earned that right, its Roberto Luongo again." - Ben "Im ready to pick Luongo the minute he gets traded to the Leafs." - James "Fleury and Claude Giroux would be teammates if both make it, but Fleury wont." - Nick "Im all for new blood, as long as Cam Ward is the tried-and-true option in a group of three." - Randy "Braden Holtby shows poise and maturity beyond his years and he certainly bears watching for Sochi." - Cyril And Daves Reply to All: A year ago, Im guessing the answer to this question would have been Roberto Luongo - gold-medallist from 2010, the Canadian goalie with the best stats from the 2010-11 NHL season, and lest we forget, a year ago it looked as though Luongo might become a Stanley Cup winner too. A year later, hes hardly out of the mix but a year later, the best answer, in my opinion, is a guy who wouldnt have been on anyones list 12 months ago and thats Mike Smith. That should tell us that Canadas next Olympic goalie isnt necessarily on this years list.And we do need to see more of Braden Holtby, who wouldnt have been considered a month ago. Oh, for an automatic choice. Oh, how Canada has been spoiled for close to 20 years by Marty Brodeur. He just turned 40, but maybe somebody should ask what he thinks hell be doing at 41. jerseys from china . Five victories, two of them World Golf Championship events along with the Players. You need a pretty sturdy mantle piece to hold the hardware from those events. nfl jerseys china . 8 out of the corner of his eye, flipped the puck in that general direction and hoped for the best. When it comes to Teemu Selanne, the best tends to happen. http://www.cheapjerseyssafe.com/ . "I want to sincerely thank Pierre Groulx for his contribution to the Canadiens organization over the past four years," said Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin in a statement. cheap nfl jerseys . 21-year-old rookie Jake Gardiner is seemingly never tired, despite the heavy minutes hes logging this season for the Leafs. wholesale nfl jerseys .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. TORONTO -- Canadas mens soccer team is kicking off its next leg of World Cup qualifying with a familiar refrain -- a call for fan support. A day before tickets went on sale for Canadas upcoming games at Torontos BMO Field, coach Stephen Hart stressed the importance of the national teams 12th man. "Fans in general can be a big, big lift to a team, fans can actually make the opponent believe theyre being outplayed just by their noise, the way they support every play, especially the attacking plays," Hart said on a conference call Thursday. "On the other end, it lifts players that they know, that all fans are asking is that you wear the shirt with the pride it deserves and were here to support you and push you through." Canada will host the United States in a friendly June 3, then Honduras on June 12 and Panama on July 9 in CONCACAF Round 3 qualifying games. Canada opted to play all its home qualifying games at BMO Field, which didnt sit well with some fans. Because of Torontos multicultural flavour, the games often draw as many supporters for the visiting team as for the home side. Hart has put the call out to fans several times to support the Canadian side. "I think its one of the big factors that has been missing in the past and its definitely something that we need because those players who are stepping out and representing Canada are putting their best foot forward every time, and its up to the supporters to put their best foot forward," Hart said. Canadian Soccer Association officials said Thursday that fans cheering for the opposing team will be seated together in the north grandstand at BMO Field. The Canadians open Round 3 on June 8 in Cuba, but before that theyll gather in Florida for a warm-weather camp around the third week of May that Hart hopes will enable the team to deal with the Cuban heat. He hopes to have 24 or 25 players in camp, and could bring in some players from Canadas under-23 team that played at the recent CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament.dddddddddddd. "Its a little difficult to judge the players on a three-game tournament, but some of them did catch my eye," Hart said. "Ive got a lot of time to watch them in training and more than likely its worth inviting them to camp." The Canadians hopes for a berth in London ended with a 3-1 loss to Mexico in the Olympic qualifying tournament. The senior national team will travel to Panama on Sept. 9, will host Cuba on Oct. 12 and are in Honduras on Oct. 16 in World Cup qualifying. Canada breezed through the second round, outscoring St. Lucia, Puerto Rico and St. Kitts and Nevis by a combined 18-1 margin. A much tougher task awaits against Panama, which is ranked 52nd by FIFA, soccers world governing body. Honduras is ranked 61st and Cuba 136th. Canada is currently slotted at No. 75 in the world. Hart is expecting the away games to be much more difficult than the opponents rankings would suggest. "I suspect most of the games are going to be played around 1, 2 oclock which is the hottest time of day, the pitches are not going to be watered, and in some instances theyll be in very bad condition," the coach said. "For me, the main things are the kickoff times, the playing pitch, and then other than that, the players are going to have to deal with hostile crowds. "To be honest, theyre all difficult in some unique way or the other, and the crowds and what they do outside your hotel the night before the game, etc., those things probably dont exist in most other countries. "The players have to learn to deal with it, we have our own methods of dealing with it. But it sure is difficult." Canada has made one World Cup appearance, in 1986 in Mexico where it lost its three preliminary round matches. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '