Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson played for Sweden in the 2012 World Championship. (Warren Wimmer/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

The countdown to the 2014 Olympic hockey tournament in Sochi is on.

The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation started the clock on Friday morning with the announcement that it had selected 35 players to attend its Olympic orientation camp.

The camp will run August 12-14 in Stockholm.

The invite list features 31 NHL vets — including Marcus Kruger, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya of the Stanley Cup finalist Chicago Blackhawks — plus three players from the Swedish Elitserien and one from the KHL.

There’s no timetable yet from other federations regarding similar announcements, but all are now officially on the clock. Here’s Sweden’s list:

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The Big House in Ann Arbor will be hosting the 2014 Winter Classic, but Dodger Stadium may get an outdoor game of its own next year. (Harry How/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

On the morning that the NHL confirmed the details for the 2014 Winter Classic, rumors started flying about additional outdoor games…and one gained immediate traction.

Moments after NHL COO John Collins spoke at the Winter Classic presser about the possibility for additional outdoor games to be added to the schedule as soon as next season, outspoken player agent Allan Walsh tweeted that a “deal is done” for Dodger Stadium to host an event in 2014.

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Sidney Crosby’s contract could cost upwards of $300,000 to insure for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. (Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Interesting reveal from Glenn Healy on Hockey Night in Canada’s Hot Stove segment tonight regarding this week’s Olympic talks.

All parties are scheduled to meet on Friday with hopes of finalizing the deal that would see NHL players take part in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Not surprisingly, assumption of insurance costs will be one of the main topics. As Healy noted, a few recent contracts highlight the significance of this issue.

Insuring Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf alone will run something like $800,000. Look at the stars expected to make up the rosters for the tournament and you can see how quickly the total insurance costs will run into the tens of millions…and why the NHL wants no part in footing that bill.

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Boston’s Brad Marchand has put himself in the mix for a roster spot with Team Canada. (Fred Kfoury/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Safe to say, yesterday’s GM meetings in Toronto achieved little of note. They made some headway in the effort to further shrink the size of goalie equipment — although really, how much smaller can it get before we recognize the goalies themselves aren’t getting any smaller and we need to take a serious look at increasing the size of the nets? They moved toward increased use of video review in the shootout to determine if forward motion has been derailed and to double-check high-sticking calls.

Surprising they had time to get all that done and still eat lunch…

But even if they failed to get it together on much-needed items like hybrid icing and the coach’s challenge, the trip to Hogtown was hardly a loss, especially from the Olympic perspective.

Both the American (yesterday) and Canadian (today) brain trusts met to further discussions ahead of Sochi. And with fans waiting for the NHL and NHLPA to commit to the 2014 games, any news/rumors that come out of those gatherings will be welcome.

Steve Yzerman, the executive director of the Canadian men’s team, convened today with his management team — St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong, Detroit GM Kenny Holland, Edmonton Oilers president Kevin Lowe, Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland and Hockey Canada vice president Brad Pascall — to discuss players contending for roster spots. Although it’s thought that as many as eight forwards and five defenseman are inked in, there’s plenty of action on the fringes that the group will have to ponder.

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IIHF president Rene Fasel called out the NHL just days before a scheduled meeting on its participation in the 2014 Olympics. (Koji Sasahara/AP)

By Allan Muir

It hasn’t been a banner weekend for those hoping the NHL and its players will take part in the 2014 Olympic hockey tournament in Sochi.

First, there was IIHF president Rene Fasel on Hockey Night In Canada suggesting that “ego from some people in North America” was the main barrier standing in the way of NHL participation, adding, somewhat smugly, “I think Gary [Bettman] has no choice but to come to Sochi.”

Whoops.

It’s not like Fasel was ambushed by the question from CBC’s Scott Russell. He had to know it was coming. And this wasn’t just an inelegantly worded response from an English-as-a-second-language bureaucrat. Fasel recognizes that the players want to go to Sochi and that more than a few are planning to head over next February with or without the league’s permission. Like George Costanza, he feels like he has hand in this relationship.

But for this thing to truly happen, Fasel needs the full cooperation of Bettman and the NHL’s Board of Governors. And that’s something no one should ever take for granted.

Fasel is no political novice. This is a guy who has been the head of the IIHF for 18 years, nearly as long as Bettman’s been running the show in New York. So why is he acting like one just days before the IIHF and the NHL are scheduled to meet in an effort to come to an agreement on Sochi?

It was a stunningly clumsy decision by a man who should understand that at his own peril he makes Bettman look like a powerless fool.

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If you think Sidney Crosby made an impact at the 2010 Winter Olympics, just wait. (Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

When it comes to Canada’s national hockey teams, the story is never who makes the cut, but who gets snubbed. Second-guessing the roster has become the country’s other official sport.

Such scrutiny is the price that comes with having the world’s most enviable talent pool, one so deep that a solid case can be built for literally dozens of choices. But it also points out the challenge facing Steve Yzerman and the rest of Canada’s management heading into Sochi. It’s not just a matter of picking the best players or the ones with the flashiest statistics, but the men capable of playing multiple roles…and meshing well with one another.

Team USA projected Olympic roster

And it’s about picking players who will be ready when Feb. 12, 2014 rolls around, not just those who’ve answered the call in the past. Experience is important, but the team can’t live in the past.

So maybe that means no Rick Nash, who has underperformed at his last couple international events. Maybe Jason Spezza, Joe Thornton and Ryan Getzlaf don’t have the versatility to find footing among Canada’s deep group of centers. Maybe some youngsters are ready but others, like Tyler Seguin, Logan Couture and Jeff Skinner aren’t quite there yet.

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Ryan Miller, the 2010 Olympic tournament MVP, will return, but will he be the No. 1? (Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The opening of the Sochi Games is just a year away, and while there’s still no formal agreement that NHL players will skate in the men’s hockey tournament, all signs point in that direction and league officials are to meet with the IIHF on Feb. 14 and 15 to discuss the matter.

SARAH KWAK: Ovechkin, Russia thirsting for redemption

Coming off a surprising silver medal performance in 2010, Team USA will ice a competitive squad that is stacked in net, young and mobile on the blueline and aggressive, if not particularly deep, up front.

Here’s how we see Team USA lining up in Russia.

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