Wayne Gretzky will announce the 26-player roster for this summer's World Cup of Hockey in mere moments. I can't wait to find out who the Great One deems worthy of wearing the maple leaf this August.

There will certainly be a number of changes from our gold medal winning Olympic team from Salt Lake City. The big question is whether Todd Bertuzzi will be selected considering his NHL suspension is still in effect.

On the Maple Leafs front, I think our best bet for representation comes from Eddie Belfour. He'd make a great veteran back-up to Martin Brodeur. Although Joe Niewendyk and Owen Nolan were on the Salt Lake City team, I suspect they'll be passed over for a younger crop, although you never know with Joe. On defense, I suppose there's an outside chance of Bryan McCabe making the cut, but after those horrible giveaways against the Flyers, I think Gretzky might be wise to pass. We'll find out very, very soon, won't we?

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Jay Bouwmeester broke a 3-3 tie 20 seconds into the third period Sunday as Team Canada rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits to beat Sweden 5-3 and capture its second straight gold medal at the world hockey championship.

This was a very entertaining game I thought. There were lots of big names on the squad from Sweden, including Peter Forsberg, Daniel Alfredsson and Niklas Lidstrom to name a few. Jonas Hoglund was even there for the ride once again putting in a better effort than I ever saw out of him when he wore the blue and white. Dany Heatley was named the tournament MVP concluding a roller coaster year for the youngster.

Next stop, the World Cup. Now that's a tournament I'd like to win. Go Canada Go! Our dominance continues...

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Shawn Horcoff of the Edmonton Oilers scored a controversial goal 6:10 into the third period and defending champion Canada edged Slovakia 2-1 in a semifinal of the men's world hockey championship earlier today. It looks like we'll be facing Sweden who are currently leading the United States 3-1 in the other semifinal. The final game takes place tomorrow at 14:00 EST.

The semifinal win also guaranteed Canada would keep its No. 1 ranking in the world regardless of Sunday's outcome, meaning the Canadians will be the top seed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Lets hope Team Canada wins again. We all remember Anson Carter's dramatic game winning goal last year. Go Canada Go!

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For the third World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal final in a row, Team Canada failed to hold the lead. This time, they led the U.S. team 3-1 in the third before losing 4-3 on one of the flukiest goals you'll ever see. Marc-Andre Fleury was attempting to clear the puck but inadvertently deflected it off his teammate in the process. The puck bounced into the Canadian net and once again we had to settle for silver.

When it comes to hockey, silver sucks. This is the one sport from which we demand a first place finish every time at every level. A silver medal in skiing or boxing would be widely celebrated, but in hockey, it's as good as finishing last. I challenge you to find me one Canadian who is proud of our second place finish today.

It's now been seven years since Canada won the gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship. In Canada, that's an eternity. I'd say wait until next year, but I uttered that exact phrase following our loss to the Russians in last year's gold medal match. Hell, I'm saying it again. Wait until next year...

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Team Canada dominated the team from the Czech Republic this morning, beating them 7-1 in the semi-final matchup at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Finland.

Canada will face the winner of the semi-final between the U.S. and Finland for the gold medal on Monday at noon. It's currently 1-0 for the Americans going into the third period. Last year we lost a heart breaker to the Russians in the finals so I'm looking for nothing short of gold on Monday. The U.S. team was the pre-tournament favourite in some people's books, but not in mine. This is our tournament to lose and I don't expect to be on the losing end of Monday's contest.

Go Canada Go!

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It's not quite noon, but already it's been a pretty good day for Canadian hockey. Canada dominated its crucial final roundrobin game against the Czech Republic at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Finland, earning a 5-2 victory and a bye into the semifinals. We're now two wins away from Gold.

Meanwhile, over in Davos, Switzerland, the Canadian team defeated HC Davos 7-4 to win the Spengler Cup. The Spengler Cup doesn't get a lot of coverage, but I always enjoy watching the collection of Canadians playing in Switzerland and AHL players. It's fun to see familiar faces like Lonny Bohonos, Paul DiPietro, Jamie Heward, Dixon Ward and Mike Craig. On the other side, there was good ol' #14 Jonas Hoglund playing for HC Davos. Sometimes I wonder if the absence of Hoglund on the Leafs this season isn't the biggest reason we're leading the league.

The Canadian Juniors play their semi-final on Saturday morning at 7:30 EST. Go Canada Go!

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One of my favourite tournaments in any sport is the World Junior Hockey Championships. Boxing Day isn't Boxing Day without the Canadian Junior team on the tube. It's always a thrilling tournament with an opportunity to watch future stars on the path to NHL glory, or in the case of Marc-Andre Fleury, current stars who haven't yet turned 19.

Earlier today I watched Team Canada easily handle the host team from Finland. Sunday morning I'll be watching more first round action as Canada takes on the Swiss. Unfortunately, no Leaf prospects are on the Canadian team this year (there were five last year), but with Fluery back between the pipes and 16 year old phenom Sidney Crosby up front, we should be in the Gold Medal game yet again this January. This is great hockey.

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