Team Canada just recently announced the official roster for the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi. The first thought that came to the minds of many hockey fans was “Some of these guys got screwed”, and indeed they did.

Although, with all of the talented Canadian-born players that compete in the NHL, it’s hard to field a team of just 25 and pick all of the right players. This year, however, the snubs are very obvious and just don’t make much sense.

The Official Roster for the 2014 Canadian team :

Forwards (14): Jamie Benn, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Sidney Crosby, Matt Duchene, Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Kunitz, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Patrick Sharp, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Jonathan Toews

Defense (8): Jay Bouwmeester, Drew Doughty, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Shea Weber

Goalies (3): Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, Mike Smith

Don’t get me wrong, the team is solid and it is stacked, especially offensively, but there was so much talent left off this roster. There is enough talent left over still lingering in the National Hockey League to field a second team, that may be just as competitive.

Here is a roster full of Canadian-born players who were NOT chosen to represent their country:

Forwards (13): Taylor Hall, Claude Giroux, Martin St. Louis, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Jordan Eberle, Jeff Skinner, Eric Staal, James Neal, Milan Lucic, Tyler Seguin, Jarome Iginla, Mike Richards

Defense (8): Brian Campbell, Brendon Seabrook, Mark Giordano, Marc Staal, Francois Beauchemin, Kris Letang, Dion Phaneuf, Dan Boyle

Goalies (3): Corey Crawford, Marc-Andre Fleury, Josh Harding

Am I right? Canada has enough talent to field two teams and still compete. This second team, in my mind, may be just as competitive. Taylor Hall is one of the best young players in the game alsong with Jeff Skinner, and there are so many veterans on this team. Jarome Iginla, Martin St. Louis, Joe Thornton, Eric Staal, Dion Phaneuf, Mark Giordano, and Dan Boyle are ALL captains on their respected NHL teams. Also, Josh Harding is THE hottest goalie in the whole game right now. Why wouldn’t you pick him?

Here is my opinion of what I think the Official Roster should’ve looked like:

Forwards (14): Jarome Iginla, Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Claude Giroux, Janathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby, John Tavares, Tyler Seguin, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Martin St. Louis, Matt Duchene

Defense (8): Duncan Keith, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban, Shea Weber, Mark Giordano, Dion Phaneuf, Dan Boyle, Brian Campbell

Goalies (3): Carey Price, Mike Smith, Josh Harding

Whether you’re a fan of team Canada or not, any hockey fan would question the judgment of the coaches to pick this specific team, especially with some of the chemistry that could’ve carried over from the NHL had they picked some of these other players. Canada can easily put two teams out in the Olympics in Sochi, and would honestly be a better competitor with the second of the two teams than mostly every other entry in the Olympics.