Penguins C JORDAN STAAL on not being selected Wednesday morning by Hockey Canada to the Canadian men’s ice hockey roster for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics:
Q: Given the way you’ve played this season, how much did you allow yourself to believe you’d make the team?
A: I don’t know. I thought I’d had a good season. I wouldn’t say I had the best shot out there. There was a lot of players. That’s how it goes.
Q: What did you think that chance was?
A: I don’t know what the percentage was exactly. It was there. I didn’t say I should be on the team or anything like that, but there was definitely a moment I thought I could make it.
Q: Will you watch the Olympics?
A: No question I will. Again, there’s a lot of great players on that team that deserve to be there. I have plenty of years ahead of me I guess.
Q: They’ve bypassed some great young players before; does that make this any easier?
A: That’s true, but you still want Canada to win even if you’re not on the team. They should be good.
If Jordan Staal is from any other country, he is playing in the Olympics. His biggest problem is being from Canada. That team is always loaded. I personally think Russia will skate away with the Gold with Canada a close second.