Luca Sbisa One of Five Players With Hawks Ties Set For Olympics

Five current and former Winterhawks will be suiting up for their respective countries in the men’s hockey tournament at the upcoming Olympics, the highest number of any WHL team.

Current Winterhawk Luca Sbisa (Switzerland) and alumni Marcel Hossa (Slovakia), Marian Hossa (Slovakia), Brenden Morrow (Canada) and Richard Zednik (Slovakia) are among the 28 Western Hockey League graduates who will play in the Olympics, which get underway next Friday. Sbisa is the only current WHL player who will represent his country at the Olympics.

Sbisa was acquired by Portland on January 10, and made his debut last Friday in Everett. He has two points in four games with Portland, and for his WHL career he’s posted 12 goals and 51 assists for 63 points in 101 games with the Winterhawks and Lethbridge Hurricanes. Sbisa, a first round NHL draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, also has 47 games of NHL experience with the Flyers and Anaheim Ducks.

Morrow and Marian Hossa were two of the stars from the 1998 Memorial Cup-winning team. Morrow suited up in 265 games for the Winterhawks from 1995-1999, tallying 127 goals and 157 assists for 284 points. He is in his 10th season with the NHL’s Dallas Stars, where he is team captain.

Marian Hossa played 53 games for the Winterhawks team that won the 1998 Memorial Cup, totaling 45 goals and 40 assists for 85 points. He is currently in his 11th NHL season, having played for the Ottawa Senators, Atlanta Thrashers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and his current team, the Chicago Blackhawks. He’s a four-time NHL All-Star and has played in two Stanley Cup Finals.

His brother, Marcel Hossa, played 188 games for the Winterhawks from 1998-2001, and registered 65 goals and 99 assists for 164 points. He went on to play in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Phoenix Coyotes and currently plays in Russia.

Zednik played 126 games for the Winterhawks from 1994-1996, and registered 79 goals and 88 assists for 167 points. He went on to play 745 games in the NHL for the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Florida Panthers. Zednik currently plays in Russia.

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Here’s a look at the WHL graduates who will be competing for Gold at the 2010 Winter Olympic hockey tournament in Vancouver, B.C.:

CANADA
Name; Hometown – Club team (WHL team)
Ryan Getzlaf; Regina, SK – Anaheim Ducks (Calgary Hitmen)
Jarome Iginla; St. Albert, AB – Calgary Flames (Kamloops Blazers)
Duncan Keith; Penticton, B.C. – Chicago Blackhawks (Kelowna Rockets)
Patrick Marleau; Aneroid, SK – San Jose Sharks (Seattle Thunderbirds)
Brenden Morrow; Carlyle, SK – Dallas Stars (Portland Winterhawks)
Brent Seabrook; Tsawwassen, B.C. – Chicago Blackhawks (Lethbridge Hurricanes)
Shea Weber; Sicamous, B.C. – Nashville Predators (Kelowna Rockets)

CZECH REPUBLIC
Martin Erat; Trebic, CZE – Nashville Predators (Saskatoon Blades, Red Deer Rebels)
Tomas Fleischmann; Koprivnice, CZE – Washington Capitals (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Pavel Kubina; Celadna, CZE – Atlanta Thrashers (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Roman Polak; Ostrava, CZE – St. Louis Blues (Kootenay Ice)

GERMANY
Jason Holland; Morinville, AB – DEG Metro Stars Dusseldorf (Kamloops Blazers)
T.J. Mulock; Langley, B.C. – Eisbaren Berlin (Vancouver Giants, Regina Pats, Kamloops Blazers)
Chris Schmidt; Beaver Lodge, AB – Alder Mannheim (Seattle Thunderbirds)

LATVIA
Lauris Darzins; Riga, LAT – Dinamo Riga (Kelowna Rockets)

NORWAY
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen; Oslo, NOR – Philadelphia Flyers (Brandon Wheat Kings)

SLOVAKIA
Zdeno Chara; Trencin, SVK – Boston Bruins (Prince George Cougars)
Martin Cibak; Liptovsky Mikulas, SVK – Spartak Moscow (Medicine Hat Tigers)
Marcel Hossa; Ilava, SVK – Dinamo Riga (Portland Winterhawks)
Marian Hossa; Ilava, SVK – Chicago Blackhawks (Portland Winterhawks)
Tomas Kopecky; Ilava, SVK – Chicago Blackhawks (Lethbridge Hurricanes)
Andrej Meszaros; Povazska Bystrica, SVK – Tampa Bay Lightning (Vancouver Giants)
Rastislav Stana; Kosice, SVK – Severstal Cherepovets (Moose Jaw Warriors, Calgary Hitmen)
Richard Zednik; Banska Bystrica, SVK – Lokomotiv Jaroslavl (Portland Winterhawks)

SWITZERLAND
Hnat Domenichelli; Edmonton, AB – HC Lugano (Kamloops Blazers)
Luca Sbisa; Oberageri, SUI – Portland Winterhawks*, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Roman Wick, Zuzwil, SUI – Kloten Flyers (Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes)

*Sbisa is the only current WHL player participating in the 2010 Winter Olympic hockey tournament