We here with LeafsWire will be joining the fun inside the always exciting chat room.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow, live, by visiting: www.blogtalkradio.com/thehockeyguys promptly at 11:30 a.m. EST

We hope to see all the Leafs faithful as well as all you hockey crazed fans on board.

Guests include: Kevin Allen of USA Today, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Post Dispatch, Lyle Richardson of Spectors Hockey, Anthony San Filippo of the Delware County Daily Times and Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period.

On the whole CHL note, it was announced last week that EA Sports and the CHL had reached an agreement to include the CHL in the NHL 11 game. This means gamers will be allowed to use the CHL teams (The O, Q and W) and their players, complete with likenesses. The inclusion of the CHL will likely affect how the new Be-A-Pro mode functions, and increase the depth of the franchise mode. As an EA Sports NHL enthusiast, I am very excited of the addition of the CHL, which will make both the Be-A-Pro and Franchise Mode game-types much more realistic and accurate.

Not really too shocked to see the Sharks eliminated, but this could potentially set up an epic finale featuring the Hawks and Flyers. That would make for some very exciting playoff hockey. The Flyers absolutely must eliminate those Habs, even though doing so would incite riots in downtown Montreal. Really, who needs Montreal anyways. Let it be.

The Leaf news is far and few in between, but should pick up nicely after the conclusion of the playoffs leading up to the draft. We plan to be very active during the summer, so stay tuned for what should be a very eventful summer.

As a recap, Leaf players currently participating in the IIHF tournament include: Mikhail Grabovski and Mikhail Stefanovich (Belarus), Francois Beauchemin (Canada), Leo Komarov (Finland), Korbinian Holzer (Germany), Nikolai Kulemin (Russia), Carl Gunnarsson, Rickard Wallin and Jonas Gustavsson (Sweden), Christian Hanson (United States).

Starting off with Belarus, Grabovski and Stefanovich played decently for their team. Stefanovich has recorded a goal, and Grabovski has two assists in five games so far. There’s an article here, on the IIHF site detailing just how important Grabovski is to his team.

Team Canada hasn’t had the tournament they were looking to have, but are still in the hunt for a top finish. Beauchemin, who has served as an alternate captain on the team, currently has an assist but has played well defensively, maintaining his +1 average.

Leo Komarov hasn’t played that much in the tournament, having played an average of around 10 minutes per game. He has however recorded a goal, registered 8 shots on goal, and maintains a +1 average as well.

Korbinian Holzer, who Dave Poulin spoke highly of here, has logged a ton of minutes for the German team. He remains pointless despite six shots on goal. On the other hand, he remains even which offsets his lack of offense quite nicely.

Nikolai Kulemin is a player who the Toronto Maple Leafs, and team Russia will rely on heavily for the rest of his career. Skilled offensively, and gifted with a large body, Kulemin is beginning to find himself and has discovered his scoring touch as well. In limited ice time, Kulemin has managed to accumulate four points, two goals and two assists.  The experience will be invaluable for Kulemin, who will be expected to step up in a big way for the Leafs next season.

We now look at the Swedish team consisting of the most Leafs: Carl Gunnarsson, Jonas Gustavsson and Rickard Wallin. In five games, Carl Gunnarsson has accumulated two points, a goal and assist, in limited ice time on the Swedish blueline. Rickard Wallin on the other hand, has become an assist machine, gathering four assists in five games. Jonas Gustavsson has split time with fellow Swede (and Florida Panthers prospect) Jacob Markstrom. In three games, Gustavsson has a record of 2-1, a GAA of 1.67 and a SV% of 94.5%. These are amazing numbers, especially with the amount of Swedish stars declining invites.

Lastly, Christian Hanson of the United States team. The US has played poorly thus far, and has faced the danger of relegation. So far, Christian Hanson has had an average tournament, continuing the trend of his average season. He has one assist, but has a +3 rating in limited ice time. The jury is still out on wether Hanson will be a legit NHL player, but odds are the Leafs will end up signing him for at least another season or two.

Overall, the presence of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2010 IIHF tournament is evident in numbers, but also in quality. The organization is moving forward in a positive manner, and diversely as well. It was once said that Burke hates European players, and will ice a team of only North Americans. The contingent of Leaf players at the IIHF tournament, and the level of play they have exhibited is proof otherwise. Watching young Leaf talent play in the IIHF tournament has been a pleasure, as it provides a window to the future of talent the Leafs could someday demonstrate.

Look forward to hearing some replies!

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Last night’s matchup between Canada and Russia was probably one of the best games I’ve watched as of late. Not because the game was so close and could go either way, but because of the sheer fact that we beat the favored Russians, especially considering the criticism and adversity the Canadians faced in the wake of their demoralizing loss against the Americans.

Last night’s game was a treat to watch because everything we’ve ever wanted from the Canadian team was fulfilled. We forechecked hard, we got tons of point shots through, we clicked on special teams, we received good goaltending, we gained a lead and kept it. I could go on and on, but you get the point. On a different note, a friend of mine suggested on the way to university classes today that perhaps an 100% efficient team Canada faced a <50% efficient Russian squad? What do you think?

Our next game comes against Slovakia, Friday night. Winner gets to face either the USA or Finland in the gold medal game Sunday. I’ve already booked off work, have you? Have a great Thursday boys and girls!

Up next are the Russians, and I don’t even want to begin to predict this game or give any type of analysis. My advice? Just watch the game, and let it unfold. It should be something amazing to watch if both teams can match the intensity of the other.

Have a great hockey night!

PS: Anyone see Joannie Rochette skate last night? That was amazing. She did an amazing job, even after losing her mother days earlier. A true Canadian athlete!

The Olympics have begun, and it’s the event we’ve all waited for : Olympic mens hockey. See how it shakes out after the jump.Tonight is the first game Team Canada will play at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Their opponent is Norway, and game time is scheduled for 7:30 EST. The Norwegian roster consists of mainly European players, and the only NHL’ers of note are Patrick Thoreson and Ole-Kristian Tollefson, both of whom have been Philadelphia Flyers at points in their careers. The odds are severely in the Canadians favor, and tonight should be an easy win. Bob McKenzie tweeted earlier that the Canadian forward lines looked as such:

Nash-Crosby-Bergeron
Staal-Getzlaf-Perry
Toews-Richards-Iginla
Heatley-Thornton-Marleau

and the powerplay units like:

Richards-Crosby-Nash;
Perry-Getzlaf-Staal
Marleau-Thornton-Heatley
Pronger-Doughty
Boyle-Weber

The goalie tonight will be Roberto Luongo, with Marty likely starting later in the week.

In my opinion, the lineup looks very good. Like Canada indicated early on, they were going to bring both skilled and role players, and the lineup radiates this. I think we have a very balanced attack, and we should be able to go deep in the tournament. Don’t know about the Russians yet, but I do in fact BELIEVE.

Should be an entertaining affair tonight, but sadly I won’t be able to watch as I’ll be at work. Hope everyone enjoys it.

As always, you can follow us on twitter here to get our latest articles.

PS. We, along with the rest of Leafs nation absolutely love the Phaneuf + Giguere deals. We’ll have analysis next week on exactly why. Go Leafs Go!

LW2.0 sees the blog move from being hosted by wordpress.com to paid hosting and the domain change from leafswire.wordpress.com to leafswire.ca .

So far the design is complete. Plugins and sidebar goodies are still being tested and implemented. We also have a few surprises we hope to integrate a few weeks after we launch.

So basically, right now is a hectic time for everybody and we ask that you bear with us while we entrench ourselves into the internet, presumably attempting to stay for the long haul.