Pucks On The 'Net

A few random thoughts on the world of hockey:

• Less than a year ago Steven Stamkos was a long shot at best to play for Team Canada at the 2010 Olympics. Now he is quite arguably the best player in hockey. 
• Another player who would most certainly be a lock on Team Canada if they picked a team today - Claude Giroux of the Flyers. 
• I think the most underrated player in the NHL today might very well be Alex Steen of the Blues. I suppose this should not be too surprising. His dad Thomas Steen was one of the NHL's best kept secrets when he played with the Winnipeg Jets. Both eat up big minutes in important situations - including both specialty team units - yet their offensive totals never truly reflected just how important their contributions really were.
• I'm hearing a lot of mainstream media support for Steve Larmer for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. This surprises me. Larmer was a consistent, high level performer for a long time, and as classy as an individual hockey has ever seen. But he was never really an elite hockey player. In fact he may be the poster boy for the Hall Of The Very Good, along with Brian Propp and Rick Middleton. So far the Hall has made the right call on Larmer - leaving him on the outside looking in.