The key component for a Canadian Olympic gold medal seems to be hockey's winningest man: Scott Niedermayer.
Niedermayer captained Team Canada to gold in 2010, and was a top player on their previous gold medal championship in 2002. Niedermayer was inexplicably left off of the 1998 team, and was injured in 2006. Canada did not step on the podium without him.
He was instrumental in Canada's 2010 success, playing his best when his team needed him the most. The veteran was a calming influence and arguably the team's best defenseman in the gold medal game.
Niedermayer does not always get properly credited as one of the all time great blue liners. He has always been recognized as a great skill player, but not necessarily reveered as a legend.
That is partially because his quiet, laid back persona off the ice. But on the ice he is a true champion. In addition to the two Olympic gold medals, Niedermayer has also won the Memorial Cup, World Junior and World Championships, a World Cup and four Stanley Cups. All he does is win.
To me, that makes him one of hockey's greatest legends. Read the full Scott Niedermayer biography here.
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