Among the 46 players named to Team Canada's summer camp for Olympic preparation, it's no surprise that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has been invited.
But two less likely Penguins also made the cut. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was one of five to be named; along with Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Steve Mason and Cam Ward. That Fleury beat out guys like Chris Osgood and Marty Turco is a good indication of the respect he's deservedly getting after backstopping the Pens to a Stanley Cup. Brodeur and Luongo are the heavy favorites to see ice-time in the Vancouver Olympic games, but with a strong showing MAF could make the team and then who knows.
A bigger surprise was that Jordan Staal made the cut, joining a star studded group of forwards. Staal will be the youngest player at Team Canada's camp (though Milan Lucic and Jonathan Toews are only months young), which should be great for Staal's confidence and continued improvement this season. Successful Olympic teams seem to have the shutdown and good two-way players, so who knows if Staal can stick. Canada has no shortage of great players to choose from in this role -- like Mike Richards, Shane Doan, Brenden Morrow, Ryan Smyth and Dan Cleary -- but Richards is the only center in the bunch.
Canada's still loaded with pure centers the likes of Crosby, Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier, Joe Sakic, Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf, Patrick Marleau and Andy McDonald among the invited players, so who knows if there'll be room at in the inn for Staal.
Regardless, congratulations to the three Penguins going to wear the red and white this summer, hopefully it'll be a springboard to success in the fall!