Where They're From: 2011 Stanley Cup Final

I did this last year, so I figured I'd do a post on this year's Final here. 

Boston's Canadian-ness makes superfan Don Cherry shed a tear, but they are led by their only European up front.  Krejci and Bergeron are really the two leaders, as Bergeron would be just behind Krejci in minutes played if not for missing two games due to injury.  While I haven't shown on here the league in which these players came from, its a curious note that the much maligned QMJHL essentially produced the top Canadian forwards for each team in the Finals.  In fact, Vancouver's Canadian contingent is quite unique:  Mason Raymond is not a major junior graduate, but an AJHL/NCAA alumni, meaning that Raffi Torres at 9th on the depth chart is actually the team's top OHL or WHL grad.  And Torres is only ahead of Samuelsson due to Samuelsson's injury.  This might partially explain why Canadians outside of BC aren't rallying behind the orca...  the Anglo-Canadian makeup of the forwards is incredibly weak.  Meanwhile, Boston could be confused for a major junior team with its makeup at forward. 

Ryan Kesler is obviously the Canucks' focal point up front.  The Sedins get deployed in almost exclusively offensive situations, while Kesler gets deployed wherever needed.  The strong Scandanavian contingent continues with Danish forward Jannik Hansen, who is the first player from Denmark to play in the Stanley Cup Final.  He's the key component of Vancouver's 3rd line, and really has been incredibly underrated to date, as has Vancouver's second American forward, Chris Higgins.  Boston has been the healthier team overall, only using top prospect Tyler Seguin as a result of Bergeron's injury, and then keeping him around ahead of tough guy Shawn Thornton.  Meanwhile, Vancouver has used a rotating cast of players on a rarely used fourth line. 

Again, the list here shows how Boston has managed to stay incredibly healthy through the playoffs:  their #7 d-man has only played 9 minutes total (in 3 separate games!).  Boston does have two notable injuries:  Marc Savard at centre and Steve Kampfer on D, but they've had little trouble filling out their lineup card for the most part.  Vancouver has had more of a challenge on that front, with their longest serving veteran Salo missing four games and top scoring blueliner Ehrhoff missing a couple.

As far as nationality goes, Boston is more diverse on the blueline, relying on Norris candidate Chara and underrated German veteran Dennis Seidenberg a lot.  Chara missed one game due to dehydration, otherwise the two would be virtually identical in minutes played.  Boychuk and Ference help Boston's Anglo-Canadian tradition as a solid 3-4 combo, while Czech veteran Tomas Kaberle has struggled and has been dropped to a supproting #5 role with lots of PP time.  For Vancouver, Kevin Bieksa is the top dog, playing phenomenal hockey as he hits unrestricted free agency this summer.  But Alexander Edler is a marvel as well:  coming all the way from Division 1 hockey in Sweden in Ostersund, a long ways away from the glamour of Vancouver, to a leading role in the Cup Final.  BC boy Dan Hamhuis is also having a great playoffs, and would be a significant loss if he is indeed missing time after his Game 1 injury.  Christian Ehrhoff is the second German in the Final, meaning that the Cup will indeed be doing a stop in the the emerging hockey nation.  Sami Salo is the lone Finnish skater in the series, and the oldest player on the Canucks.  American Keith Ballard has struggled to get ice time behind this stacked D despite his high pay, but the injury to Hamhuis could provide an opportunity. 

Tim Thomas is the lone American for Boston, but he's easily their most important player.  The only time he's missed to date has been when Boston needed an extra attacker.  Tuukka Rask's presence guarantees a visit for the Cup to Finland this summer, but he hasn't had to do anything but stay positive and ready on the bench.  Luongo struggled against Chicago and didn't start one of the games as a result, but has been excellent ever since.  Cory Schneider hasn't done that well in his short relief work, but he played a not insignificant role in the team's Presidents' Trophy win, sharing the William M. Jennings Trophy for top GAA in the league with Luongo. 

In all, each team has used players from 6 different countries, but the proportion of players is vastly different.  Boston has two Czechs and one Slovak, while Vancouver has none from either country.  Meanwhile, Boston doesn't use a single Scandanavian player, while Vancouver has four Swedes and a Dane.  Boston is by far the more Canadian of the teams, which is a bit funny, especially since Vancouver has a way more prominent American presence.  Boston also has a unique collection of Maratimers:  Ryder is from Newfoundland, McQuaid is from Prince Edward Island, and Marchand is from Nova Scotia.  There are no Maratimers on Vancouver, so one must sense Atlantic Canada has a rooting interest in the Bruins.  Meanwhile, Quebec could be seen as fully behind Vancouver, and not just from an anti-Bruins standpoint:  four Quebeckers play for the Canucks, which is actually equal to the amount of Ontario born Canucks players.  Boston has only one Quebecker in Bergeron, with seven Don Cherry approved Ontario boys (all at forward).

Again, like last year's Final, there are no Russians to be seen on the ice.  However, there are at least a couple of Russians as 'black aces' for each team:  Forward Sergei Shirokov for the Canucks, while Boston has defenseman Yuri Alexandrov and goaltender Anton Khudobin as 'just in case' reserves.  Shirokov, by far, has the best chance of getting into action of the Russians, though even that is unlikely with Manny Malhotra nearing a return for Vancouver.  However, Shirokov will likely get a day with the Cup if Vancouver wins, having played two games for the team this year, though he would not get his name on the Cup without a Final appearance.  No other nations could potentially be represented on the Cup this year.

Meanwhile, either Roberto Luongo or Patrice Bergeron will join the "Triple Gold Club", as winners of a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, and World Championship gold medal.