Greater Sudbury hockey fans had plenty to
rejoice and grieve on Wednesday as Todd Bertuzzi was named to
the 2006 Canadian men's Olympic hockey team and Tessa
Bonhomme was left off the women's Olympic squad.
 |
Bertuzzi, 30, becomes the second Sudbury
athlete to be officially on a Canadian Olympic team. Skier
Devon Kershaw has already made the Canadian national
cross-country skiing team.
Bonhomme, 20, was left off the women's
roster for the Turin, Italy Olympic Winter Games.
The news was all good to Bertuzzi.
Â"For them having faith in me was pretty
rewarding for myself,Â" said the six-foot-three winger in a
Canadian Press story on Dec. 21. Â"Knowing they believed in me
and that the so-called bags that I carry wasn't going to
interfere with this team, it was something I was excited to
hear and I'm looking forward to moving on.Â"
The 245-pound bruising forward was surprised
by the nomination.
Â"I'm really excited,Â" continued
Bertuzzi in the Canadian Press story. Â"I was never expecting
anything. To get the call and to be able to go out and
represent your country in a tournament like that is really
exciting for myself and my family.Â"
The announcement comes after a strenuous
20-month period in the Vancouver Canucks power forward's
life. In March 2004, Bertuzzi leveled Colorado's Steve
Moore with a heavy sucker punch that left Moore with a broken
neck and a questionable future in hockey. Bertuzzi's attack
was in retaliation to an incident earlier in that season when
Moore kneed Canucks' star Markus Naslund.
Bertuzzi was raked over the coals for the
punch and he served a 17-month suspension. He was also charged
and pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm, earning him
a conditional discharge.
He also had to do 80 hours of community
service and was placed on a year's probation.
Team Canada's assistant executive
director, Kevin Lowe, is glad Bertuzzi is on the squad and
wants others to feel the same.
Â"He's a forward...That when he's on
his game, he's one of the most difficult, if not the most
difficult forward to handle down low,Â" said Lowe in the
Canadian Press story. Â"In life and in this country, I think a
big part of being Canadian is being able to forgive. This is a
big step for Todd Bertuzzi.Â"
The Canadian Olympic Committee still has to
approve Bertuzzi's inclusion, and they meet next week to
discuss the hockey squad.
