Here are the members of the 2002 men's Olympic hockey team who were ousted early in the first round: Martin Brodeur, Ed Jovanovski, Simon Gagne, Joe Nieuwendyk, Michael Peca, and Scott Niedermayer.

And here are the ones who made the trip to Sweden to help out Team Canada in the World Championship: Ryan Smyth and Eric Brewer. [Jim: Both of whom play for the Edmonton Oilers. Also note 3 other non-Olympian Oilers are playing for Canada in the worlds]

Okay, Lemieux has hip problems, and Peca was crippled by Darcy Tucker in the first round, but what about the rest of those chumps, eh? Look at Smyth: He played on a bum ankle for half the season, for the Olympics, and now for Canada again. He's every bit as inspirational as Steve Yzerman is and then some because there's no money and no Stanley Cup at the end. And Brewer is playing his way into the elite of the league. For a kid, the experience he's getting and the leadership he's gaining is going to make him one of the brightest stars in the NHL for a long long time.