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Over a month ago, Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky was asked about the possibility of Mario Lemieux suiting up for the 2002 Olympics.

“I think it is pretty safe to say he is on our list,” the former NHL great and current Phoenix Coyotes owner stated at the time.

Friday it became official.

Lemieux - along with Rob Blake, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman, Owen Nolan and Paul Kariya - was named to the Canadian squad for the Salt Lake City games. He joins Penguin teammates Darius Kasparaitis and Alexei Kovalev, who were named to the Russian Olympic Team yesterday.

Lemieux commented in early February how much he would like to play for his home country in the 2002 games, the one major tournament he has never taken part in.

“I’d love to play for the Olympic team,” he said. “No question about it. I think it is going to be very exciting and we should have a great team. And I certainly want to be a big part of it.”

A big part indeed. Lemieux was named the captain of the club that will look to separate the defending gold medal winners - the Czech Republic - from their title. He takes over the captaincy from Eric Lindros, who led the 1998 team to a disappointing fourth place finish in Nagano, Japan.

"Mario is a true leader, a player our whole team will look to for leadership," said Gretzky, "This being said, Mario will also be surrounded by leaders as seven of the eight players have been captains in the NHL."

Although Lemieux has never played in the Olympics - he was retired when the NHL halted play for the 1998 games - he has made an impact on the international hockey stage. He was the second leading scorer on Canada’s entry at the 1983 World Junior Championships in Leningrad, posting 10 points (5+5) and capturing a bronze medal. In 1985, Lemieux was named to the All-Tournament team at the World Championships after recording two goals in Canada’s 3-1 win over the Soviet Union. It was the first time in over 24 years that our northern neighbors had downed the mighty USSR.

But perhaps Lemieux’s brightest moment came two years later during the 1987 Canada Cup tournament. He led all players with 11 goals and placed second in overall scoring with 18 points, helping Team Canada to the championship. He scored the tournament clinching goal against the Soviets on a feed from Gretzky.

March 22nd, 2001
KASPARAITIS AND KOVALEV NAMED TO RUSSIAN OLYMPIC TEAM
 
March 21st, 2001
GET 'EM WHILE YOU CAN - Playoff Tickets Going FAST!!!