Every time I hear Steve Yzerman talk, I'm more and more convinced that he will be the general manager of Canada's men's Olympic team sometime soon, maybe even as early as 2010 in Vancouver. I'm trying to put my finger on the quality that comes through when he speaks and I've concluded that it's because, in an era of non-answers, where people in position of authority can talk at great lengths without actually saying much at all, Yzerman represents the polar opposite.

You could tell, for example, that during the conference call announcing Ken Hitchcock's appointment as coach of Canada's 2008 world championship team, that he was prepared for anything – the usual softballs that get lobbed up in these things, but also for the more probing questions about roster decisions, about a player's obligation to play for his country and about the elephant in the room – if there had to be a nod towards French Canadian participation given that Quebec City is a co-host and when this event was first announced, a faction of Quebec politicos and commentators thought the province should enter its own team in the tournament, separate from the official Canadian entry.

Thankfully, most of the league's French Canadian players gave that idea a definitive thumbs-down – but you can be sure it'll be resurrected again, or at the very least, talked about, now that the tournament opening is only a month away. Yzerman does have a former Red Wings' teammate, Luc Robitaille, as part of his managerial staff; and depending upon what happens this week in the NHL playoff race, you can expect that one of Hitchcock's assistants will, at the very least, be fluently bilingual.

Jacques Martin would be an obvious first choice, although with his dual role as Florida Panthers' GM and coach, he might not want to make himself available. Depending upon which teams make the playoffs, someone like the Chicago Blackhawks' Denis Savard might also be a possibility. There will too be a clamor for Vinnie Lecavalier to participate and presumably, Yzerman will be leading the charge there too. Much will depend upon the status of Lecavalier's health.

Yzerman was prepared to excuse players for health reasons, for contract considerations, and even if a player's head wasn't "in it" following a long season. Indeed, Yzerman acknowledged that in his own career, he turned down Canada twice for the world championships, citing injuries. The second time – when he was bothered by a wrist problem but played with it down the stretch and into the playoffs - ended up as a year in which Canada won the world championships.

In hindsight, he said he regretted that decision because he never got another chance to win a world championship. It was candid, it was honest, and it demonstrated once again that Canada's depth in hockey isn't limited strictly to the players in the pipeline. The executive staffs are coming along nicely as well.