http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/News/2005/10/20/1271437-cp.html

MONTREAL (CP) - When Michael Ryder arrived at the Bell Centre on Thursday morning, he was shocked to learn his name was on the list of candidates for Canada's Olympic team.

"I didn't know what they were talking about," the Montreal Canadiens right-winger said. "I knew they were coming out with a list, but I didn't expect to be on it. "It's an honour, but it's a little early so I can't jump to conclusions. But it's exciting for now."

The 25-year-old Ryder is one of the longest of the longshots among the 81 players included on the list released Wednesday by Hockey Canada.

Executive director Wayne Gretzky and the rest of the Hockey Canada brain trust didn't want to overlook anyone who may get hot enough to earn a trip to Turin, Italy, for the 2006 Winter Olympics in February.

So they selected nine goaltenders, 23 defencemen and 49 forwards, placing Ryder's name among stars like Mario Lemieux, Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic.


Two of Ryder's teammates, goaltender Jose Theodore and defenceman Sheldon Souray, also made the list.

The final 23-man roster must be named by Dec. 22.

Ryder has shown he can score goals.

He had 25 in 2003-04, when he was runner-up to Boston goaltender Andrew Raycroft for rookie of the year honours and leads the 5-2-0 Canadiens with four goals so far this season.

And the Bonavista, N.L., native has been on national teams before, winning a bronze medal at the world junior championships in Sweden in 2000 and playing for Atlantic Canada at the world under-17 championships.

In fact, his performance as a junior, which included scoring 50 goals in 63 games for the Hull (now Gatineau) Olympiques in 1999-00, made it surprising that he lasted nine rounds into the 1998 draft before Montreal picked him 216th overall.

Then he needed three full years in the minors, playing in Tallahassee and Mississippi in the ECHL and Quebec City and Hamilton in the AHL.

"My first two years in the minors were a little rough," the six-foot 198-pound skater admitted. "I wasn't getting a chance to play in Quebec City and then I got sent to the ECHL.

"It was frustrating at times, but I went to Hamilton the next year and I finally got a chance to play a regular shift. I just wanted to prove myself at that level."

It helped that Claude Julien, his junior coach, was the coach in Hamilton. And when Julien was promoted to the Canadiens, he brought Ryder to the NHL.

Now, he's one of the team's most dangerous scorers, a fixture on the second line with Mike Ribeiro and, for the last two games, Tomas Plekanec.

And he's on Gretzky's list.

"It feels pretty good to be on that list with all those great players," he said. "But it's a big list."

Theodore was the No. 3 goaltender on Canada's gold-medal winning squad at the World Cup of Hockey in September, 2004, but sat out the IIHF world championships in the spring with an injury.

Marty Turco took over as No. 3 behind Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo and it will likely come down a battle between Theodore and Turco for the No. 3 spot in Turin.

"It's not something I'm thinking about right now," said Theodore. "It's something I'd like to be part of, but my priority is the team here in Montreal and making sure we're ready for our next game (Saturday night at home against the New York Islanders). "I just want to play hard and play well and from there, it's their decision. Being part of the World Cup team with Luongo and Brodeur was a great experience. I just want to make sure that when they make their decision, I will have done everything I can to make the team."

The fact that being on the list makes a player open to random dope testing drew a shrug from Theodore. He was already eligible for testing because he attended a Team Canada camp last summer.

"At camp, they picked four guys and I got tested," he said. "I was tested at the World Cup. I was tested last year in Sweden.

"And we're going to be tested by the NHL after Christmas, so everybody's aware of it."

Souray played at the world championships in May, but was not invited to the summer camp and likely would need a huge first half of the season to be considered for the Olympics.

A mild surprise was that his fellow defenceman Craig Rivet, who has played well early in the season and who has been to world championships before, wasn't on the list.

"It would be a dream, for sure, but it's so far away and there's so many guys, especially in Canada, that all you can do is play as well as you can until then," said Souray, an Elk Point, Alta., native.

"I don't put much stock in the list, who's on it and who isn't. There's so many great players in Canada, so many who have been to the Olympics or World Cup or world championships. I read where they were going to put the whole country on the list. Literally, you could do that and not look stupid."

Note: Right winger Niklas Sundstrom missed practice with a strained groin and won't play Saturday. He is listed as day-to-day. He joins Richard Zednik (groin) and Raitis Ivanans (eye) on the casualty list. The Canadiens are down to 20 players and unless they call one up from the minors, Pierre Dagenais will return to the line-up and defenceman Mathieu Dandenault should start a second game in a row at forward.


Montreal Canadiens Michael Ryder during the pre-game warm-up at the Bell Centre Tuesday in Montreal.