Nashville Predators' Shea Weber named to Canadian Olympic team

The Nashville Predators' top defenseman, Shea Weber, was named today to Team Canada's entry in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Weber's fortunes have been rising since his standout season of 2008-9 in which he scored 23 goals and made the Western Conference All-Star Team, drawing accolades for his combination of offensive play, defensive dominance and (when needed) bruising physical play.

This will be Weber's first shot at Olympic competition, building on his experience representing Canada in international competition.  Last summer at the World Championships, where he was named the tournament's Best Defenseman. He also won a gold medal at the World Juniors in 2005.

Shea Weber

#6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Born: Aug 14, 1985

While his goal-scoring is likely to drop back from last year's 23, Weber's defensive game has taken another step forward. While playing heavy minutes in all situations, taking on elite opposition each night, he's been able to reduce the number of penalties he takes, without giving up anything in terms of toughness or physical play. He actually went the entire month of November without taking a penalty, for example.

And just think; it all made one fan's dream come true...

Of course, that's not just any fan, that's Nashville Predators goalie Dan Ellis on Twitter this morning.