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Doughty, Niedermayer, Perry and Getzlaf get call to Olympic orientation camp

By Helene Elliott
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Kudos to the management of the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team for actually paying attention to teams that play west of New Jersey and extending invitations to one King and three Ducks to the orientation camp that will take place in Calgary in late August.

Drew Doughty of the Kings, 19, was the youngest player invited to the camp, the first step toward participating in the 2010 Vancouver Games. He’s among the 16 defensemen asked to attend the camp, a group that also includes Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer and former Ducks Francois Beauchemin and Chris Pronger.

Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry of the Ducks were among the 25 forwards invited. They’ll rub elbows with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Rick Nash, Jarome Iginla and surprise invitee Dan Cleary of the Red Wings, who’s better known for grit than sheer talent.

Being invited to the camp doesn’t assure anyone of a spot, and players not invited to the orientation camp can still be added to the Olympic roster, but the recognition is significant and well-deserved.

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-- Helene Elliott

Sports Now
Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

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