Shea Michael Weber (born August 14, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). An NHL All-Star and Olympic gold medalist, he is the captain of the Nashville Predators.

Drafted in the second round, 49th overall by the Predators in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Weber has spent his entire NHL career with the Predators. He had previously played for the Sicamous Eagles of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL), the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Weber represented Canada at four International Ice Hockey Federation-sanctioned events, winning a World Junior Ice Hockey Championship gold medal in 2005, an Ice Hockey World Championships gold medal in 2007, and an Olympic gold medal in 2010.

Weber was born on August 14, 1985 in Sicamous, British Columbia. His mother, Tracy, was a hairdresser, and his father, James Weber, a sawmill worker. Weber first played organized ice hockey at the age of six. Growing up he played in the Sicamous and District Minor Hockey Association, a division of the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association (BCAHA), often switching between forward and defenceman positions. In Weber's second year of bantam, he permanently switched to defence. He credits his father for convincing him to make the switch because he thought Weber would "have a better shot at a pro career as a defenceman". Between the ages of fourteen and fifteen, Weber grew 5 inches, from 5-foot-9 (1.75 metres) to 6-foot-2 (1.87 metres).

Sidney Patrick Crosby, ONS (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During his two-year major junior career with the Rimouski Océanic, he earned back-to-back CHL Player of the Year awards and led his club to the 2005 Memorial Cup final. Nicknamed "The Next One", he was one of the most highly regarded draft picks in hockey history, leading many to refer to the 2005 Draft Lottery as the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes".

Todd Bertuzzi (born February 2, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a power forward, he has additionally played in the NHL for the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames.

Selected 23rd overall by the New York Islanders in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, he played at the junior level with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for four seasons. In 1995–96, he played his rookie season with the Islanders. After two-and-a-half seasons with the Islanders, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. Bertuzzi enjoyed the most successful seasons of his career with the Canucks—his longest tenured team in the NHL—including NHL First Team All-Star honours in 2003.

In March 2004, Bertuzzi became infamous for his on-ice attack against Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore, punching him from behind in retaliation for an earlier hit by Moore against Bertuzzi's teammate Markus Näslund. He was suspended indefinitely by both the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), but was reinstated in August 2005. Bertuzzi was conditionally discharged in a British Columbia court and was sued by Moore in both Colorado and Ontario. Moore was forced to retire because of the injuries sustained in the on-ice attack.

Pavel Valerievich Datsyuk (Russian: Па́вел Вале́рьевич Дацю́к, IPA: [ˈpavʲɪl dɐˈt͡sʲʉk]; born July 20, 1978) is a professional ice hockey player from Russia and alternate captain for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is known for his stick-handling and is considered one of the best two-way forwards in the game today, having won the Frank J. Selke Trophy in the 2007–08, 2008–09, and 2009–10 NHL seasons. Datsyuk also won four consecutive Lady Byng Memorial Trophies from 2006-09 for performance and sportsmanship. He was nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player following the 2008–09 season. Datsyuk won the Stanley Cup in 2002 and 2008 with the Red Wings.

Datsyuk was born in Sverdlovsk (Cвердловск) (now Yekaterinburg), in the Urals region of Russia. His parents call him by his short name "Pasha" from an early age. His childhood had more than its fair share of difficulties, especially at the age of 16, when his mother died. While Datsyuk displayed above-average hockey skills, he was often overlooked by scouts because of his smaller size. He began playing for the farm club of Dynamo Yekaterinburg in the mid-1990s, though he seemed headed for an undistinguished career until noted Olympic trainer Vladimir Krikunov began coaching the team. The boy “with the twitchy walk” caught the eye of Krikunov, but not on the ice. Instead, Datsyuk excelled on the soccer field, where his anticipation, vision, and intelligence were more apparent. Under Krikunov, Datsyuk evolved into a particularly efficient two-way player, and he began to draw wider attention among Russian hockey fans. Despite his early successes, however, he went undrafted in the 1996 and 1997 NHL drafts.

Ryan Suter (born January 21, 1985) is a professional ice hockey defenseman who currently plays for and serves as an alternate captain for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also an alternate captain of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Ryan's father, Bob, was a member of the historic gold medal-winning 1980 United States Olympic hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the famous "Miracle on Ice" game. Ryan's uncle Gary Suter was a long-time standout in the NHL, playing for 17 seasons with the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, and the San Jose Sharks, and won the silver medal representing the United States in the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City. Ryan was alternate captain for the US team, and carried on the family trend by earning a silver medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Suter played for the Madison Capitols, Culver Military Academy and then on to USA Hockey's National Development Team in Ann Arbor, Michigan before he was drafted 7th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He then played one year with the Wisconsin Badgers (Western Collegiate Hockey Association in NCAA Division I) before joining the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League during the 2004–05 season. He played his rookie season in the NHL with the Predators in 2005–06.