Players Still in Mix for Roster Spots After Missing Canada's Olympic Hockey

Being snubbed by your country for Olympic camp is an awful feeling for top-level NHL players.

But for the stars that use this disappointment as motivation, there is an opportunity to impress the coaching staff and fulfill a dream of competing at the Winter Olympics.

Head coach Mike Babcock has a message for these players, per the CBC:

There's lots of players who aren't here that probably might end up with an opportunity. Play good. I read or hear, 'Oh this guy feels snubbed.' So what? Do something about it. The great thing about life is you get to control what happens to you the majority of the time. Do something about it if you're not here.

Let's take a look at five players who have the best chance to earn a spot on the final roster for the Sochi Olympics.

Jamie Benn is arguably the most notable star who wasn't invited to Canada's Olympic camp.

As a player with the ability to score 30 goals and tally 35-to-40 assists as a center or a winger in an 82-game season, Benn would provide valuable versatility and scoring depth to the Canadian roster.

In an interview with Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News, the 24-year-old talked about Team Canada's decision:

It gives you a little fire. You kind of want to shove it in their face. It is what it is. I definitely want to be there, and I’ll just have to prove myself the first half of the year…I know they want to find the right players to play on the big ice.

A strong start to the 2013-14 season would give Benn a tremendous chance to impress Canada head coach Mike Babcock. Moving to his natural left wing position and playing alongside a talented playmaker in Tyler Seguin should help Benn tally the points needed to make a strong case for Sochi.

Finding enough motivation doesn't seem to be a problem for Benn.

Jason Spezza finished fifth on the NHL's scoring leaderboard during the 2011-12 season with 84 points. At the time, he seemed like a lock for Canada's Olympic camp roster.

But a back injury that forced him to miss 43 of 48 regular season games in 2013 was likely the reason the Ottawa Senators' first-line center wasn't on the list.

There's no question that Spezza is talented enough to earn a trip to Sochi, but he needs to prove his durability first. If the 30-year-old star is able to perform at a high level and stay healthy consistently next season, it wouldn't be surprising if he made the final Team Canada roster.

Joffrey Lupul has become one of the Toronto Maple Leafs' most important players over the last two years because of his impressive two-way skill set and exceptional leadership.

His ability to score goals consistently and create chances for teammates made his absence from Team Canada's camp roster a little surprising, especially since the squad lacks a lot of depth at left wing.

The 29-year-old recently talked about Team Canada's decision with Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun:

I was very disappointed. In my mind, it’s a place I thought I would be...Obviously, injuries may have played a role and I was injured for a good part of the season, so maybe they didn’t get enough of a sample of what I can do.

If Lupul comes into the 2013-14 season with the same form he showed in March (eight goals and five assists in six games), the Fort Saskatchewan native will make a strong case to join Edmonton's Taylor Hall and New York's Rick Nash as the left wingers who deserve to be part of the Canadian Olympic roster.

Cam Ward is a top-tier NHL goaltender, as well as a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Since the competition for the No. 1 goaltender job on Team Canada is anyone's to win, Ward has a good chance to make the team with a strong performance in Carolina over the first few months of the 2013-14 season.

The 29-year-old's GAA has never been below 2.44 in eight seasons with the Hurricanes, but to be fair, the quality of defensemen who have played in front of Ward have been subpar for most of his career.

He's an athletic netminder with a strong glove hand and plenty of international experience. Ward has a 13-2 record for Team Canada during World Championship tournaments and won't be intimidated by the Olympic stage based on his previous WC and Stanley Cup Final experience.

Evander Kane has the combination of speed, offensive skill and toughness that Team Canada will need at left wing on the larger Olympic-sized ice that will be used in Sochi.

While there are some concerns about Kane's maturity, there's no doubting his talents. The Winnipeg Jets star is a 30-goal, 30-assists per season type of player who impacts games physically as a power forward.

Canada will have a lot of centers on the final 25-man roster for the Olympics and many of those players will need to play out of position on the wing. If Kane is able to score goals consistently and improve his defensive abilities next season, he will deserve serious consideration for a roster spot in Sochi as a natural winger.

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Nicholas Goss is an NHL columnist at Bleacher Report. He was a credentialed writer at the 2011 and 2013 Stanley Cup Final, the 2012 NHL playoffs and the 2013 NHL draft.