Team USA announces 23-man Olympic roster
Well, if those who participated in the selection of the US Olympic Men’s Hockey team were trying to select a squad that will contend for a gold medal in Turin, they certainly had an unusual strategy in mind. The team announced yesterday in St. Paul, MN may well surprise, but it will take upsets of the sort I’m not at all certain this collection of talent is capable of. Let’s just hope that the people who put this team together know something I don’t.
It’s not that Team USA isn’t filled with talent, because it most certainly is. It’s just that so much of this talent is young and unproven on the international stage. The forwards are by and large young and fast to provide some excitement (and hopefully, some scoring) on the larger international ice surface. There is just enough experience on the front line (Mike Modano, Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuk) to hopefully provide some stability for the youngsters. Beyond that? Well, let’s just say that there are more questions than answers.
Defense will be a huge question mark for Team USA. With a couple of experienced blueliners in 44-year-old Chris Chelios (my own personal hero…there is life in your mid-40s!!), and yet more young, unproven talent, Team USA defense may turn out to be a high risk, high reward proposition. If the defense can stay home and take care of business, it might just be possible to to spring an upset or two…but I doubt it.
The biggest reason I’m not optimistic about Team USA’s prospects in Turin is their goaltending. The goaltending corps is young, talented, and a HUGE question mark. (Former Houston Aero) Robert Esche, Rick DiPietro, and John Grahame? These guys are going to have to hope that the defense in front of them will really step up and play WAY over their heads, because I’m not at all certain that these are the goaltenders that will bring a gold medal home to the US.
This team has possibilities, but when you look at the teams it will run up against- Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic- it’s difficult to see how Team USA can reasonably expect to medal, much less hope for a gold medal. They will be up against teams that are bigger, more experienced, and while the Americans may have an edge in speed and enthusiasm, I’m not certain it’s going to be enough.
I’d like to think that I’ll be proven wrong, that Team USA will turn out to be just the right combination of youth, experience, speed, and hubris. I wouldn’t mind being proven wrong; after all, who among thought that Herb Brooks’ 1980 team would win gold in Lake Placid? Of course, that was then, and this is now- although comparing 1980 with 2006 is an apples-and-oranges comparison.
If I were a betting man, my money would still be on Canada, because they have it all- speed, experience, talent, and the knowledge that an entire nation is living and dying with every shift. Team USA can only dream about that sort of legacy. No, this American team will not bring home a medal, but check back in 2010, when it might be a different story.
