(above) DU Alum Paul Stastny is expected to be named to the US Olympic Hockey Team on Jan. 1From: New York Post
by Larry Brooks
The Greatest Generation of American hockey players has all but receded into memory and ceremony. The boys who banded together to win the 1996 World Cup championship and the 2002 silver medal at the Salt Lake Olympics meet and greet these days at various Hall of Fame inductions.
They were big fish in a small U.S. pond of hockey players back then: guys like Brian Leetch, Chris Chelios, Mike Richter, Pat LaFontaine, Mike Modano, Derian Hatcher and Tony Amonte who had been inspired by the 1980 Miracle at Lake Placid.
But that era is gone. Brian Burke, the general manager of the 2010 U.S. squad that will compete in the Vancouver Games, phrases it somewhat more diplomatically, but even he acknowledges that this team will be comprised of smaller fish from a larger pond.
For whatever the reason, there is an absence of elite talent in the gene pool that reflects a missing generation. Kids like Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, DU Alum Paul Stastny, Dustin Brown, Ryan Kesler, David Booth and Erik Johnson are emerging stars who might one day lead Team USA to greater glory, but the 2010 Yanks will largely be devoid of upper-echelon experience.
Which is why when Team USA's Olympic roster is announced during the Jan. 1 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, the USA will be sending out a host of fresh new faces.
They were big fish in a small U.S. pond of hockey players back then: guys like Brian Leetch, Chris Chelios, Mike Richter, Pat LaFontaine, Mike Modano, Derian Hatcher and Tony Amonte who had been inspired by the 1980 Miracle at Lake Placid.
But that era is gone. Brian Burke, the general manager of the 2010 U.S. squad that will compete in the Vancouver Games, phrases it somewhat more diplomatically, but even he acknowledges that this team will be comprised of smaller fish from a larger pond.
For whatever the reason, there is an absence of elite talent in the gene pool that reflects a missing generation. Kids like Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, DU Alum Paul Stastny, Dustin Brown, Ryan Kesler, David Booth and Erik Johnson are emerging stars who might one day lead Team USA to greater glory, but the 2010 Yanks will largely be devoid of upper-echelon experience.
Which is why when Team USA's Olympic roster is announced during the Jan. 1 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, the USA will be sending out a host of fresh new faces.
1 comment:
I really hope Stastny gets paired on a line with Patrick Kane. Have my two current NHL favorites tearing it up on the national scale. :D
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