Ron Wilson: Looking Toward the 2010 Olympics with USA Hockey

"I had sort of wished Burkie would come on here first and say some nice things about me..."

Whatever the situation, be it a press conference, interview, or being introduced as the head coach for Hockey USA's entrant into the IIHF 2008 Men's World Hockey championships and the Men's Olympic Ice Hockey team for the 2010 Olympics, Ron Wilson is quick to make a joke.

So it was no surprise that when Brian Burke was lost during yesterday's teleconference due to a bad signal on his cell phone, Wilson would open his remarks by cracking a joke at his former roommate and teammate's expense.

Don't let that long-standing association fool you, though: Despite the fact that the two are close personal friends and work with each other for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Wilson was never a foregone conclusion for the position.

Along with Wilson, the two other names that were mentioned were Peter Laviolette and John Tortorella—both synonymous with USA Hockey. Burke would only go as far as to say that both were still under consideration for roles with the team. At his prompting, though, this was Ron Wilson's day, and the floor (and questions) should be directed and belong to him.

In the minds of the governing bodies of USA Hockey, the best coach was picked for the job—a mantra they had decided to follow, no matter what.

While it's convenient that Wilson is available to coach the '09 World Championship team as well as the Olympic team, availability for the coaches—much like for the players they'll be evaluating—wasn't a deciding factor. Just merely a bonus.

USA Hockey treats every Olympics with a four-year plan going forward: They set a management team, round out the personnel list, select a coach, then evaluate and select the players they'll choose to take with them to the Olympics.

Unlike in years past, though, when names like Bill Guerin, Chris Chelios, and Keith Tkachuk were highlighting the roster with their veteran presence and leadership, this year's team will be one of the youngest at the tournament, and is expected to be one of the youngest teams America has ever sent to International Competition (if not the youngest).

While Burke and Wilson aren't ruling anyone off the team, the players are going to have to earn their way to the Olympics.

They talked about players in the past simply showing up to a jersey number—that it was assumed they were on the team. This year, it's different. This year, everyone tries out.

Except for Chris Chelios. The International (And NHL....and Hockey in general.....and life) veteran has had a great career Internationally for the states, and Burke was quick to point out that number 24 would be given an off-ice role, possibly that of an adviser.

Names like Kyle Okposo were brought up during the question period as players who might fit into the aggressive, attacking style that Wilson is implementing with his raw roster in Toronto with the Maple Leafs.

Along with the younger legs, Wilson hopes to field a team that can "be physical, face adversity head on, and keep going." Playing against international superpowers like Canada, Sweden, and Russia, Wilson's message was simple:

Team USA will not be intimidated.

With the phenomenal growth of hockey in the United States through the 90s alone, Wilson expects these games to be a lot of fun—more so than his last Olympic games in Nagano where Team USA finished sixth.

For one, Wilson says, the preparation for the team will be different.

"Having the games in North America, first of all, is a big advantage to us. The big thing is that the travel is easier to do with the games in Vancouver.

"One of the things we're changing this year, though, is that we found we need to get the team together in the summertime. The lack or preparation in Nagano hurt."

From the orientation camp in Chicago on Aug. 17,18, and 19, to proper preparation (a full-slate of exhibition games and practices, instead of the one or two practices team USA had prior to Nagano) this team looks to have a different attitude to them entirely.

With lessons learned from Nagano, and a few more wins in the NHL under his belt, Ron Wilson is Team USA's guy for the forseeable future. The product Americans see on the ice will be in the image that he and Brian Burke envision, and it will be the basis of USA Hockey for the foreseeable future.

The magnitude of the pressure is what Wilson feeds off of, and he hopes it will help propel the players towards success now and in the future.

Whether the result of that pressure is different this time, and whether Wilson can become the first American Hockey coach to win a medal in the past 40 years (not named Herb Brooks), we'll have to wait and see.

Special thanks goes to HockeyBarn.com for the opportunity to attend yesterday's teleconference. If you want to get in contact with Bryan, you can do so through his profile, or email him at [e-mail]. You can also check out his archives for his previous work.