Team USA Hockey Roster: Still Up For Grabs?

With NHL players returning to training camp, General Manager Brian Burke and Head Coach Ron Wilson gave an update on the USA Olympic Hockey Team that will compete in the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February 2010.

“If we have done our job, all 23 [roster] players will come from the Olympic Team Orientation Camp,” Burke said at a Chicago press conference on Sept. 10. The camp was held from August 17-19 in Woodridge, Ill. to foster teamwork and solidarity.

However, Burke and his scouting team are still keeping the door open. Besides the 34 camp invitees, approximately 40 others will be judged and each is now participating in the pre-Olympic anti-doping program.

“We have the deepest pool of players,” said Burke. The candidate crop will be assessed by a seven-member panel that is comprised mostly of NHL General Managers. “We will watch players this fall and come up with a scouting scale.”

Regarding the evaluation criteria to be used, Burke said, “We’re looking for young shooters, shot blockers, penalty killers, and inspirational guys.” He also restated his long-standing penchant for seeking “headbangers” – those who can outmuscle and outhustle others.

But you have to wonder how much time and energy the selection panel of ever-busy NHL GMs will actually have to effectively decide on the final roster by year's end.

Wilson, who coached the USA Olympic Hockey Team to a disappointing eight-place finish at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, was clear about what he's looking for.

“We’ll be a copycat of the NHL in terms of its style of play,” he said. The statement is, no doubt, a nod to the youthful, fast-paced and physical branding of the current NHL.

And what about these 40 candidates? Who are they? 

Given the traits the committee is seeking, several young players are rumored to be in this pool, including Keith Ballard, Jason Blake, Jared Boll, Mike Brown, Tim Connolly, Jeff Finger, John-Michael Liles, Matt Smaby, Colin Stuart and Blake Wheeler.

In any case, Wilson did acknowledge the challenges the USA team (and other squads laden with NHL players) face. The Olympians are projected to arrive just a day before the Games start on February 12, 2010.

“The players will only have one day to prepare. The team that comes together the quickest has the advantage,” Wilson said.

There is not much time for bonding. And that is why the important Orientation Camp focused more on promoting camaraderie and less on showcasing skills.

“The groundwork was laid with the orientation,” Wilson said.  

For the above reasons, very few of the 40 outsiders will likely be chosen.