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Written by Ryan
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Tuesday, 16 February 2010 09:16 |
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Some are going as far as to call this Olympics a hockey tournament with a bunch of other smaller tournaments going on around it. From a Canadian point of view they may be right but I'm not sure any other country would go that far. For the majority of citizens from the other 80 or so competing countries this is a time to learn the names of obscure figure skaters and cheer on your bobsled team (especially if you're from Jamaica). But as a hockey fan I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm looking at this Winter Games from a very Canadian point of view. It's all about the hockey. And in about 6 hours the tournament starts. So here's an overview of what led to this being the group of young Americans that you will hopefully be cheering for during the medal round next week.
After years and years of seeing the same faces in the USA sweaters General Manager Brian Burke decided this would be the Olympics that the US totally changed directions. There are only two members of this squad that participated in the 2006 Games in Torino - Chris Drury and Brian Rafalski. They also were in the Games in 2002. Every one else, save Captain Jamie Langenbrunner (1998), is new to the Olympic scene. So what do we have.
First off it's important to note that two of our first chosen defensemen are missing the tournament with injuries - Paul Martin of the Devils and Mike Komisarek of the Leafs. These omissions resulted in the late addition of Ryan Whitney of the Ducks and Tim Gleason of the Hurricanes. Now that the squad is set let's see just what this team is made of.
We have 6 guys from Michigan and 4 from Minnesota. Three each from New York State and Wisconsin and 2 from Connecticut. And then we have one player each from California, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Our oldest player is Brian Rafalski at 36 and our youngest is Patrick Kane at 20 (cents). Of the 23 players on the roster five area 30 or over, ten are between 25 and 29, and an amazing eight are under 25.
17 of the 23 players on the roster chose to go to college (usually after a couple years at the National Development Program) as opposed to heading to Canada for Major Junior. There are 3 Badgers, 2 Terriers, and 2 Golden Gophers on the squad. There are zero Scarlet Knights.
There's an interesting correlation between the age of the players on the team and the position they were chosen in the NHL draft that I would assume has to due with the "marketing" efforts of the US NDPT. That group of guys over 30 that I mentioned before have an undrafted player, a 9th rounder, a 4th, 3rd, and a 2nd. When you get into the guys born in the 80's, right around the birth of the US Program, 12 of the 17 players are first round picks. The only exceptions are Joe Pavelski (7th), Ryan Callahan (4th), Jonathan Quick (3rd), David Backes (2nd), and Paul Statsny (2nd).
Make sure to keep checking in for the duration of the tournament for tidbits nipple bits as the Flyers recent run and the Olympics have reignited my hockey fire, and possibly my VD. And if you somehow have off today and are looking to pay special attention to a local Olympic product, keep your eyes on #54 Bobby Ryan, native of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Even at the young age of 22 Ryan posses the game changing skills to be a deal breaker, ladies.
For a complete view of the roster and all the players' biographies go here. This is not something you want to wait to get involved in until the elimination games start next week. Jump on now.
** Quick note: do not come here for any in-game updates or analysis because, as I mentioned in the post below, I'm taking the Bill Cosby route. Try and get me.
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