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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, 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, Burke should name
Billy Guerin - World Cup champion in 1996, Olympic silver medal
winner in 2002, Stanley Cup winner in 1995 in New Jersey and 2009
in Pittsburgh - to wear the Red White and Blue one more time.
Guerin is 39, but his age has not prevented him from riding
shotgun for Sidney Crosby, whose on-ice demeanor has matured
exponentially since Guerin joined his locker room last March as
another of Penguins GM Ray Shero's outstanding trade deadline
acquisitions.
Guerin demands respect without asking for it. He is a
presence inside the room and on the ice. Referees defer to him. So
do teammates. He doesn't necessarily present a portfolio of
sophistication that would prompt anyone to define him as an elder
statesman, but 17 years of upper-echelon, multiple-championship
service in the NHL stamps him as a leader.
Team USA needs a leader such as Guerin, who has been there on
the international championship. Guerin can and will go to the net;
he can and will play the mean-edged hockey advocated by Burke.
It's not about what his country can do for Guerin, it's what
Guerin can do for his country's hockey team. Guerin to Vancouver,
the Red Sox fan as captain of the Yanks.
Suggested Team USA roster:
Goaltenders (3): Ryan Miller, Buffalo; Jonathan Quick, Los
Angeles; Tim Thomas, Boston.
Defense (7): Paul Martin, Devils; Brian Rafalski, Detroit;
Erik Johnson, St. Louis; Mike Komisarek, Toronto; Ryan Suter,
Nashville; Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh; Tyler Myers, Buffalo.
Forwards (13): Guerin, Pittsburgh; Zach Parise, Devils; Jamie
Langenbrunner, Devils; Ryan Callahan, Rangers; Patrick Kane,
Chicago; Ryan Kesler, Vancouver; Dustin Brown, Los Angeles; Phil
Kessel, Toronto; Ryan Malone, Tampa Bay; Dustin Byfuglien, Chicago;
Bobby Ryan, Anaheim; Paul Stastny, Colorado; David Booth; Florida.
Potential injury replacements: Goaltender: Craig Anderson,
Colorado; Defensemen: Matt Carle, Philadelphia; Ryan Whitney,
Anaheim; Alex Goligoski, Pittsburgh; Forwards: Paul Gaustad,
Buffalo; T.J. Oshie, St. Louis; Kyle Okposo, Islanders; Drew
Stafford, Buffalo; Tim Connolly, Buffalo.
