(Photo: Getty Images / NHL.com)
The US named its Men’s Hockey team today for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Their team is a mixture of old and new, including 12 players who are making their Olympic debut. This is a smart move for the Americans, after thier dismal performance in the Hockey World Cup earlier this year.
Team USA consists of 4-time Olympic veterans like Chris Chelios and Keith Tkachuk, as well as newcomers like Jordan Leopold (who has been solid on defence for Calgary), and Brian Gionta, the top scoring US player in the NHL this season (18G, 15A, 33Pts.). While their team is pretty impressive, I’m not sure of their ability to challenge some of the other countries for the Gold Medal. They will definitely have a shot at it, but there will be some other teams that are just as talented (and some way more).
Here’s a look at Team USA’s Roster for Turin
Goalies
Rick DiPietro – NY Islanders
Robert Esche – Philadelphia
John Grahame- Tampa bay
Defencemen
Chris Chelios – Detroit
Derian Hatcher – Philadelphia
Jordan Leopold – Calgary
John-Michael Liles – Colorado
Aaron Miller – Los Angeles
Brian Rafalski – New Jersey
Mathieu Schneider – Detroit
Forwards
Jason Blake – NY Islanders
Erik Cole – Carolina
Craig Conroy – Los Angeles
Chris Drury – Buffalo
Brian Gionta – New Jersey
Scott Gomez – New Jersey
Bill Guerin – Dallas
Mike Knuble – Philadelphia
Mike Modano – Dallas
Mark Parrish – NY Islanders
Brian Rolston – Minnesota
Keith Tkachuk – St. Louis
Boug Weight – St Louis
Canada will name its team on Wednesday December 21.
Greg is the founder of Red Mile Blog has been following the Flames through good times and bad since they arrived in Calgary in the early 80s. He has written hundreds of articles on the Flames since 2005 and considers himself an expert on hockey inconsistency and frustration. He shoots right and usually plays defence, but has been known to jump up in the rush. He is a 2-time CAHL men's league champion and knows the sweet taste of beer from a Cup.
