It was announced today that players and staff from the United States World Cup of Hockey 1996 team, former NHL player and U.S. Olympic forward Craig Janney, and coach Bill Belisle of Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island have been named inductees into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame for the 2016 class. To give you a sense as to just how talented that '96 team was: 15 of the players on the squad are already enshrined individually in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame while associated coach John Cunniff and coach Lou Lamoriello are members as well. The full story can be found at: https://www.nhl.com/news/c-281300506
I believe all of you know that I am unabashed rooter for Team USA in all international competitions. That is most certainly the case when it comes to the Olympics or the World Cup. Escalate that rooting interests exponentially when it comes to hockey.
The 1980 US Men's Olympic Hockey Team rightly has a place at the pantheon of my favorites, right next to the 1994 Stanley Cup Champion Rangers. That team was a major factor in the growth of hockey in the United States. The 1996 team, while not at that level, to me, wasn't that far behind given that they showed they could be beat Team Canada in a major competition.
If you have never watched the tournament. Take a look at the video posted below and you see some absolutely phenomenal hockey. In addition, a fun story about it. During Game 3, which is the video below, I was in the midst of a fantasy hockey draft and following the game on my sports pager. When the US won, nearly everyone participating in the draft started going crazy, realizing the importance of the moment. For me, seeing Mike Richter stand on his head throughout and Tony Amonte, as I was a huge Amonte fan and hated seeing him go, score the game-winning goal were pretty special as well. Plus, Brian Leetch, who captained Team USA, was at the height of his game and brilliant in the tourney.
Enjoy the video and hopefully this year's tourney's hockey will be as good as it was in '96