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Happy New Year!
Today is the Winter Classic at the Big House and that should make for great theater but like most Americans I am incredibly interested in the announcement coming from USA Hockey regarding their final roster.
Team USA has the ability to field a very competitive team and there will be many great players who make the team. USA Hockey has done a great job developing players over the year and there will also be players who do not make the team. It becomes a numbers game. Really good players are going to be left off of USA’s final roster. Below is the roster that I would bring to Sochi, not my predictions on who they will end up bringing.
I won’t guarantee a Gold Medal but I will guarantee a compete level that has enough puck skills to do so.
FORWARDS
Parise-Pavelski-Kane
The top line has plenty of skill and between Parise working like a dog and Pavelski complementing him; it should leave more than enough room for Patrick Kane to do his thing. Pavelski has 16 goals this year and the playmaker on this line has 23 goals. In fact no Canadian player has more goals than Patrick Kane as of this moment. Team USA’s Captain Zach Parise has 15 goals and will compete to the bitter end in all the dirty areas on the ice.
Ryan-Kesler-Kessel
More goal scoring. Kesler has been a rock down the middle for Vancouver this year defensively and has also chipped in with 15 goals of his own. Kesler will have two guys flanking him that can put the puck in the net as well. Phil Kessel could be one of the more exciting players in the tournament with his speed on the big ice surface, he has 20 goals. One of Team USA’s bigger mistakes in the 2010 Olympic Games was not giving Bobby Ryan more quality ice time. I’m not making that mistake in 2014. Ryan currently has 18 goals
JVR-Backes-Oshie
Another line, another quality defensive centermen. Backes and Oshie will take their chemistry from St. Louis and bring it to Sochi. The Blues have been one of the best teams in the NHL and the Backes Oshie combination has been a big reason for it. James van Riemsdyk is not afraid to get into the high traffic areas and will blend nicely with the other two.
Pacioretty-Stastny-Callahan
This is the stage of the game that gets more difficult. There are still plenty of good players left to fill out the roster but choices have to be made.
Max Pacioretty is a former 30 goal scorer and he is on pace for a career best 44 goals campaign. Not too shabby for the “4th line….
Stastny is a playmaking center and the Olympic sized ice sheet should play well to his strength which is his vision.
Ryan Callahan is a horse. He is not having the best season of his career but no way in hell I’m leaving a guy like him at home. Callahan is assistant captain material and his value will come on the penalty kill much like it did in Vancouver. Callahan can skate well and is willing to put his body in front of multiple Zdeno Chara bombs, good enough for me.
Saad-Pominville
Jason Pominville is a guy that continues to fall through the cracks on the national landscape. He was left to rot in Buffalo under the poorly run Regier regime and he has since been traded to Minnesota. The guy can score goals; he already has 17 this year. He can also play in any situation. He has been a quality PK guy his entire career and has scored many goals on the power play off of his quality one timer. Being able to score goals and play in any situation is a good thing to have as an extra.
Brandon Saad is young fast and good. Saad is already a Stanley Cup Champion and has proven he can play with the high talented members of the Chicago Blackhawks. If an offensive player goes down in the tourney Saad would be able to step right in and not miss a beat.
This forward group can skate on the big ice and they have a knack of scoring goals. Apologies to Dustin Brown, Kyle Okposo, Derek Stepan, and Blake Wheeler. Brown’s spot went to Callahan, Okposo’s went to Oshie, Wheeler’s went to JVR, and I chose Stastny over Stepan.
DEFENSE
Suter- Shattenkirk
I was very very tempted to put Ryan McDonagh on the top pairing here but I have elected to spread things out a little bit. Ryan Suter was my choice for the Norris Trophy last year and he will be Team USA’s rock, he will also be wearing an A on my team.
Kevin Shattenkirk is a right shot defenseman who is more than capable of holding his own but his life just got a lot easier playing with Suter. Shattenkirk has an offensive touch and will be a great compliment to Suter.
Martin- McDonagh
McDonagh is top pairing material but will be holding down this second pairing with Paul Martin.
Paul Martin’s absence in the 2010 Olympic Games was crushing. It opened the door for Ryan Whitney to make the team and it was Whitney who was puck watching in the Gold Medal game while Corey Perry scored the game’s 1st goal. Martin is the Penguins best defenseman, can handle all situations and keeps the game simple. He will get the puck to the forwards and do so with the least amount of risk.
E Johnson-Carlson
Erik Johnson was not on my radar at the beginning of the season but his play this year has merited his inclusion on the roster. Johnson has had a renascence playing for Patrick Roy. Johnson plays in Colorado’s shutdown role and has done a nice job on a team with no other options.
John Carlson is a big bodied defender who has puck skills. He currently quarterbacks the league’s #2 power play in Washington. Team USA will have the quarterbacks of the #1 and #2 power plays in the NHL with Carlson and Martin. However, they will be ceding that role to Ryan Suter, nice to have that kind of depth.
Orpik-Fowler
With the two extra defensemen I have elected to go with two drastically different skill sets. Orpik brings his steady shutdown defense to the team while Cam Fowler brings his excellent skating stride and ability to move the puck from the back end. If anybody is struggling or gets hurt in Sochi, these two guys will be available to fill very specific roles for Team USA.
Apologies to Keith Yandle, Dustin Byfuglien, and Justin Faulk.
Yandle lost out to Cam Fowler, I do not believe the big ice suits Byfuglien’s skill set, and Justin Faulk missed out barely when I elected to go with Erik Johnson.
For guys like Seth Jones, Jake Gardiner, Justin Faulk, and Jacob Trouba, the time was not now, but it will be in the future.
Goaltending
Miller Quick Schneider
Deciding who the 3rd goalie was more difficult than deciding who the starting goaltender was.
It’s Miller Time in 2014.
Ryan Miller is still USA’s best goaltender and he is playing his ass off in Buffalo right now.
Ryan Miller has the ability to take a series or a tournament over. Miller returns to the Olympics as the reigning MVP and his play so far this year looks the same as it was in that 2010 tournament. You don’t think Ryan Miller is going to be pumped up to play on a team that isn’t the Buffalo Sabres?
The United States will go as far as Ryan Miller is able to take them.
Jonathan Quick is not having his best year but he is not far enough removed from his Conn Smythe Stanley Cup championship to leave him off the roster.
For the third goalie I went with Cory Schneider. I wrestled back and forth with this decision and went with the guy who has been in the spotlight more often. The goalie situation in Vancouver put a huge spotlight on Schneider and for the most part he played well. In the past 3 seasons only Tim Thomas (.9377%) and Henrik Lundqvist (.9321%) have a better EVSV% than Schneider (.9317%).
Apologies to Ben Bishop who is having an amazing 2013-2014 season. He barely misses out on my Team USA.
This is the team that I want to bring to Sochi to take home the Gold. I believe this team gives the United States the best opportunity to find success. There are a lot of capable goal scoring forwards who are responsible defensively. The defense corp. has steady simple players who will be able to feed the goal scorers up front. As for goaltending, Ryan Miller is the guy I want in my net in a two week tournament.
That’s my roster, what is yours?
I will have my choices for Canada later in the week as well.
Thanks for reading!
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