Congratulations to both Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik on being named to Team USA for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Both players were named to the 2010 Olympic Team (Martin missed due to injury) and their standard of play the past 4 years and as of late has merited another selection according to the people in charge.
First things first, when naming rosters to teams like this there is going to be plenty of criticism regardless of who is picked.
Here are the arguments I’m not willing to listen to. Penguins bias with the picks. Ray Shero is the assistant GM and Dan Bylsma is the Head Coach, this is true. However, it is pretty clear in the
amazing Scott Burnside article that Dan Poile and Brian Burke were calling the shots here (the article is tremendous, a must read).
This wasn’t some kind of coup to force their way onto the team. Both players were considered locks by the entire selection committee from the get go. To say that both made it because they were Penguins shows a preconceived bias about players who play in Pittsburgh and not about the actual process or the player’s playing ability.
To be honest, I could take or leave Brooks Orpik having a spot on Team USA, but he is not going to hurt the team by being on it. Orpik is very sound and his skating is not a liability. He consistently matches up against the NHL’s best skaters and has done a fine job for a lot of years doing so.
For the people clamoring that Brooks Orpik took Keith Yandle’s spot (one of the more controversial “snubs”) that is not the case. If you have beef with Yandle being left off of the team that should be directed at the selections of Cam Fowler and Kevin Shattenkirk. Brooks Orpik plays a very specific style and that is in no way similar to Yandle. Team USA chose to go in a different direction with their puck moving d men and Orpik does not figure into that part of the equation. Brooks Orpik took spots from Erik Johnson and Jack Johnson.
If Erik Johnson made the team over Orpik I don’t think anybody would lose sleep over it, but I think that same logic applies to Orpik making it and Johnson staying at home. Both guys would help the team in that role, was only room for one.
I did read some criticism (not much) about Paul Martin being selected to the team. In regards to that criticism I don’t really have an answer for it. Paul Martin has been the best defenseman on a team who made the Eastern Conference Finals last year and the one that is currently on top of that same conference this year. He has also taken the power play quarterback role from Kris Letang on a power play that is ranked #1 in the league. He is a major player on the penalty kill which is ranked 2nd overall. Paul Martin plays in all situations, can play either side, and plays in a shutdown role, and does so successfully. What more do you want?
Since 2010 Martin had one stretch where he lost his game for the short term. Since 2011-2012 he has been great. Not only is Paul Martin a no brainer selection, he might actually play with Ryan Suter on the top pairing. It is however way too early to speculate how Team USA will match lines and defense pairings. Even though it is too early to speculate I am going to do so anyways.
There is a benefit to having both Martin and Orpik on the team as well as the same pairing. Familiarity comes to mind right away given that it is a short tournament with very short preparation time. That is certainly a positive in playing them together.
The other reason is matchups. The Penguins are in the same grouping as Russia. The Orpik and Martin pairing are consistently called upon to play against the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk (when he was here), and Datsyuk. There is also the added bonus of being extremely familiar with Evgeni Malkin. That experience is not going to hurt Team USA in what will be their biggest test in the round robin.
Just to reiterate I would have understood if Orpik was left off the team, but there shouldn’t be outrage over his inclusion either.
Paul Martin will be one of Team USA’s best defenders. Steady, simple, smart, can play in all situations, and on either the right or left side.
The criticism of Martin is perplexing to me and I’m not the only one who thinks this. Timo Seppa is the Editor-In-Chief of Hockey Prospectus
In non Penguin Olympic news, the biggest criticism is of course reserved for the omission of Bobby Ryan. This is really the only omission that has a significant impact on the roster. The other “snubs” are inconsequential to the big picture. I share the criticism for Ryan being left off, but I do understand the thought process. If Bobby Ryan was not going to play in the top 6, I agree that his value drops and he would not be as effective in the bottom 6 role. The problem I have is that he should be in the top 6! Make room for him!
I’m not as bent out of shape about the Yandle omission as most people are. He plays sheltered minutes, is a left handed shot on a team that is already littered with lefties, and cannot play in all situations. The fact that he plays sheltered minutes and there can still be legitimate criticism about his defensive abilities deserves to be mentioned. Team USA elected to go with another sheltered defenseman in Kevin Shattenkirk who happens to shoot right handed. Suter, McDonagh, Martin, Carlson, and even Faulk can be considered all around defensemen. There were only so many specialized spots for the defense grouping and Yandle was not chosen. Yandle was never going to be a significant top 4 contributor on this roster. He was going to play a niche role.
Would I be upset if Yandle took Fowler or Shattenkirk’s spot? No. Am I up in arms because he didn’t? No.
Pittsburgh’s own Brandon Saad came oh so close to making the team and he will be a major player for the United States in the future (if not now w/ potential injuries). It goes to show what a terrific player he has turned out to be and that he is certainly well respected in the hockey community.
With all that being said above, Team USA is still a very good squad and they have a lot of good players. The fact that they even had a decision to leave a guy like Bobby Ryan at home shows that there is depth in the program. I am confident that the United States will make it out of their grouping and for right now that is all that matters. After you get out of the round robin portion of the tournament anything can happen in a one and done format, no matter how stacked your roster is.
Those are my initial thoughts on Team USA, what are yours?
My favorite comment from the selection process belongs to Hockeybuzz’s own Travis Yost:
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»