In 1996, the arrival of power forwards Bill Guerin and Keith Tkachuk gave Team USA the ability to compete with Canada along the boards and in the corners.
Those kinds of players had been missing from American rosters. With Guerin's and Tkachuk's brawn, tenacity and skill taking the U.S. game to a higher level, the Americans were able to win the World Cup of Hockey in Montreal. It was like slaying the dragon in the dragon's lair.
Now 30 years later, Guerin and Tkachuk are still key names for the Americans. Today, Guerin is the team general manager. And two of Keith Tkachuk's sons, Brady and Matthew, are playing the power forward roles, like their dad did 30 years ago.
The Americans open today in a 3:10 p.m. ET game against a Latvian, a team that only shows six NHLers. USA plays Denmark (also with six NHLers) on Saturday
The U.S. mission is similar to what it was in 1996. The Americans need to overcome Canada and other competitors to win their first Olympic gold medal since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. NHL players are competing at the Olympics for the first time since 2014 when Canada won the gold in Sochi. From 1998 to 2014, NHL players went to five Olympic Games and Canada won three of those tournaments. The Americans won the silver behind Canada in 2002 (Salt Lake City) and 2010 (Vancouver).
This American group has been awaiting its chance for an Olympic stage. Led by 2016 No. 1 overall draft pick Auston Matthews and 2015 No. 2 Jack Eichel, the Americans have a powerful offense. The U.S. defense boasts former Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes. His brother Jack, a No. 1 pick in 2019, is also on the team. Three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal against Latvia.
Now in management, Guerin is having even greater impact than he had in 1996. Saying he wanted to build a true hockey team and not put together an All-Star team, Guerin has put together a group that can excel at several facets of the game. For example, Dylan Larkin is enroute to his sixth 30-plus goal season for the Red Wings, but he expects to be a checking center in this group.
Guerin made some bold roster decisions, including not choosing high-scoring Jason Robertson and Cole Caufield who already has 32 goals this season. Guerin also didn't select Caufield's Montreal teammate Lane Hutson, a young, dynamic defenseman Lane Hutson. He's the third-highest scoring defenseman in the game this season with 58 points in 57 games.
It's clear that Guerin has pushed in all of his chips with the hope of winning it all. If the Americans win the gold medal, he will be remembered for making the difficult decisions necessary for success. If the Americans don't stand at the top of the podium, his decisions will be second-guessed for many years.
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