Team USA Roster now Official (Previously "speculation")

[psh 25]

Even setting this game aside (and I agree that Kane has his moments today, but shrank under the spotlight), he play this Olympics was really disappointing. this was supposed to be the year that he made the big ice his circus and also stepped up on the leadership front. Instead, he disappointed in the prelims and completely broke down when it mattered.

That said, I'm not sure how much I would have changed the roster. I thought it was a pretty good blend of speed and size and I liked the leadership corps of Parise, Suter, and Backes. Callahan, too, played well, in general. What big changes would you have made?

[Chadd 916]

Even setting this game aside (and I agree that Kane has his moments today, but shrank under the spotlight), he play this Olympics was really disappointing. this was supposed to be the year that he made the big ice his circus and also stepped up on the leadership front. Instead, he disappointed in the prelims and completely broke down when it mattered.

That said, I'm not sure how much I would have changed the roster. I thought it was a pretty good blend of speed and size and I liked the leadership corps of Parise, Suter, and Backes. Callahan, too, played well, in general. What big changes would you have made?

Too much focus on size and physical play and not enough on skill and speed. Martin and Orpik were not guys I would have put on that team, Brown is not a "big ice" player either and did nothing to help the team.

[psh 25]

Too much focus on size and physical play and not enough on skill and speed. Martin and Orpik were not guys I would have put on that team, Brown is not a "big ice" player either and did nothing to help the team.

I was expecting a lot more time for Faulk. I thought he'd thrive on the big ice, but he seems to have lost the faith of the coaching staff early on. Brown is an interesting one. I thought he was going to be a major threat against the Finns, throwing his body around and posting up in front of the net, but he proved to be too much of a defensive liability to get the chance to establish an offensive game. So, your assessment certainly proved correct there. My biggest disappointment is still Kane.

I would not ever have predicted that the U.S. team would shrink away in the game against Canada, but to hear both Suter and Parise use the phrase "we didn't show up" to describe that game is sobering. Did some of it simply come down to character/leadership? To put up 20 goals and then to go into a shell and not score over the course of 2 games with medals at stake is nothing short of shocking. It's the sort of thing that would make a GM blow up a team if it happened in a Stanley Cup Final series. And I feel worst for Quick. He played like Miller in 2008, but the team did nothing for him, especially today. I'd be hesitant to accept another invitation to national team play after getting such no show support in today's game.

[wrangler 157]

Lack of motivation doesn't speak well for the leadership from either the players or the coaches. It showed on the ice yesterday. And no goals in two medal games, the games that really counted?

I can't help but think that non-NHL players would not have had that problem.

[psh 25]

I wonder what Bobby Ryan is thinking. He probably wants to ask Burke if the U.S. team could have used some of his scoring and lack of intensity. It's all hypothetical at this point, but I'm not sure if Ryan is what the team needed. They sure could have used scoring in the last two games, but it wasn't a problem early on. And who would have been swapped out for him?

[Chadd 916]

I wonder what Bobby Ryan is thinking. He probably wants to ask Burke if the U.S. team could have used some of his scoring and lack of intensity. It's all hypothetical at this point, but I'm not sure if Ryan is what the team needed. They sure could have used scoring in the last two games, but it wasn't a problem early on. And who would have been swapped out for him?

On the Canadian roster everyone could score, even the guys in the checking roles. By not doing the same thing, USA Hockey management put this team at a disadvantage. Leaving scoring wingers off the roster limited them even more. Kesler, playing with an obviously injured hand, limited their effectiveness even more.

[KILLERWHALE 6]

I wonder what Bobby Ryan is thinking. He probably wants to ask Burke if the U.S. team could have used some of his scoring and lack of intensity. It's all hypothetical at this point, but I'm not sure if Ryan is what the team needed. They sure could have used scoring in the last two games, but it wasn't a problem early on. And who would have been swapped out for him?

Firstly, as a Leafs die-hard, I hate the Sens.

In saying that, Bobby Ryan seems like a pretty intense fellow who lives and breathes hockey. I have mad respect for this fellow who went through some crazy events in his life, and yet performs like an All-Star. Leaving Okposo and Ryan out cost the US big time.

But all is said and done. Gold to Canada! :D

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

The selection committee has 4 years to correct this. I was surprised that both Okposo and Ryan were left off the roster. I do wonder if some of these guys felt 'entitled' for coming up in the USNTDP ranks. Who knows but that medal game was tough to watch.

[JR Boucicaut 3806]

I wonder what Bobby Ryan is thinking. He probably wants to ask Burke if the U.S. team could have used some of his scoring and lack of intensity. It's all hypothetical at this point, but I'm not sure if Ryan is what the team needed. They sure could have used scoring in the last two games, but it wasn't a problem early on. And who would have been swapped out for him?

I don't understand why this is still being brought up. Burke PICKED Ryan.

[Chadd 916]

I don't understand why this is still being brought up. Burke PICKED Ryan.

Not by choice:

Burke recalls fighting with his scouts in Anaheim over whether to take Bobby Ryan or Jack Johnson at the 2005 draft.

The scouts won and the Ducks took Ryan.

"I should have taken Jack," Burke says. "No way he lets us down for 12 days.

This article about assembling the team is long, but worth the time.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/hockey/story/_/id/10195703/how-us-hockey-team-bound-sochi-olympics-was-named

[psh 25]

I don't understand why this is still being brought up. Burke PICKED Ryan.

His statements surely clouded the selection process. In any case, I wasn't bringing it up to criticize Burke, but rather the solicit comments about how the team could have been better assembled. Ryan, along with perhaps Yandle and Okposo, are the only obvious alternatives to the current roster I could think of and I wanted to see what others thought.

That article linked to above is outstanding. Unfotunately, I can't imagine access like that will be provided 4 years from now.

[deathb4dismount 11]

Coaching and stars let them down.

100% This

The Canadian coaches were a class above our staff