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Team United States
Aaron McCracken
February 13th, 2002

Strengths

With an elite group of forwards and good puck-handling defencemen, the U.S. should have no problems scoring goals. The team possesses plenty of speed, which should help them on the larger international ice surface. Their biggest strength, however, is playing on home soil in front of a patriotic crowd with high expectations. This could be a big factor in the elimination round.

Weaknesses

The goaltending trio of Richter, Dunham, and Barrasso have been far from dominant this season. Both Richter and Barrasso have won Stanley Cups in the past, but their best days are behind them now. The U.S. is also lacking in stay-at-home, physical defencemen. Aaron Miller and Chris Chelios may have to defend a whole lot of two-on-one breakaways.

History

NO.   PLAYER   Pos.   Ht.   Wt.   Birth Date   Team 
1 Mike Dunham G 6'3 200 6/1/72 Nashville (NHL)
2 Brian Leetch D 6'1 200 3/3/68 NY Rangers (NHL)
3 Brian Rafalski D 5'9 200 9/28/73 New Jersey (NHL)
5 Tom Poti D 6'3 215 3/22/77 Edmonton (NHL)
6 Phil Housley D 5'10 185 3/9/64 Chicago (NHL)
7 Keith Tkachuk LW 6'2 225 3/28/72 St. Louis (NHL)
9 Mike Modano C 6'3 205 6/7/70 Dallas (NHL)
10 John LeClair LW 6'3 228 7/5/69 Philadelphia (NHL)
11 Tony Amonte RW 6'0 191 8/2/70 Chicago (NHL)
12 Brian Rolston C 6'2 205 2/21/73 Boston (NHL)
13 Bill Guerin RW 6'2 210 11/9/70 Boston (NHL)
16 Brett Hull RW 5'11 203 8/9/64 Detroit (NHL)
18 Chris Drury LW 5'10 185 8/20/76 Colorado (NHL)
20 Gary Suter D 6' 215 6/24/64 San Jose (NHL)
24 Chris Chelios D 6'1 190 1/25/62 Detroit (NHL)
28 Adam Deadmarsh RW 6'0 205 5/10/75 Los Angeles (NHL)
30 Tom Barrasso G 6'3 210 3/31/65 Carolina (NHL)
33 Aaron Miller D 6'4 200 8/11/71 Los Angeles (NHL)
35 Mike Richter G 5'11 185 9/22/66 NY Rangers (NHL)
39 Doug Weight C 5'11 200 1/21/71 St. Louis (NHL)
48 Scott Young RW 6'0 201 10/1/67 St. Louis (NHL)
61 Mike York C 5'10 185 1/3/78 NY Rangers (NHL)
97 Jeremy Roenick C 6'0 205 1/17/70 Philadelphia (NHL)

Probably best known for their trashing of a hotel room in Nagano after losing to the Czech Republic. The U.S. has won gold medals in both previous Winter Games held on home soil, but hasn't been back on the podium since its 1980 Gold medal.

Flames Players/Prospects

None, after Craig Conroy failed to make the roster. Phil Housley, Gary Sutter, and Brett Hull have all played for Calgary in the past.

Keys to Victory

The U.S. will have to be committed to team defence if it wants to be competitive in the Olympic tournament. Forwards like Mike Modano, Doug Weight, and Jeremy Roenick will have to help out the smaller defensemen on the team, especially in the defensive zone. The U.S. also needs a goaltender to step up and be #1. Mike Richter has had international success in the past (1996 World Championship), while Tom Barrasso is a two-time Stanley Cup winner. If one of these two keepers gets hot, the Americans should be a medal contender.

 

Calgarypuck.com - Salt Lake Center

 

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