NHL players vie for spot on Olympic hockey team

The NHL's regular season opened this month, and for a select group of American-born players a little more will be at stake than just two points in the league standings.

The final roster for the U.S. Olympic team that will take the ice at the Winter Games in Vancouver in February has yet to be determined. Team USA general manager Brian Burke has made it clear that the opening weeks of the NHL season will go a long way toward determining the names on the final 23-man roster.

"Auditions for this team start October 1," Burke said.

"Auditions" is an appropriate word, given Burke's penchant for comparing a hockey team to an orchestra. Burke recently regaled a media gathering with his analogy, explaining that at the symphony, there's a first violinist who gets a lot of attention, but the others in the orchestra are just as important.

"There's a lady who sits in front and ... the spotlight's on her," Burke explained. "But there's also a guy in the back who looks like me and plays the tuba. They don't start playing until they both sit down."

The analogy is pure Burke, revealing a character that keeps other laughing. But the ultra-serious look on Burke's face never wavers, and he's determined to put a solid team on the ice.

Following the example of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team assembled under Herb Brooks, Burke is willing to sacrifice some top-end offensive talent to build more of a "team" concept. It's the same model that USA Basketball used to put together the "Redeem Team" that reclaimed the gold medal in Beijing in 2008.

The point is to build a team that is a true team.

"A hockey team has job descriptions and we've tried to fill those specifically, and we think we've got a good blend," Burke said.

But the final makeup of that blend is just coming together. Team USA held an orientation camp in Chicago in mid-August for a select group of 34 players, but Burke made it clear that the team won't necessarily be made up only of players who attended.

"We have the deepest pool we've ever had [to choose from] thanks to USA Hockey," Burke said. With the help of an experienced group of NHL executives and a coaching staff led by Team USA coach Ron Wilson, the evaluation of players will continue to the last possible moment.

Burke said that at least 40 more players will go through the required drug-testing program in order to be eligible, and it's entirely possible that players from that group will be on the final roster.

"We are going to go to the very last date possible and name the 23 best players that we can take to Vancouver," Burke said.

And Burke will make sure that those 23 include some "first violins" and some "tuba players." His reasons are deeper than just his own philosophy of building a team. Burke points out that the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be played at GM Place, the home rink of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks, rather than on an Olympic-sized sheet.

"And that requires some different skill sets," Burke said. "It requires some more versatility in the group in terms of providing both size and skill."

The larger Olympic-sized sheet opens up the game and puts a premium on speed, passing and puck control. The smaller NHL surface adds more checking to the game, leading to the need for more physical players on the roster.

Adds Wilson: "Don't take what Brian said the wrong way. It's not like the fourth line is going to be a bunch of [goons]."

So as the puck drops on the NHL season this week, there will be 80 or so Americans hitting NHL rinks playing for more than the sweater they are wearing that night. Burke and Wilson know that those players won't be distracted by that audition; after all, there's enough to think about during your average NHL game.

And besides, Burke and Wilson have day jobs, too. Burke is the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Wilson is the Leafs' coach.

Wilson has made it clear to the NHL media that while the Leafs' season is in progress, he does not want to be asked questions about the upcoming Winter Games. But he and Burke will both be keeping their eyes open for Olympic talent.

"I just don't have the time, frankly, to be watching all the other players," Wilson said. "I'll watch them when they play us and communicate with them when I can, when we play, after the game. I've already talked to a lot of NHL coaches and general managers and [talking to their players is] not an issue. I'm not there to tell them what they are doing right or wrong, just to keep the communication avenues open."

Meanwhile, the evaluations will continue. Once the final team is chosen, team leadership and players can focus on the Olympic Games themselves. Or, maybe not. After all, the Winter Games open in Vancouver on February 12. The NHL season will be in session until February 14. Team USA's first game is just two days later, on February 16 against Switzerland.

Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils is a veteran of international competition, and he's not worried about the team being able to come together on such short notice.

"Everyone's good enough, and [Team USA coaches] have an idea of what they want and how they want to play," Parise said. "After they select the team I'm sure they'll send us more information about their idea about how they want to play."

The games count from the moment they hit the ice in Vancouver, but Parise feels the key will be to improve within Wilson's system as the tournament progresses.

"I think the players are good enough that they can adjust," he said. "A lot of teams play the same way in the NHL. They all have some version of the [neutral-zone] trap. Believe it or not, we are pretty smart guys. We can figure it out."

So, while Burke builds his orchestra, his expression will remain stern. "We're going to be an underdog in Vancouver, we know that," he said. "We are probably going to be the youngest team in the tournament, we know that. But we are going there to win and we've tried to identify a group that will give us our best chance to do that."

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Bob Temple is a freelance contributor for teamusa.org. This story was not subject to the approval of any National Governing Bodies.