USA Hockey is on the clock

Sporting News, The, Nov 17, 2003 by Kara Yorio

It was no surprise when Hockey Canada chose Wayne Gretzky to be executive director of Team Canada for the 2004 World Cup. Gretzky led Canada to the gold in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics--and he's Gretzky--so he was the obvious choice.

Gretzky's World Cup team will be better than his Olympic team, at least on paper. The players will be younger and bigger. Say goodbye to Theo Fleury and probably Joe Nieuwendyk, Steve Yzerman and Owen Nolan.

Gretzky has already said there's a place on this team for Todd Bertuzzi and probably Joe Thornton. There's also a spot for Vincent Lecavalier, among others. In goal, the Canadians have Martin Brodeur and any number of excellent backups, including Roberto Luongo and Sean Burke, who were on the 2003 gold-medal winning World Championships team, or Curtis Joseph or Marty Turco.

Canada and the United States played the gold medal game in Salt Lake City, but that doesn't mean those are the top two teams in this eight-team field. Russia wants to atone for its self-perceived subpar Olympics. There's also the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Sweden, which will want to keep from being vilified by its national press as it was after its Olympic failure. The U.S. team might not even win a medal in this tournament, which will run from August 30 to September 14. But it's expected to be great hockey, and the U.S. team can be in the mix.

So it's time for USA Hockey to pick a management team. To be fair, the federation wants to make an announcement soon and probably isn't dragging its feet; it more likely is waiting for an answer from the right general manager candidate. Expect USA Hockey to look at the usual suspects: Penguins G.M. Craig Patrick, Devils G.M. Lou Lamoriello and Blues G.M. Larry Pleau, all of whom have had their hands in U.S. hockey in the past.

It's a tough decision; so we wait. Eighteen players need to be put on the roster in February. Gretzky wants that date changed, and so it likely will be, but right now, that's the time frame. Although anyone who will take the position knows the American players well, the process needs to begin soon. This job isn't easy.

"It's the challenge of trying to get everybody to come together for a common cause," says Lamoriello, who was G.M. of the gold medal 1996 World Cup team and the 1998 U.S. Olympic team.

Selecting the right players is the key.

According to Lamoriello, timing is the important difference between the World Cup and the Olympics. The Olympics are in the middle of the NHL season, and players arrive with cluttered minds and nagging injuries.

"Here, everybody is fresh and clear; the slate is clean," Lamoriello says.

The toughest and most important decision facing the U.S. management team will come in goal. Mike Richter is retired, and there is no one candidate who outclasses the rest. The choice will come from a crop of American NHL goalies, including Mike Dunham, Rick DiPietro, John Grahame, Robert Esche, Brent Johnson, Ryan Miller and Brian Boucher.

Sure, no one in that group appears able to match saves with Brodeur or possibly Dominik Hasek of the Czech Republic or Nikolai Khabibulin of Russia, if they choose to play. But it's up to the men in charge to decide which of those guys is most likely to get hot and copy Richter in 1996, when he led the United States to victory. Now, the United States just needs some men in charge.

(S) Hockey is going strong, and FOXSports.com has it covered. For the latest scores, statistics, analysis and more, go to www.foxsports.com, keyword: NHL.

SPEED READ

* Flyers G.M Bob Clarke wants to ban goalies from leaving the crease to play the puck. Clarke wants defensemen to be forced to come back for the puck instead of standing at the blue line to force turnovers. That's fine, but taking away what can be an exciting part of the game is not the way to go about it.

INSIDE DISH

The Canadiens are desperately trying to stay above water. Struggling for offense, coach Claude Julien made the debatable choice of scratching the team's leading scorer, C Yanic Perreault, when C Saku Koivu, the team captain, returned from injury. Perreault didn't take it well, adding to the frustration in Montreal. G.M. Bob Gainey may be forced to make some moves soon before the season is irrecoverable.... With the injury to Thrashers C Marc Savard, the pressure falls on C Patrik Stefan to pick up more ice time and his production. Struggling with the loss of Savard is LW Slava Kozlov, who excelled on a line with Savard and RW Dany Heatley last season and played well with Savard this season. For the Thrashers to continue to win, Kozlov must find a way to score without Savard. Stefan and Kozlov are a potentially productive duo. Coach Bob Hadley has used them as linemates since Savard went down.... The Sharks appear closer to starting a run. San lose is doing everything but getting enough shots on goal and pucks past the goaltender (admittedly key elements to be missing). But to watch the Sharks--even when struggling to score--is to see a team at least making an effort to make the skilled play. This is not a dump-and-chase team. More often than not, the Sharks try to make plays at the opponent's blue line.... Checking again on teenage sensation Sidney Crosby: Through 22 games for Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Crosby had 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points.... Now that Mike Keenan has been fired by the Panthers, rumors will swirl around any general manager whose team might need a little kick in the pants.--K.Y.