(CLS Revisited) U-S-A! U-S-A!

Written by James O'Brien

Sunday, 22 November 2009 19:43

Note: The holiday season will be light with material but not absent of new stuff. However, to keep the few locked in cubicles entertained, we'll "re-print" interesting and/or relevant articles. First, we supplement your reading with our Team USA choices. Keep in mind these were made quite some time ago, so injuries aren't factored in ...

duggan

For all the negativity about Team USA's talent base, I found it stunning just how much talent came through the ranks since America bombed out of the '06 Olympics. Both USA and Canada made some awful decisions last time around (No Crosby? No Miller?), so hopefully the real-life programs will learn from past mistakes.

Check out my (still somewhat odd) picks for the American hockey team.

You might not like this if you're a one-dimensional player for the Montreal Canadiens ...

(jump!)

Offense

Zach Parise - Paul Stastny - Bobby Ryan

If it was pure offensive talent alone that mattered, I would exchange Ryan for Kane. On some level I'd also feel more comfortable adding a "defensive conscience" to this line. That being said, Parise can snipe, Stastny can dish and Ryan can play the role of power forward. This would be quite the first line.

Phil Kessel - Joe Pavelski - Patrick Kane

Pavelski can provide the hustle while Kane to Kessel would be an electric connection. At times, I could see this easily being the true "first line" for Team USA.

I like that both of these lines would include a right-handed shot to boot.

Dustin Brown - Ryan Kesler - Jamie Langenbrunner

"Checking line part 1." Brown is one of the NHL's most frequent hitters, Kesler is rapidly becoming a perennial Selke candidate and Langenbrunner has been one of the NHL's best two-way players for years. It doesn't hurt that this line (Brown and Langenbrunner in particular) can score a fair share of points too.

Ryan Malone - David Steckel - Ryan Callahan

Malone's quietly putting up an excellent year playing on Tampa Bay's top line and often succeeds at the little things: heavy hitting, corner battles and screening goalies on the PP. His productivity this season is impossible to ignore.

Steckel and Callahan probably stick out as odd choices, but like with Team Canada, I wanted to add players who play a team game instead of only putting up nice point totals. Steckel's an amazing in the circle (61.5 FO%) but even better he's great in shorthanded FO situations (55-37). Steckel plays a lot on the PK (3:15 minutes per game) and generally shows up favorably in all defensive situations.

Callahan would fit Brian Burke's truculence fetish quite nicely. He's the fourth ranked American in SH-TOI behind Steckel and leads his country with an absurd 84 hits in 24 games!

Reserve: Keith Tkachuk

Tkachuk's not having the greatest year of his career but he's a veteran of the Olympics, a surprisingly good FO guy and could help out on the PP if this team struggles to put up points.

Scott Gomez was easy to leave off the team considering the fact that he isn't even putting up empty stats this year, doesn't play good defense and isn't even an outstanding player in the FO circle. Todd Marchant was a tough snub, but Steckel does what he does only with more efficiency and youth.

PK forwards: Steckel, Callahan, Kesler, Pavelski/Langenbrunner

Defense

Erik Johnson - Paul Martin

After dealing with golf cart mishaps and the natural growing pains of developing as a young defenseman, Johnson has it all; he's a tough player, provides menacing size and is oozing with offensive talent.

Martin lacks in flash and dash but is an absolute rock for the New Jersey Devils. I think he'd be a nice compliment to Johnson on the top pairing.

Brian Rafalski - Brooks Orpik

I know Rafalski is generally accepted as the country's best defenseman, but for some reason I cannot get that Jordan Staal SHG out of my head. For that reason (and his general lack of size and declining skills) I thought he'd be better off in the second pairing.

Orpik scares me in his own zone quite often, but his love of hitting is nearly unparalleled. To me it's either him or Komisarek, but with MK's rough year and shaky positioning it seems like Orpik is the man to punish opponents for the old red-white-and-blue.

Jack Johnson - Ron Hainsey

Jack Johnson's name brings along many jokes. Some hipsters will make beach rock jokes; some USA hockey nuts might call him "the other" Johnson. Heck, boxing historians might even refer to him as the first black heavyweight champion.

Either way, Jack Johnson is a talented D who is coming into his own and can do a little bit of everything.

Hainsey, to my utter shock, is transforming into a PK specialist for Atlanta. He leads American born defenseman with an average of 4:07 minutes of shorthanded time per game. This shutdown duty is impairing his offensive numbers, but judging from his career stats (more than 30 total points the previous three seasons) he can still provide some O if necessary.

PP D: Rafalski, both Johnsons and Hainsey/Martin.

Reserve: Zach Bogosian

It blows my mind that two Atlanta D would be my choices of any non-dubious team, but Bogosian can also bring grit and offense to the table. His youth makes me think that he wouldn't have a problem with riding the bench. Maybe?

Goalies

Ryan Miller

Tim Thomas

Reserve: Craig Anderson

Yeah, everyone would send these three. Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one. I'd probably prefer Miller and Anderson over Thomas (unorthodox goaltending worries me at times if that goalie isn't Dominik Hasek, please refer to Cechmanek, Roman) but Thomas keeps defying expectations.