USA 2010, take 1

Vancouver 2010 Team USA, by Justin.

Coach: Peter Laviolette

Alternate Captains: Mike Komisarek, Dustin Brown

Captain: Chris Drury.

Drury isnt the first guy who leapt out at me. I could certainly make a damn good lineup without his name in it. But this is the right player. By 2010, one of two things is likely to have happened, and USA-wise, it's a win-win for his role as Captain. 2 years from now Perhaps Chris Drury has led the Rangers to a Cup Final, or even a Cup. He will be revered in New york and in hockey circles to the point of nausea. Vancouver will give him the chance to cement his status as Legend, and you have to believe he will be raring to go. Or, NYR will have been stuck in neutral and maybe he will have struggled as Captain with the rumblings that he isnt vocal enough, that he's overpaid, that he has largely failed as "the guy" in a tough market. The pressure will have gotten pretty high. Doubts creeping in. Here, he can forget that weight and focus entirely on the Olympics as a fresh slate. He gets a team with (like NYR) a good mix of young and old guys, some teammates he is already comfortable with, and he can really step up and take the team into a hostile environment. He doesn't have to be a big scorer. He doesn't have to be a shutdown
player. He doesn't even have to play center. He just has to be a calm leader who has been in these spots before and can get some of these guys fired up for the opportunity. This may be more thought than necessary for a 5 game tournament's Captain. But it shouldn't be an afterthought.


Goalies:

Ryan Miller, Rick DiPietro
- Miller starts. I along with all Isles fans hoped that by 2010 DP would have taken this mantle and run with it. It doesn't look good. So its Miller Time.


Defence:

This wasn't as hard as I thought. There isnt room for sorta-good offensively, nondescript defensively guys on here. If you're an elite offensive threat, great. If not, you need to be able to move and possibly scramble for a long shift in your own end; move the puck quick and well; and most importantly have the ability/desire to break an NHL teammate's wrist in the corners with no hesitation in the course of a gold.

Brian Rafalski - Mike Komisarek
- I'm not too concerned about 2 lefties. This is a no-brainer top pairing. Both are used to playing with a partner very similar to the one they have here- Komi knows how to cover for a guy who likes to rush and might get beat in the corners once in awhile. He's also a fucking beast. Rafalski can be really nondescript at times, but when part of a good team playing well, he becomes elite.

Keith Ballard - Jack Johnson
- Johnson is very suspect at this point. This is a lot of pressure to put on him. Well, all the better chance for him to step up and make party. There aren't many guys in the USA stable that I think would relish being public enemy #1 in a Canadian city at the olympics. JJ probably never saw or used a microscope at UM, but his play and his demeanor will be under a really fucking big one here. Do it. Ballard is steady as hell.

Erik Johnson - Ryan Suter
- If I'm being optimistic, I can hope that by 2010 this pair can rival almost any in the olympics. EJ missing '08 made him incredibly hard to put on here. But you have to be able to play rugged defence, and you have to be able to make a difference out there. Will he make more mistakes than Paul Martin might? Yeah, but he has 100x more upside too and is a potential game-breaker.


Forwards:

Now THIS was hard. But this is the lineup that would ideally play in every game. I copped out and named 2 extra F, but they are basically just token guys for the room. The 4 lines roll this way, no substitutions. COMPETE.

Dustin Brown - Paul Stastny - Patrick O'Sullivan
- I love this line. Awesome hockey smarts all around. Since the first 2 lines are definitley 1 and 1A, I didn't see any reason to split DB and POS. This puts a lot of faith in Stastny to be the guy to elevate this line to elite.

Zach Parise - Scott Gomez - Pat Kane
- Listen up Scotty: Every other line on this team has pretty good defensive players on it. It would have been easy to make sure you line up with some bruisers and backcheckers so you can focus on dishing. No. You were unknown in the purgatory of NJ, now you're a guy who chased the money and is happy being a good player on a good team. Enough- this is your time to be a superstar. You know Parise's game. He and PKane are not here to cover their wingers. Time to prove you can be a devastatingly effective setup guy and use your speed on the big rink to still cover them up defensively. Show it. Kane and Parise- light it up. No excuses. This must be a consistently effective offensive line or USA sinks.

Phil Kessel - Ryan Kesler - Jason Pominville
- Spend any time getting caught up with Kesler, or chasing Phil around while he flies all over, and Pominville will quietly blaze you, like he always does. This can be a really effective line in a lot of different ways. Speed, hands, grit, assholeness and all three of these guys should and will have a nice chip on their shoulders and be salivating to make their mark on a USA team in Vancouver.

Chris Drury - Peter Mueller - Brandon Dubinsky
- So much to work with here. Initally the 4th center spot had Dubinsky and David Booth penciled in with a speedy winger. But then there wasn't much that fit. There cant be a straight grinding line in this tournament. I'd rather a fast, responsible 4th line with wads of potential. Booth-Dubi-Pavelski sounds wonderful, but to be fair it would probably get fucking devoured.

Extras: Chris Higgins, Erik Cole. I'm sorry guys. 2 dependable, reliable scorers and workers passed over for playing time in favor of some shit-disturbers and young assassins. Enjoy the Salmon in B.C. though.