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To: Alberta's Child

The US didn’t have Okposo, who as of the Olympic break starting, is 3rd among American players in points.

US Committee sure didn’t pick all the best players.


24 posted on 02/23/2014 11:43:22 PM PST by wastedyears (The Ender's Game movie was a stupendous, colossal, galactic failure to me.)
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To: wastedyears
I haven't seen Okposo play, so I don't know if he really belonged on this team. I do know that the U.S. team management had taken a lot of grief for leaving a great scorer like Bobby Ryan off the roster, but I can understand why they made a decision like that. Ryan is slow on his skates and is not a very good defensive player, and the fear was that he'd be badly exposed by faster European teams on the larger Olympic ice surface. Could that have been the case with Okposo, too?

US Committee sure didn’t pick all the best players.

If you've ever seen the Disney movie "Miracle" about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, that's exactly what assistant coach Craig Patrick told Brooks in one of the early scenes at training camp!

Patrick (looking down at the final roster): "You're missing some of the best players, Herb."

Brooks: "I'm not looking for the best players, Craig. I'm looking for the right ones."

I think this is something Canada has done extremely well since the NHL started allowing players to compete in the Olympics. The leadership of that national team consistently takes a bunch of star players, molds them together into an outstanding team, and somehow gets them to shed any egos they may have.

25 posted on 02/24/2014 4:42:39 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("I've never seen such a conclave of minstrels in my life.")
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