Team USA summer camp roster announced

With the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver just being six months away, national hockey teams are busy with determining their squads for the prestigious tournament. Yesterday, General Manager Brian Burke announced the preliminary list of players who have been invited to the U.S. summer camp which will take place during the off-season.

Unlike many had expected, Burke decided to leave out a few veteran All-Stars and decided to go with a younger line up. For instance, players like Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk were not invited despite their numerous NHL All-Star game appearances and potential to become future Hall of Fame members.  Solely 39-year old Dallas Stars forward Mike Modano is going to be part of the American team that will certainly need some veteran leadership to prevent blow-out losses against the international powerhouses from Canada, Russia and Sweden. Given the fact that the veteran packed national team only won a single game in the 2006 Winter Olympics, it seems to be a logical move to give younger players a chance to prove themselves.

Among the list of invited players one can find well-known impact players such as Zach Parise who scored 45 goals and dished out 49 assists for a total of 94 points last season in New Jersey. Likewise, Burke expects Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller to compensate for some of the defensive breakdowns the young American team is bound to experience. While it remains to be seen to what extent the rejuvenation of the national team will be successful, there is no question about Bobby Ryan’s invitation coming off an impressive 31-goal rookie season in 2008-09. Ultimately, the expectations are very low and thus Burke’s team will not have to deal with any significant amount of pressure during the Olympics. Whether they will be able to advance to the medal round appears to be debatable but winning more than one game should be a feasible endeavor.

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