By Jason La Canfora
The Washington Post
SALT LAKE CITY – The Americans have the home ice advantage and the coach who orchestrated the greatest upset in hockey history. The Canadians might be the most well-rounded team but face the stiffest pressure to win from an unforgiving public and media.
The Czech Republic is the defending gold medal winner, and the Russians have the best goalie in the world at this moment and plenty of talent. Sweden and Finland might not be as flashy as the other countries but have the ability to beat anyone else in the field and should benefit from the larger international ice surface used in this competition as well as the elimination of the center (red) line.
The stage is set for what could be the most competitive hockey tournament ever as the final round of the men’s Olympic competition begins today, featuring matchups of Sweden against Canada and the U.S against Finland. Each of those countries features stars from the National Hockey League, and all harbor medal hopes, with Germany and Belarus rounding out the field.
While the United States is an older team and is somewhat suspect on defense, the team will no doubt be boosted by a raucous following and a charged patriotic atmosphere each time it takes the ice.
“It’s going to be awesome,” American center Jeremy Roenick said. “I don’t think we’ll understand how overpowering it’s going to be until we get there.
“We were all in Nagano (for the 1998 Winter Olympics), and it was one thing to do it in Nagano. But I think all of us are going to be surprised with the emotional state we’re going to feel when we actually get in the rink with the red, white and blue and the chants and the flag. I think everybody is going to be very shocked.”
The U.S. is coached by Herb Brooks, who was behind the bench in 1980 directing a group of college students to one shocking upset after the next, defeating the vaunted Russians in the semifinals and Finland for the gold.
Brooks has had more than a year to prepare for this tournament, and the Americans are hoping to overcome a disastrous performance in Nagano, when they failed to earn a medal and destroyed property in the Olympic Village. The U.S. men won gold the last two times the Winter Olympics were held on home soil – Lake Placid in 1980 and Squaw Valley in 1960.
“I love Herbie’s energy and his love of the game,” U.S. captain Chris Chelios said. “He eats, drinks and sleeps hockey. It’s going to be a great challenge for us, and I think we’ve got the right guy in charge.”
The Canadians are seen by many as the favorite, and the club has no weaknesses on paper, mixing speed, brawn, youth and experience throughout a deep lineup. “I think it’s probably going to be the best team I ever played on,” said Hall of Fame center Mario Lemieux, captain of Team Canada. But the intense expectations and months of media scrutiny could pose more problematic than some of Canada’s foes.
“I think it goes back to the seeds of the game,” said Pat Quinn, coach of Canada. “We believe that we invented it. We developed it. We taught it to everybody in the world, and it’s still our game. And now, at the international level, we have a chance to claim that title back as the leader in hockey, and it really belongs to us anyway. Therefore, no matter what, the onus is on our team to bring the gold home even though we haven’t done it since ‘52.”
The Czechs knocked Canada out of the semifinals in 1998, when goalie Dominik Hasek was virtually unbeatable in a penalty shootout. Washington Capital Jaromir Jagr is the captain of the Czech team, and the country plans to continue its recent domination of international hockey at the amateur and professional level.
“Even (offensive) players like Jaromir Jagr have to play well defensively for us,” Hasek said. “If they play that way we have a very good chance to win … But I still look at Team Canada as the favorite to win.”
No NHL goalie this season has been better than Russian goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who could do for Russia what Hasek did for the Czechs in the last Olympics. The Russians have suffered from cliques and factions in the past, but with legend Slava Fetisov coaching the team, players are adamant about sticking to a team concept.
“He’s a very smart hockey man, and he knows what he’s doing,” Khabibulin said of Fetisov. “He’s been everywhere; he’s won everything you could win as a player. Everyone respects him; everybody is going to feel comfortable with Slava as coach.”
Despite injuries to superstar center Peter Forsberg and smooth and steady defenseman Calle Johansson (Washington), Sweden still has plenty of talent and is sure to develop a stingy defensive system. The Fins play equally disciplined hockey, though their goaltending could be a problem.
In a tournament such as this, the import of each game, of one mistake, cannot be overstated once the playoff round begins next week.
“Of course there’s going to be pressure, but it’s a fun pressure,” Swedish goalie Tommy Salo said. “It’s going to be a fun tournament. I just try to be up, play hard and hopefully go for the gold.”
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