Yeah. It just feels like a massive missed opportunity as we would have fielded our biggest gold medal threat in a long while. Canada would have still been the prohibitive favorite, but our team would have at least been exciting to watch regardless of the outcome.
As a USAH fan that came to age with the '96 World Cup team, my international hockey fandom started on a pretty good high, but it's been a lot of disappointment ever since: the embarrassment in Nagano, the missed golds in '02 and '10, and the World Cup duds in '04 and '16, not to mention the perpetual world championship sideshow. We're finally producing top end talent across the board, and while it may have been 2 years too early with some of the youth, it would have been fun to watch nonetheless. Thanks, Bettman and the IIHF.
For me it was the 1991 Canada Cup. Just a kid when my dad dragged me in front of the tv to watch that entire Cup series. I just fell in love with the jerseys team USA wore, the event itself, and how passionate the fans were as the games were obviously in Canada. (though some exhibition games were in the US).
It was the start for USA Hockey on the world stage for professional players - that was the tournament where the rest of the world saw what was coming. That team had a lot of talent, but still paled in comparison to Canada. I remember having all my 1990 upper deck cards of the actual players laid out so I can have the roster in front of me for every game...I had all of team USA's lines set up, goalie and defense pairings set as well...I loved it. I even had the 91' USA Jersey that my dad got for me just in-time for the tournament to start. Wore it every damn game!
I remember right before the tournament started Darren Turcotte broke his wrist or something like that, and boy that was a massive loss for us as he was a young stud 30 goal scorer at the time. I had to remove his card from my team and I think I was pissed for like 2 days lol!
That team was also without two of the very best players in Kevin Stevens and Phil Housley who both did not play due to contracts....and the wild man Al Iafrate who was hurt at the time...man if those guys were there, I think we could have taken Canada to 3 games and won one of them at least. Stevens at that time was an absolute beast, and with Housley and Iafrate there we could have removed Wolanin, Jim Johnson or Weinrich from that roster.
I just loved that team and how Badger Bob Johnson started off coaching the team but was battling cancer and couldn't finish it. He passed shortly after, but those guys played their hearts out for him and got to the Gold.
Down the middle we had - Lafontaine, Roenick, Modano, Janney, and Otto - yep, that was awesome!!! Haven't seen a group like that in 20 years. Lafontaine was in his prime, and Roenick and Modano were coming off massive years, well Roenick definitely was.
You just saw that the Americans were starting to become a contender, and then like you said 1996 World Cup comes and that was by far the greatest hockey I have ever seen. Our best overall group of talent ever assembled even without Roenick.
What this 2018 Olympic team could have been reminds me a bit of that squad without all the snarl and muscle of Tkachuk, Guerin, Deadmarsh, etc... This team had that mix of vets and youth, top 30 scorers and All-Star players at every position. It is a damn shame what happened as we could soon be witnessing some amazing hockey and likely watching one of the most talented US teams ever.
It does sicken me with what Bettman and the IIHF did here as well...we the fans get screwed, especially the US fans as we finally have a team to contend again. Now my hopes turn to the World Championship and all of us discussing if R.J Umberger is going to decline yet again while he earns a 3rd degree in Sanskrit!!
Sorry for the rant, good to talk about the glory days of USA Hockey on here. and how far we have come.
