United States men's national ice hockey team explained

United States
Badge:USA hockey logo.gif
Badge Size:220px
Nickname:Team USA
Association:USA Hockey
General Manager:Brett Peterson
Coach:John Hynes
Asst Coach:Derek Lalonde
Ty Hennes
Jack Capuano
Greg Moore
Captain:Brady Tkachuk
Most Points:Mark Johnson (146)
Iihf Code:USA
Iihf Max:4
Iihf Max Date:2016, 2018, 2021–23
Iihf Min:7
Iihf Min Date:2003, 2006–07, 2012
First Game: 29–0
Largest Win: 31–1
Largest Loss: 17–2

17–2
World Champ Apps:75
World Champ First:1920
World Champ Best: Gold: (1933, 1960)
World Champ2 Name:Canada Cup / World Cup
World Champ2 Apps:8
World Champ2 First:1976
World Champ2 Best: Winner: (1996)
Olympic Apps:24
Olympic First:1920
Olympic Medals: Gold: (1960, 1980)
Silver: (1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 1956, 1972, 2002, 2010)
Bronze: (1936)
Record:914–471–86

The United States men's national ice hockey team[1] is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States. The U.S. team is currently ranked 6th in the IIHF World Rankings.[2]

The U.S. won gold medals at the 1960 and the 1980 Olympics and more recently, silver medals at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics. The U.S. also won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, defeating Canada in the finals. The team's most recent medal at the World Championships came with a bronze in 2021. They won the tournament in 1933 and 1960. Unlike other nations, the U.S. doesn't typically use its best NHL players in the World Championships. Instead, it provides the younger players with an opportunity to gain international experience.[3] Overall, the team has collected eleven Olympic medals (two of them gold), nineteen World Championship medals (two of them gold), and it reached the semi-final round of the Canada Cup/World Cup five times, twice advancing to the finals and winning gold once.[4] The U.S. has never reached a World Championship gold medal game, having lost in the semi-final round twelve times since the IIHF introduced a playoff system in 1992; including six semi-finals appearances in ten tournaments from 2013 through 2023, and three consecutive in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

The U.S. is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, and Sweden.[5] [6] [7]

History

The American ice hockey team's greatest success was the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, when American college players defeated the heavily favored seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union on the way to a gold medal. Though ice hockey is not a major sport in most areas of the United States, the "Miracle" is often listed as one of the all-time greatest American sporting achievements.[8] [9] The U.S. also won the gold medal in the 1960 Games at Squaw Valley, California, defeating the Soviet Union, Canada, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden along the way. However, since this victory is not as well known as the 1980 win, it has come to be known as the "Forgotten Miracle".[10] [11]

The United States hockey experienced a spike in talent in the 1980s and 1990s, with future NHL stars including Tony Amonte, Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher, Brett Hull, Pat LaFontaine, John LeClair, Brian Leetch, Mike Modano, Mike Richter, Jeremy Roenick, Kevin Stevens, Keith Tkachuk, and Doug Weight. Although the U.S. finished no higher than fourth in any World or Olympic event from 1981 through 1994 (unlike other teams that used professionals, the U.S. team was limited to amateurs at these tournaments), the Americans reached the finals of the 1991 Canada Cup and won the 1996 World Cup. Six years later, after the International Olympic Committee and NHL arranged to accommodate an Olympic break in the NHL schedule, the U.S. earned a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics with a roster that included NHL stars Adam Deadmarsh, Chris Drury, Brian Rafalski, and Brian Rolston. However, by 2006, many of these NHL players had retired or had declined with age. Though the 2006 Olympic team finished a disappointing 8th, it was more of a transitional team, featuring young NHL players like Rick DiPietro, John-Michael Liles, and Jordan Leopold.

The 2010 U.S. Olympic team was composed of much younger and faster players than teams of previous years, including David Backes, Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson, Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Bobby Ryan, Paul Stastny, and Ryan Suter. The team also had a solid group of veterans that included such stars as goalie Ryan Miller, defenseman Brian Rafalski, and team captain Jamie Langenbrunner. The U.S. team upset team Canada 5–3 in the round-robin phase of the tournament and went into the single elimination phase of the tournament as the number-one seeded team. After beating Finland 6–1, the U.S. advanced to the gold medal game, where they lost in overtime 3–2 to Canada to claim the silver medal. The gold medal game between Canada and the U.S. was watched by an estimated 27.6 million U.S. households. This was the most watched hockey game in America since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game, including any Stanley Cup Finals or NHL Winter Classic broadcast.[12]

The NHL pulled out of the Olympics for the 2018 competition in a dispute over insurance and the IOC's ambush marketing restrictions, prohibiting the national teams from inviting any player it held under contract. The American team was put at a particular disadvantage, as more than 31% of NHL players are Americans (in comparison, only 4.1% are Russians). As a result, the U.S. had to enter the tournament with a hastily assembled team of free agents, players from European leagues, AHLers on one-way contracts, and college players.[13] The team proved unsuccessful, losing to Slovenia and the Olympic Athletes from Russia in the preliminary round, and being eliminated by the Czechs in the quarterfinals.[14] The OAR team benefited most from NHL's absence and ultimately won the tournament with a team that was composed primarily of SKA Saint Petersburg and HC CSKA Moscow players from the Russia-based KHL and featured ex-NHL all-stars Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk and Vyacheslav Voynov (all SKA).[15] [16]

On March 31, 2021, Stan Bowman was appointed the general manager of the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team for the 2022 Beijing Games.[17] On October 26, 2021, Bowman resigned in response to the results of an independent investigation into allegations of sexual assault committed by a member of the Blackhawks' video coaching staff.[18] The lead investigator stated that Bowman's failure to report the alleged assault had eventually led to the perpetrator committing further acts of sexual abuse.[19]

Competitive record

Olympic Games

See main article: List of Olympic medalists in ice hockey.

Games[20] GPWLTGFGACoachCaptainRoundPosition
1920 Antwerp4310522
Silver medal round
1924 Chamonix5410736Final round
1928 St. Moritzdid not participate
1932 Lake Placid6411275Final round
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen8521104Final round
1948 St. Moritz85308633Round-robin4th,
1952 Oslo86114321Round-robin
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo75203316Final round
1960 Squaw Valley77004817Final round
1964 Innsbruck72502933
Round-robin5th
1968 Grenoble72412328Round-robin6th
1972 Sapporo64202318Round-robin
1976 Innsbruck63302325Round-robin5th
1980 Lake Placid76013315Final round
1984 Sarajevo622223217th place game7th
1988 Calgary633035317th place game7th
1992 Albertville85212519Bronze medal game4th
1994 Lillehammer814328327th place game8th
1998 Nagano4130914Quarter-finals6th
2002 Salt Lake City64112610Gold medal game
2006 Turin61411617Quarter-finals8th
2010 Vancouver651249Gold medal game
2014 Sochi6422012Bronze medal game4th
2018 Pyeongchang5231112Quarter-finals7th
2022 Beijing431177Quarter-finals5th
2026 Milan/CortinaQualified

Results by "Big Six" opponent

OpponentsPlayedWonTiedLostBiggest victoryBiggest defeat
19 4 3 12 4:1 3:12
/
21 10 0 11 16:0 1:7
13 7 2 4 8:2, 6:0 1:6, 0:5
/
/
14 4 1 9 4:3, 3:2 (x3) 2:10
15 6 2 7 20:0 1:5
Total 81 30 8 43 20:0 3:12

World Championships

See main article: List of IIHF World Championship medalists.

Note: Between 1920 and 1968, the Olympic ice hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.[21]

Note: World War II forced cancellation of all tournaments from 1940 to 1946.

Note: In 1972, a separate tournament was held both for the World Championships and the Winter Olympics for the first time.

Note: No World Championships were held during the Olympic years 1980, 1984, and 1988.

Note: the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

Canada Cup / World Cup of Hockey

Games[23] GPWLTGFGACoachCaptainRoundPosition
197651311421Group stage5th
198162311823Semi-finals4th
198463212322Semi-finals4th
198752301314Group stage5th
199185302926Finals
199676103718Finals
200452301111Semi-finals4th
2016303511Group stage7th

Results by "Big Six" opponent

OpponentsPlayedWonTiedLostBiggest victoryBiggest defeat
14 3 1 10 5:2 (x2) 3:8
/
6 3 1 2 6:2 1:3
6 4 1 1 7:3 1:2
/
/
9 4 0 5 5:2 (x2) 0:5
6 4 0 2 7:1 2:9
Total 41 18 3 20 7:1 2:9

Team

Current roster

See main article: List of United States national ice hockey team rosters. Roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship.[24] [25] [26]

Head coach: John Hynes

No.Pos.NameHeightWeightBirthdateTeam
1 G 1.85m (06.07feet) 81abbr=onNaNabbr=on 23 February 2005 Michigan State Spartans
4 D A 1.93m (06.33feet) 97abbr=onNaNabbr=on 3 October 1994 Chicago Blackhawks
5 D 1.92m (06.3feet) 86abbr=onNaNabbr=on 13 January 2000 Arizona Coyotes
6 F 1.83m (06feet) 82abbr=onNaNabbr=on 17 March 2005 Boston College Eagles
7 F C 1.93m (06.33feet) 102abbr=onNaNabbr=on 16 September 1999 Ottawa Senators
8 D A 1.88m (06.17feet) 99abbr=onNaNabbr=on 19 July 1997 Columbus Blue Jackets
9 F 1.83m (06feet) 84abbr=onNaNabbr=on 20 March 2001 Anaheim Ducks
11 F 1.83m (06feet) 89abbr=onNaNabbr=on 4 December 1997 San Jose Sharks
12 F 1.88m (06.17feet) 91abbr=onNaNabbr=on 5 April 2001 Minnesota Wild
13 F 1.75m (05.74feet) 74abbr=onNaNabbr=on 13 August 1993 Columbus Blue Jackets
22 F 1.73m (05.68feet) 79abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2 January 2001 Montréal Canadiens
23 F 1.83m (06feet) 86abbr=onNaNabbr=on 9 September 1996 Tampa Bay Lightning
24 F 1.83m (06feet) 86abbr=onNaNabbr=on 21 January 2005 Boston College Eagles
26 F 1.96m (06.43feet) 98abbr=onNaNabbr=on 8 May 1992 St. Louis Blues
29 F 1.93m (06.33feet) 96abbr=onNaNabbr=on 15 October 1991 New York Islanders
34 G 1.85m (06.07feet) 89abbr=onNaNabbr=on 9 December 1992 Detroit Red Wings
39 G 1.83m (06feet) 92abbr=onNaNabbr=on 7 January 1996 Pittsburgh Penguins
43 D 1.88m (06.17feet) 89abbr=onNaNabbr=on 9 September 2003 New Jersey Devils
45 F 1.75m (05.74feet) 77abbr=onNaNabbr=on 5 October 2004 Columbus Blue Jackets
46 D 1.91m (06.27feet) 94abbr=onNaNabbr=on 9 December 1987 Detroit Red Wings
51 D 1.88m (06.17feet) 93abbr=onNaNabbr=on 23 June 2000 St. Louis Blues
57 F 1.91m (06.27feet) 91abbr=onNaNabbr=on 12 November 2000 Ottawa Senators
72 D 1.98m (06.5feet) 98abbr=onNaNabbr=on 5 June 2001 Chicago Blackhawks
79 G 1.85m (06.07feet) 83abbr=onNaNabbr=on 18 December 1993 Washington Capitals
85 D 1.88m (06.17feet) 92abbr=onNaNabbr=on 8 July 2002 Ottawa Senators
86 F 1.83m (06feet) 84abbr=onNaNabbr=on 25 February 2000 Philadelphia Flyers

IIHF World Championship directorate awards

See main article: List of IIHF World Championship directorate award winners. The IIHF has given awards for each year's championship tournament to the top goalie, defenseman, and forward (all since 1954), and most valuable player (since 2004). The following American team members have won awards.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://teamusa.usahockey.com/page/show/2328356-men-s-teams-and-events Men's Teams and Events
  2. Web site: IIHF - World Ranking . May 5, 2024 . International Ice Hockey Federation . en.
  3. Web site: Team USA IIHF Roster for Worlds Full of Promise. Dan. Mount. May 6, 2019.
  4. Web site: Men's Teams and Events. teamusa.usahockey.com.
  5. News: NHL announces World Cup of Hockey for 2016. The Canadian Press. January 24, 2015. January 29, 2015.
  6. Web site: Membership Statistics. usahockey.com.
  7. Web site: U.S. Hockey Participation Numbers for 2013–14. Chris. Peters. June 18, 2014.
  8. News: Soviet Amateur Athlete: A Real Pro. The New York Times. J. N. Washburn. July 21, 1974.
  9. Web site: Sports in Soviet Union Only for Elite : There Are Top Athletes, and Then There Are Those Who Sunbathe and Watch Drawbridges Go Up. July 22, 1986. Los Angeles Times.
  10. Web site: Burnside. Scott. Hockey's miracle before the 'Miracle'. ESPN. February 8, 2010. October 7, 2011.
  11. Web site: The Morning Skate: The Forgotten Miracle of 1960. The New York Times. December 11, 2009. October 7, 2011.
  12. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/sports/olympics/02sandomir.html "Hockey Game Seen by 27.6 Million"
  13. Web site: New-Look 2018 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team Named, Led By 2006 Olympian Brian Gionta. https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073219/https://www.teamusa.org/News/2018/January/01/New-Look-2018-US-Olympic-Mens-Ice-Hockey-Team-Named-Led-By-2006-Olympian-Brian-Gionta. dead. January 2, 2018. Team USA.
  14. Web site: Shoot Out The Lights. Harry. Thompson. February 21, 2018. Team USA Hockey.
  15. News: N.H.L.'s Retreat from the Olympics Makes Russia a Hockey Favorite. Patrick. Reevell. The New York Times. February 12, 2018.
  16. News: Without NHL, Olympic Athletes from Russia are podium favorites. Reuters. February 10, 2018. www.reuters.com.
  17. News: Leahy . Sean . Stan Bowman named GM of 2022 U.S. Olympic team . NBC Sports . March 31, 2021 . March 31, 2021.
  18. News: Pope . Ben . Blackhawks' Stan Bowman resigns in overhaul over sexual assault cover-up . . October 26, 2021 . October 26, 2021.
  19. News: Cohen . Jay . Whyno . Stephen . Blackhawks GM Bowman Resigns After Sexual Assault Probe . NBC Chicago . October 26, 2021 . October 26, 2021.
  20. Web site: Men's Olympic Teams. teamusa.usahockey.com.
  21. Web site: Men's World Championship. teamusa.usahockey.com.
  22. Web site: Steiss . Adam . 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship cancelled . iihf.com . IIHF . March 21, 2020.
  23. Web site: World Cup of Hockey. teamusa.usahockey.com.
  24. Web site: First 15 Players Named to 2024 U.S. Men’s National Team. teamusa.usahockey.com. April 24, 2024.
  25. Web site: Nine Players Added to 2024 U.S. Men's National Team Roster. teamusa.usahockey.com. May 5, 2024.
  26. Web site: Team roster: United States. iihf.com. May 10, 2024.