World Cup Americans ancient
Only in goal is the U.S. team young
By AL STRACHAN -- Toronto Sun
When asked about the American entry in the World Cup, Team Canada coach Pat Quinn replied that it is "very experienced."
He also called it a "very veteran" team.
Less charitable observers might call it old.
Tonight, in the first exhibition game of the 2004 World Cup, this "very veteran" team will face Team Canada, the youngest team in the tournament.
Players, both young and old, will exhibit some rust. Even though they all stay in excellent shape year-round, they haven't been in a meaningful game for at least two months and there's a difference between being in physical shape and being in game shape.
But for Quinn and his support staff, it's an opportunity to start the evaluation process of their team, a process that is important because this is a short tournament and there are 26 players on the roster, even though only 20 can dress in any game.
The exhibition opener is being played here in Columbus, where the Americans have been holding their training camp. On Wednesday, there's a rematch in Ottawa.
MANY ON 1996 TEAM
It's hard to know what to expect from the United States team. Many of these players were part of the group that defeated Canada in the final of the first World Cup in 1996.
And in an attempt to recapture that moment, Ron Wilson has been brought back as coach.
But it remains to be seen whether the likes of Chris Chelios, Brett Hull, Bill Guerin, Tony Amonte, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Brian Leetch -- and a few others -- still have what is needed to win at this level.
Every one of them has been a great player. At times, some of them are still great players. But time waits for no man and it seems to become downright impatient when dealing with hockey players.
BATTLE IN NET
Only in goal are the Americans young, and that's not usually a good thing because goalies tend to mature later than players at other positions. Still, it makes for a potentially interesting battle.
Robert Esche, the 26-year-old who took the Philadelphia Flyers to the seventh game of the conference final, had been widely regarded as the man who would get the starting job.
But stories have been circulating that there is organizational pressure to turn the reins over to Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders on the premise that even though he's only 22, he's going to be the American goalie for years to come and he might as well get started now.
A third opinion making the rounds is that 28-year-old Ty Conklin of the Edmonton Oilers did such an outstanding job at last spring's world championship, where he posted a 4-0-1 record and a 2.14 goals against average, that he's the front-runner for the World Cup job.
No matter who emerges as the American starter, he's likely to get a lot of work.
As is usually the case in these tournaments, forwards are selected on the basis of their offensive skills, not their defensive qualifications.
And the defence corps itself is somewhat shaky. Even though the Toronto Maple Leafs tandem of Ken Klee and Leetch can play at any level, some of the other defenders can't make that claim.
Derian Hatcher and Mathieu Schneider withdrew from the team -- Schneider because he's unsigned, Hatcher because he doesn't want to risk further damage to the knee that was operated upon last year.
That leaves a heavy load on the shoulders of Chelios, Eric Weinrich, Jordan Leopold, Aaron Miller and Brian Rafalski.
Like the Canadians, the Americans have to do some evaluation as well -- especially on the defensive side -- and tonight's game is the first step on that path.
