Team USA ready to make a mark in the Vancouver Games

While the NHL started its two-week Olympic hiatus Saturday morning, hockey fans have the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games to look forward to on schedule.

Russia and Canada enter in as the predicted gold and silver teams respectively. Team USA, however, finds themselves in a familiar underdog position.

Their scrappy team of youngsters lacks Olympic experience (only three players on the roster have played in previous Winter Games) so analysts cannot help but compare this 2010 US team to its Gold winning team of 30 years ago in Lake Placid. Team USA has not won it since that memorable year, and as bright and hopeful as this young team looks, it lacks the star-power international teams have to even hope for a shot at any medal.

Canada, lead by super-star goaltender Martin Brodeur and 21-year-old phenomenon Sidney Crosby, looks to return to its former glory of best team in the world after a disappointing run in the 2006 games. Their seventh place finish in Turin, Italy forced former Team Canada Executive Director Wayne Gretzky to tears. This year, former Detroit Red Wings star Steve Yzerman serves as Executive Director as the team deals with the pressure of winning on home soil after the humbling defeat in 2006.

Though Canada may be a powerhouse, Russia and Sweden are no pushovers. In fact, Russia is the favorite to win, anchored by Evgani Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin, arguably the best hockey player in the world right now. And let’s not forget 2006’s medal winners, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. All three teams have been refueled by some of the NHL’s best players, and if 2006 was any indication, these three teams can play.

The 2010 Olympic games should be full of excitement this February, and Team USA should be exciting to watch, especially here in Western New York. Two Buffalo natives, defensemen Brooks Orpik (East Amherst) and winger Patrick Kane (South Buffalo), along with goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres Ryan Miller, as well as Rochester native Ryan Callahan, will all be playing for Team USA in the following weeks. The puck drops Tuesday, Feb. 16.