Team USA officially unveiled their roster for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The announcement came following the conclusion of the 2014 Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. There have been a ton of projections over the last few months, which included both Ryan Callahan and Ryan McDonagh as virtual locks to make the team.
But before any further wait, let's go ahead and meet your 2014 Winter Olympians for Team USA.
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| James van Riemsdyk |
Ryan Kesler |
Patrick Kane |
| Max Pacioretty |
David Backes |
Phil Kessel |
| Zach Parise |
Joe Pavelski |
Dustin Brown |
| Blake Wheeler |
T.J. Oshie |
Ryan Callahan |
| Derek Stepan |
Paul Stastny |
|
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| John Carlson |
Ryan McDonagh |
| Paul Martin |
Ryan Suter |
| Brooks Orpik |
Cam Fowler |
| Kevin Shattenkirk |
Justin Faulk |
| Goalies |
| Jonathan Quick |
| Ryan Miller |
| Jimmy Howard |
So as expected, Ryan Callahan and Ryan McDonagh will officially be representing USA at Sochi, while Derek Stepan will also be there as well. It is worth noting that Stepan will likely be used as an extra forward, mainly because there are so many other center's ahead of him on the roster. I'll admit, I was a little surprised to see him even get the call, mainly because he's been playing so poorly this season. I would have thought they would pass right over him.
Two more surprises that were left off of the roster? Bobby Ryan from the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Okposo from the New York Islanders. Okposo is currently second among all American skaters this season with 40 points, and there was some belief that he was making a late push for a roster spot. While there were some questionable decisions made by David Poile and the USA management, there's no way for everyone to be completely satisfied with the decisions.
Aside from USA, Henrik Lundqvist will also be representing Team Sweden in Sochi, and Mats Zuccarello will likely get the call for Norway. With that said, the New York Rangers will be very well represented at the Sochi Olympics, and it will be interesting to see how all of them play during that time.
For now, thoughts?
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