Friday, December 4, 2009

The All-Time Teams: The Olympics' Team U.S.A.



By Will-He-M

It may be a little generous of me to give the Americans the All-Time Olympic Bronze, but those two Miracles On Ice do leave a lasting impression, especially when portrayed by Kurt Russell.



Coach- Herb Brooks
GM- Brian Burke


Line 1

LW- Joe Mullen
C- Mike Modano
RW- Pat LaFontaine


Line 2

LW- John LeClair
C- Doug Weight
RW- Brett Hull


Line 3

LW- Keith Tkachuk
C- Jeremy Roenick
RW- Tony Amonte


Line 4

LW- Dave Christian
C- Neal Broten
RW- Bill Guerin


Def. Pair 1

RD- Rod Langway
LD- Brian Leetch


Def. Pair 2

RD- Mark Howe
LD- Phil Housley


Def. Pair 3

RD- Chris Chelios
LD- Gary Suter


Goalies

1- Frank Brimsek
2- Tom Barrasso
3- John Vanbiesbrouck


Taxi Squad

1- Ken Morrow- D
2- Mathieu Schneider- D
3- Patrick Kane- RW
4- Mike Ramsey- D
5- Zach Parise- LW



Line 1

This line would be scary quick. All 3 players have the unique ability to pass, shoot and dangle and are just as good at those abilitie as an Canadian.


Line 2

This line is nearly perfect but unfortunately, the USA has yet to deliver an elite playmaker ala Gretzky or Lemieux. Still though, near perfection is still going to give team's nightmares. I originally had JR on here but figured Weight's passing ability would take advantage of the 2 best US snipers ever.


Line 3

A fairly gritty line, no star defensive player but all 3 have the ability to play in their own end and cause trouble for opposition forwards.


Line 4
Again, no star defensive forward but still 3 guys who are well above average defensively.


Def. Pair 1

The perfect combination of offense and defence, Langway's sound defensive game would perfectly compliment Leetch's offensive game


Def. Pair 2

I'd like to officially change my pairings, here I would have Housley with CRAIG LUDWIG, same reasoning as above.


Def. Pair 3

And I'd move Mark Howe here with Chris Chelios. This would be the Top Pair on most countries teams but this shows the depth Team USA has on defence.


Goalies

Anyone nicknamed "Mr. Zero" has to be a starter. Barrasso would be the perfect back up with Beezer being one of the better 3rd stringers ever.


Taxi Squad

The only problem with Team USA is their lack of depth up front, forcing me to choose 2 relatively unproven players in Kane and Parise. Don't get me wrong, when all is said and done, Kane and Parise could very well be Top 5 best US forwards ever.



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