Brian Burke talks about US men’s hockey team
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Brian Burke always was good for a colorful quote or three when he was the general manager of the Ducks. Moving north of the border to run the Toronto Maple Leafs and being named GM of the U.S. men’s team for the Vancouver Olympics haven’t changed that.
During a conference call arranged by USA Hockey on Thursday, Burke told reporters that ‘not 1 cent is going to be bet on Team USA in Vegas, but we’re going there to win anyhow. And I don’t mind going in in an underdog role.’ He also predicted that the Americans will be the smallest and youngest team in the tournament and had no problem with that.
One factor that might work in Team USA’s favor is the ‘immense’ burden Team Canada will carry as the home team in a hockey-crazed nation.
‘How they handle that is going to determine their fate,’ he said, ‘and to me our squad is going to fly under the radar to a very large extent. When people put the teams on paper ... they’re going to say, ‘Look at the favorites in the tournament.’ They’re not going to mention us. And that’s fine with us. We go to Vancouver under the radar. That’s fine, because I think there’s going to be this huge glacier of pressure on the Canadian team.’
Burke is working with a team of NHL general managers to select the 23-player roster and the coaching staff. The ‘braintrust’ also includes David Poile of the Nashville Predators, Ray Shero of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Don Waddell of the Atlanta Thrashers and Paul Holmgren of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi has been serving as a scout. Working with a rating system they devised last fall, they’ve been evaluating American players and narrowing the pool from everyone with a U.S. passport to about 50.
Burke said he would like to have the coaching staff in place soon after the Stanley Cup finals conclude. He wants no more than 30 players to be invited to the team’s orientation camp in Chicago, Aug. 17-19, including some who won’t make the team. ‘Young guys we want to get involved with USA Hockey to get them to absorb the culture and drink the Kool-Aid and see how important it is to see what we’re trying to do,’ Burke said.
He wouldn’t list the prime candidates for the coaching job, though he said Toronto’s Ron Wilson -- a former Duck coach and longtime friend of Burke’s -- is among the possibilities.
Burke also wouldn’t specify the players that the management group is considering, though he said he’s not excluding older players such as Keith Tkachuk or Mike Modano. Defenseman Chris Chelios, 47, almost certainly won’t get a roster spot, but Burke said he’d like to involve Chelios with the Olympic effort, calling Chelios ‘the guy that’s worn the sweater and accomplished the most and competed the hardest for my money in my lifetime.’
Burke said he wants speed and grit, saying he divides fowards into top-six players and ‘pick and shovel guys’ who can be physical.
‘If you look at programs across the globe, I don’t believe any program has improved more in the last 15 years than the U.S. program,’ he said. ‘I think that’s beyond dispute.’
‘Our program doesn’t have to apologize to anybody. We’re probably going to be on the small side and we’re going to be young, but with that said, we’re going [there] to win. There’s only one reason we’re going to Vancouver and that’s to win.’
-- Helene Elliott
Photo (top): Ducks General Manager Brian Burke hoists the Stanley Cup after his team’s victory over the Ottawa Senators on June 6, 2007, in Anaheim. Credit: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
Photo (inset): Dean Lombardi. Credit: Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times