Waddell Gets His Chance

Don Waddell’s hopes of making the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team ended when he was injured during an exhibition tour two months before the Lake Placid Games.

“The team was selected after that, and we know the rest,” he said, referring to the Americans’ upset of the Soviets and stunning gold-medal triumph.

Waddell will finally make it to the Olympics. Tuesday, he was appointed general manager of the U.S. men’s team for the Turin Games.

“I missed that opportunity as a player,” Waddell said during a conference call with reporters. “I never thought 25 years later I’d have that opportunity as a manager.”

Waddell, the general manager of the Atlanta Thrashers, will work with Paul Holmgren, assistant general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, and USA Hockey executive Jim Johannson, who will be the Olympic team’s director of hockey operations.

Waddell, a 1978 draft pick by the Kings who played one NHL game in 1980-81, has been part of the U.S. staff at several world championships and was general manager of the team that lost in the quarterfinals this year. His hiring signals a shift in thinking that will extend to the team’s roster, resulting in the absence of several players who were the foundation of the U.S. team for nearly two decades.

Phil Housley, Tom Barrasso and Mike Richter have retired, and Chris Chelios, Brett Hull, Derian Hatcher and John LeClair are past their prime. The Turin team probably will count on goalie Rick DiPietro and defensemen Jordan Leopold, Paul Martin and John-Michael Liles and will be invigorated by young forwards such as Zach Parise and Erik Cole. Veteran forwards Doug Weight, Bill Guerin and Mike Modano and 26-year-old Scott Gomez will be the bridge between generations.

About 40 players will attend an orientation camp in Colorado Springs Sept. 5-8. USA Hockey will submit a pool of 65 to 70 candidates to the U.S. Olympic Committee by Oct. 1 and must choose the team by Jan. 10. Waddell said players’ performances in the first half of the NHL season will influence his selections, especially because some players were idle during the lockout.

“We’re going to have to travel going over there and then play six games in nine days, so our team is going to have to have different aspects,” Waddell said. “We’re going to need energy players.

“We have some very good young players who are ready to take that next step. It should be a good mix of older and younger players.”

Waddell succeeds Craig Patrick, general manager of the silver-medalist Salt Lake City team and an assistant to Herb Brooks in 1980. Brooks, who also coached the 2002 team, died in a car accident two years ago.

Waddell said he expects to select a coach within 10 days. Carolina Coach Peter Laviolette and Tampa Bay Coach John Tortorella -- the coach and assistant, respectively, at this year’s world tournament -- are top contenders.

“International experience does play a factor in this,” Waddell said. “It’s an important part you need on your resume.”

He also applauded the NHL’s adoption of the shootout and two-line pass, which follow international rules. “I can only see a benefit from it,” he said.

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After beating the odds to win the second pick in Saturday’s entry draft, Mighty Duck General Manager Brian Burke might try his luck again.

Burke said he would trade the pick for immediate help and said that he had talked to seven teams, a number he expects to grow when he arrives in Ottawa today.

“It’s hard to get a high pick. You have to fail spectacularly in this league to get it, generally,” he said. “But I absolutely will entertain offers to move down.”

Pittsburgh won the weighted draft lottery and will choose junior sensation Sidney Crosby. Burke said the Ducks’ scouts had found enough other potential impact players for him to consider dropping in the draft order, though he wouldn’t specify how low.

Burke also said he won’t hire a coach before the draft and that he got permission to talk to someone “we’re serious about” but wouldn’t name. He has interviewed three people, including Vancouver associate coach Mike Johnston.

“I’ve had a couple of conversations with Brian, and I know he’s going to start narrowing things down pretty soon,” Johnston said.