February 25, 2010
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College Players at Next Olympics?
by Evan Schaefer/CHN Reporter
The biggest Olympic hockey battle during the 2010 Vancouver games won’t have Alex Ovechkin and the Russians or Sidney Crosby and the Canadians. The Americans won’t take part, nor will the Swedes, the Fins, or the Czechs. In fact, the most significant matchup for the future of Olympic hockey won’t take place in, or even near, a rink at all.
The setting will be a board room, where NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will convene with leaders from the NHLPA and NHL Board of Governors to determine whether the league should continue sending its players to the Winter Olympics, which it has done since the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan. Should the NHL owners, who see the games as more of a hassle than anything, get their way, and players under NHL contracts are disallowed from competing, it will be the college game, not the NHL, that feels the brunt of the impact.
If NHL players are not allowed to participate in future Olympic games, college hockey could, theoretically, miss some of the sport’s biggest stars when their school’s need them the most. While nations abroad would still have professional players from leagues like the Elitserien (Sweden) and the KHL (Russia), the United States and Canada would need to build their rosters from the top players in the AHL and the superstars of the college game.
Can you imagine a scenario in which Boston College struggles towards the end of the regular season because top scorer Cam Atkinson is away from the team for three weeks representing the U.S.? Can you see Wisconsin falling short of the NCAA tournament because they had to play nearly a month without defensive stalwart Brendan Smith? What about Denver having to play without Canadian netminder Marc Cheverie, who is 17-3-3 on the season so far for the Pioneers?
A scenario like this would be a shift back to the way it used to be, of course. It would put teams with Olympic players at a distinct disadvantage. However, college hockey teams wouldn't just lose these players for 2 or 3 weeks — they would lose them for the year. In the past, when college players went to the Olympic team, they played for the national program for the whole year, first as tryouts, then as preparation.
The style of play generally used in international competition could make for some tough adjustments for college players as well. The influx of Europeans into the NHL over the past couple decades has given the game a decidedly foreign flair, focusing more on speed and stick handling than the old “dump and chase” strategy. This shift, which hasn’t been as noticeable at the collegiate level, will be even more apparent in future Olympics because of the size of the ice surface.
Generally in international play the ice surface is 210 by 98 feet, a full ten feet longer and thirteen feet wider than in North American rinks. The extra space allows players to pick up more speed through the neutral zone and often leads to an increase in odd-man rushes and scoring chances. European professionals, who will populate the majority of teams in any non-NHL represented Olympics, are already used to the wider ice surface, and therefore, won’t have to change their game strategy, a huge advantage for European squads.
On the other hand, this year's Olympics used an NHL-sized surface, at the request of the NHL. And there are many college rinks at "Olympic size."
While the removal of NHL players from the Olympic Games would certainly bring major changes to the tournament, it’s important to remember that no decision has been made yet. And like most debates made in the public eye, this one may simply come down to a popularity contest. The current players have already voiced their opinions, with two-time Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin leading the charge.
"Nobody can say to me you can't play for your country in the Olympic Games," he said. "I don't care. I'll go play in the Olympic Games for my country. If somebody says to me you can't play, see ya."
But what about former players? Mark Johnson, coach of the US Women’s team at the 2010 games and member of the 1980 Miracle on Ice team has said he would like to see it “go back to what it used to be.” But his former teammate, Jack O’Callahan disagrees.
O’Callahan, who played defense for Herb Brooks in Lake Placid and spent five seasons with the Blackhawks and Devils, says he enjoys watching the talent the NHL stars bring to the Olympics. O’Callahan says he “absolutely” wants NHL players at the games because they bring “the best hockey the world can watch. In 2002 in Salt Lake City, I was in the arena for several games and I was on the edge of my seat. It was incredible.”
