2010 US Men's Olympic Team and Michigan

[jiminnm]

USA Hockey runs a development program in Ann Arbor. They recruit young players from across the country. They come to Ann Arbor to stay with local families, attend high school, receive special conditioning and training, and play a lot of junior hockey. I don't know if any of the players you cite were in that program, but Patrick Kane and erik Johnson are products of it.

[smogboy]

It's interesting as I watch Olympic Men's Ice Hockey that THIS is what the NHL should be. It's fast skating, hard hitting, hard shooting and very very competitive. It's hardly chippy and I have yet to see fighting, clutching and grabbing- isn't this what the NHL could and should be? Gone are the goons that have permeated North American hockey and it really seems as though the elite players are getting a chance to play. And that's not to say it's all snipers on the ice- there are some amazingly talented checkers out there that can neutralize the other teams' guns too. I have yet to see any of the players crashing the net putting the goalies at risk too.

This is really what top notch world class hockey should be. I wish the Olympic Hockey style could translate into the NHL game.