"Burned in Zach Werenski's memory is the first U.S. practice at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. "You look around and see the skill," Werenski said. "I was like, 'This is fast.' It's wave after wave, player after player." He and his countrymen fell short at that tournament, which was designed to be an appetizer of sorts for the return of NHL players to the Olympics."
"Over the summer, when the country's best gathered again for an orientation camp ahead of next month's Games in Milan, USA Hockey general manager Bill Guerin told them that nothing but gold would suffice. "I love it," winger Matt Boldy said. "You shouldn't be doing anything unless you're trying to be the best at it.""
"The U.S. lost to Canada in the 4 Nations final, in the semifinals at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and in the gold-medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Games. The neighbor to the north is set to have four of the best players in the world on its roster with Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and two-time Olympic champion Sidney Crosby together for the first time."
U.S. men's hockey team assembled top NHL talent and entered Olympic orientation camp with a mandate of winning gold from general manager Bill Guerin. Players describe roster speed, depth and elite skill, and view gold as the only acceptable outcome. The U.S. has not won a best-on-best tournament since 1996 and last Olympic men's gold was 1980. Canada is favored but the U.S. is second in odds and carries a stacked defense with Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy and Jaccob Slavin. Historic losses to Canada in recent major tournaments add rivalry context heading into Milan.
Read at ESPN.com
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