USA Hockey announced the 2022 men’s Olympic team on Jan. 13, consisting of 25 collegiate and veteran professionals playing in North America and Europe, to compete in Beijing, China next month.
The team is coached by former Boston University and New York Rangers bench boss David Quinn (Cranston, R.I.). His coaching staff includes New Englanders Scott Young (Clinton, Mass.) and David Lassonde (Durham, N.H.). The roster is an interesting mix of NHL prospects and pro players but is not lacking for New England flavor, with six locals getting the call to play for their nation, including top young NHL prospect and Hingham, Mass. native Matty Beniers. The new roster was put together after the coronavirus outbreaks across the NHL caused the league to cancel plans to send its players to the Olympics, with a three-week break built into the 2021-22 NHL regular season.
“When the NHL players decided they weren’t going to come, we had to pivot quickly to form our Olympic roster,” Quinn told media after the team was announced. “I thought John (Vanbiesbrouck) and Marc Boxer did a heck of a job being prepared for the switch. We can’t tell you how excited we are about the team we’ve put together here, and we’re just very excited about going over and competing for a gold medal.”
Instead, Team USA went to plan B, and that features several top college players from the area: forwards Sean Farrell, Harvard (Hopkinton, Mass.); Marc McLaughlin, Boston College (North Billerica, Mass.) and Beniers. The trio was joined in net by Boston University sophomore Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.). Former Boston University and longtime pro defenseman David Warsofsky (Marshfield, Mass.) and goaltender Strauss Mann (Greenwich, Conn.), a rookie pro in Sweden, were also named to the Olympic roster from the professional hockey ranks in Europe.
“We obviously were a little bit more aware of going a bit young but we want to take the best team possible to compete for a gold medal,” said Quinn. “When we looked at the player pool that was available to us, we thought speed, skill, pace, tempo was going to be the strength of our team. It’s kind of like putting the band together: you don’t pick five lead singers when you’re putting a band together. You’re trying to put a team together and that certainly was our mindset when we were going through this process.”
While it is an intriguing mix of youth and experience, team GM and former NHL goaltender Vanbiesbrouck had some key attributes in mind when he and his player personnel staff selected the roster.
“I think the number one thing we’re looking at is being a 200-foot player as a forward, being able to defend as a defenseman and strength in goal of being athletic,” he said. “And having as much experience as we can for young individual players. We know that these players all have speed, tenacity and aggressiveness, which is going to be the style of play to build this team around.”
Skill, smarts and some jam up front
Beniers, who was going to be the centerpiece of the U.S. entry to the World Junior Championship team in Alberta before a COVID outbreak forced that event’s cancellation in late December, now gets a second chance to shine for his country on the worldwide stage. The University of Michigan star is a top two-way center who can score, but despite his youth, will also be able to play a strong three-zone game with his high intelligence and work ethic. Even though one door closed for him late last month, another opened. Based on the makeup of the roster, Beniers will be afforded the chance to play a big role for Team USA, even with other, more experienced professional forwards.
“I’m just so honored, humbled, excited for this experience to play for the Olympic team,” said Beniers. “Every kid growing up, if you’re a hockey player, you’re watching Miracle, you’re watching the Olympics every time you get a chance, and just being named to this team is obviously just such an honor. I’m so excited and I can’t wait to get started with these teammates, these coaches, and hopefully bring back the gold.”
Farrell has been an immediate impact player for the Harvard Crimson, having leveraged four seasons in the USHL with the National Team Development Program and Chicago Steel. He’ll be able to attack opposing defenses with his speed, but he’s also a cerebral player who is creative and makes others around him better. The larger ice surface and added time/space he will have should pay off with production for him. He’s crafty and slick as his 101 points in the USHL last season attest.
McLaughlin brings a physical, checking style for the lower lines. However, the BC captain has enjoyed his most productive season of his four years with the Eagles, scoring 14 goals in 19 games so far, four more than his season best set a year ago. He won’t be counted on for skill in this lineup, but he’s a versatile character guy who is talented enough to chip in with points. He’s the quintessential kind of mature young forward who could play up in Quinn’s lineup a bit if things break right.
Region well represented in net
Between Commesso and Mann, New England boasts two of the three goalies on the roster. 34-year-old veteran minor leaguer Pat Nagle is in there to provide the Americans with an experienced stopper, but the two youngsters bring an intriguing upside to the USA net.
Mann is currently playing for Skelletea in Sweden’s top professional league after a three-year career at Michigan. The 23-year-old was a star in net for Mid Fairfield and Brunswick School before leaving Connecticut for North Dakota. He backstopped the USHL’s Fargo Force to the 2018 Clark Cup championship, earning MVP honors in the process. He went on to post a .935 save percentage and 29 wins in his final two years in Ann Arbor before turning pro. He’s having an excellent year in Sweden, and his quickness, agility and reputation for being a winner.
“Strauss is a great guy,” Beniers said. “He was a leader for us last year, and he’s kind of a brick wall back there. He’s a smaller goalie but he is quick and hard to score on up top.”
Commesso, who had yet to play for his country because of COVID cancellations of the Under-18 World Championship in April 2020 and the 2022 WJC, lacks international experience. The Chicago Blackhawks second-round pick also has size and talent, but with his youth and this being his first opportunity to play on the worldwide stage, he’ll have the challenge to earn significant playing time. Given the hard luck that he’s had going back to a year ago when a spot on the 2021 gold-medal WJC team was taken because of exposure to a COVID positive individual right before the team departed, it would be a great story if Commesso could play and have some success.
Two former Bruins on the USA blue line
By Olympic standards, 33-year-old Steven Kampfer and Warsofsky, 31, are greybeards who have been through it both NHL games and minor pro. The two were teammates on the AHL’s Providence Bruins during Kampfer’s first stint with the Boston organization out of the University of Michigan. Warsofsky, originally drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2008, was acquired by the B’s via trade at the 2010 NHL draft. He was a member of Boston University’s 2009 national championship team and played 10 NHL games with the Bruins while he was with the organization from 2010-15.
Both are smallish, but mobile rearguards who can transport pucks up ice and bring some grit. They have also gained experience playing in Europe and will be able to serve as mentors and a stabilizing force for the college players on the roster.
Warsofsky is playing in Germany’s top pro league for Ingolstadt. Kampfer, who rejoined the Bruins in the 2018-19 season and spent the previous three seasons bouncing between Providence and the big club, left North America to play in the KHL for Ak Bars Kazan.
Players with New England ties
Drew Helleson, D Boston College
Aaron Ness, D Providence Bruins
Nick Abruzzese, F Harvard
Kenny Agostino, F Yale, Boston/Providence Bruins
Brian O’Neill, F Yale
