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Poile on U.S. Olympic team: ‘We expect to win’

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James OBrien

When it comes to assembling the roster for a hockey-rich country like the United States, there are going to be notable omissions. American (and Nashville Predators GM) David Poile discussed the selection process after the 2014 Winter Classic on Wednesday ... and also made a confident prediction.

“We expect to win,” Poile said.

He said that he “couldn’t be happier” with the roster they assembled.

Poile explained that talent wasn’t the lone consideration for inclusion on the roster. Instead, it seemed to come down to finding the right fits.

“We did not pick the best 25 (U.S.) players,” Poile said. “We picked the best players that we felt gave us a chance to compete for a gold medal.”

Even so, many wonder why Bobby Ryan wasn’t named to the team. After all, at 26, he already has four 30+ goal seasons to his name.

“Bobby’s a fabulous player,” Poile said. “I love him. I’d love him for my own team.”

(Just not to his Olympic team.)

Poile noted that goalies Ben Bishop, Cory Schneider and Tim Thomas were tough omissions. The list of skaters he considered was rather large, with Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Dustin Byfuglien, Seth Jones, Keith Yandle, Kyle Okposo, Jason Pominville, Brandon Dubinsky, Justin Abdelkader and Ryan earning mentions.

The best news for Ryan and other “snubs” might be that they could be an injury or two away from making the team, after all.

David Poile says some U.S. players will be told that they are on-call in case of an injury before Sochi.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 1, 2014


For an even deeper look at the process for Poile and the rest of the American brain trust, check out this in-depth piece by Scott Burnside of ESPN.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins