Winslow Townson-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/56af8676-9d78-4ab9-97ed-ca7f8b59bcea.jpeg] Winslow Townson-Imagn Images The time has finally come for Mike Sullivan. On Thursday, the U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team will play in their first preliminary matchup in Milan against Latvia, and Sullivan will take center stage as the head coach. Not even two Stanley Cups and multiple NHL Playoff appearances can fully prepare Sullivan for this moment. Sullivan grew up in Massachusetts, inspired by the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, which won the gold medal in a game against the Soviet Union, commonly referred to as the “Miracle on Ice.” That team was coached by Herb Brooks, whom Sullivan aims to follow in the footsteps of, with the hopes of securing America's first Men’s Hockey gold medal since that legendary night in Lake Placid. “I get emotional thinking about it,” Sullivan said of coaching at the Olympics. “It’s the honor of a lifetime. I’ve thought about it a lot. What an incredible honor to coach the United States in these international events, whether it be the 4 Nations or the Olympics. It’s essentially the pinnacle of our game. “It’s our best American-born players of this generation. And I have the opportunity to coach them.” Sullivan helped lay the groundwork for the U.S. at the 4 Nations Faceoff, serving as the team’s head coach in what was the first best-on-best tournament outside of the World Championship since the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Americans came up just short in their quest to win the 4 Nations Face-off, losing in the tournament final match in overtime against Team Canada after Connor McDavid scored the golden goal. “The 4 Nations has already started to inspire the next generation,” Sullivan said. “The Olympics is the next step. I without a doubt have thought about that a lot. I know our players have also because I’ve talked to them about it. It’s a responsibility that we have, but it’s an unbelievable privilege all at the same time.” The U.S. Olympic roster consists of some of the NHL’s premier players, including Auston Matthews, Quinn Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk, Connor Hellebuyck, and many more. It is the responsibility of Sullivan to transform this talented group into a formidable and well-structured team, which could be a challenge given the lack of familiarity some of these players have with one another. “One of the things we love about our roster is the versatility,” said Sullivan. “We have a lot of center ice men that can play the wing. We can move guys around the lineup depending on how we think lines are performing or players are performing.” As the head coach of the New York Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/], Sullivan preaches defensive discipline and physicality. Team USA general manager Bill Guerin built this Olympic roster with a strong emphasis on players who are defensively responsible and play a heavy game. Sullivan knows what he’s working with and is ready for the challenge that lies ahead of him. “We’re going to do our best to try to play the game that sets us up for success,” Sullivan said. “We think we have size, we think we have speed, we think we have skill, and we’re going to try to play that game.”
