After the Toronto Maple Leafs won the 2014 Winter Classic, the United States announced the men’s hockey roster for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics. Kings GM Dean Lombardi was among the important figures who helped select this year’s squad. There were some surprise inclusions (Cam Fowler) and omissions (Bobby Ryan) from the U.S. team, but for the Los Angeles Kings, the announcement went as expected. Potential starting goaltender Jonathan Quick and potential captain Dustin Brown made the team, while potential fourth-liner Trevor Lewis did not.
Jonathan Quick has, of course, been injured for a couple months. He also was rather ineffective this season before sustaining a groin injury. This was not enough to prevent his inclusion on the team, though his status as the presumptive starter in goal has been thrown into question. His playoff heroics and hardware make him a serious candidate to be the USA’s number one goaltender in Sochi, though he will have to unseat 2010 starter Ryan Miller. The Detroit Red Wings‘ Jimmy Howard is the likely #3; Quick was the #3 goalie in Vancouver four years ago and did not see any action.
Dustin Brown is part of what has been called the USA’s “leadership group” with Zach Parise, David Backes, Patrick Kane, and Ryan Callahan. He’ll be competing with those four to wear the captain’s C in Sochi. While his controversial physical play could hurt his chances, he is the only one of those five to lift the Stanley Cup as a captain, and as such he will likely at least be an alternate captain. Brown also was an Olympian in 2010; though he did not score a single point, he was sixth among U.S. forwards in ice time.
Congratulations to both Brown and Quick! The full roster of the future gold medalists is as follows:
| # | FORWARDS | Club | Height | Weight | DOB | Birthplace |
| 42 | D. Backes | STL | 6’3″ | 221 | 5/1/1984 | Minneapolis, MN |
| 23 | D. Brown | LAK | 6’0″ | 212 | 11/4/1984 | Ithaca, NY |
| 24 | R. Callahan | NYR | 5’11” | 180 | 3/21/1985 | Rochester, NY |
| 88 | P. Kane | CHI | 5’11” | 181 | 1/19/1988 | Buffalo, NY |
| 17 | R. Kesler | VAN | 6’2″ | 202 | 8/31/1984 | Livonia, MI |
| 81 | P. Kessel | TOR | 6’0″ | 202 | 10/2/1987 | Madison, WI |
| 74 | T.J. Oshie | STL | 5’11” | 189 | 12/23/1986 | Warroad, MN |
| 61 | M. Pacioretty | MTL | 6’2″ | 219 | 11/20/1988 | New Canaan, CT |
| 9 | Z. Parise | MIN | 5’11” | 190 | 7/28/1984 | Minneapolis, MN |
| 8 | J. Pavelski | SJS | 5’11” | 190 | 7/11/1984 | Plover, WI |
| 26 | P. Stastny | COL | 6’0″ | 205 | 12/27/1985 | St. Louis, MO |
| 21 | D. Stepan | NYR | 6’0″ | 196 | 6/18/1990 | Hastings, MN |
| 21 | J. van Riemsdyk | TOR | 6’3″ | 200 | 5/4/1989 | Middletown, NJ |
| 26 | B. Wheeler | WIN | 6’5″ | 205 | 8/31/1986 | Robbinsdale, MN |
| # | DEFENSEMEN | Club | Height | Weight | DOB | Birthplace |
| 74 | J. Carlson | WSH | 6’3″ | 212 | 1/10/1990 | Colonia, NJ |
| 27 | J. Faulk | CAR | 6’0″ | 215 | 3/20/1992 | South St. Paul, MN |
| 4 | C. Fowler | ANA | 6’1″ | 196 | 3/5/1991 | Farmington Hills, MI |
| 7 | P. Martin | PIT | 6’1″ | 200 | 3/5/1981 | Elk River, MN |
| 27 | R. McDonagh | NYR | 6’1″ | 213 | 6/13/1989 | St. Paul, MN |
| 44 | B. Orpik | PIT | 6’2″ | 219 | 9/26/1980 | Amherst, NY |
| 22 | K. Shattenkirk | STL | 5’11” | 207 | 1/29/1989 | Greenwich, CT |
| 20 | R. Suter | MIN | 6’1″ | 198 | 1/21/1985 | Madison, WI |
| # | GOALTENDERS | Club | Height | Weight | DOB | Birthplace |
| 35 | J. Howard | DET | 6’0″ | 218 | 3/26/1984 | Syracuse, NY |
| 30 | R. Miller | BUF | 6’2″ | 175 | 7/17/1980 | East Lansing, MI |
| 32 | J. Quick | LAK | 6’1″ | 218 | 1/21/1986 | Milford, CT |
GO, GO, USA!
