Instead of taking pure skill in the form of forwards Phil Kessel and Paul Stastny and defensemen Cam Fowler and Kevin Shattenkirk, the U.S. went with grinders Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky up front and two-way players Jack Johnson and Erik Johnson on the blue line. Lombardi said the goal was the ''type of the team that you think can beat Canada,'' and one that will coalesce quickly without much time to prepare.
''It made it essential that you do all your research in terms of not only the quality of the player and his ability but their history of being a good teammate and things like that,'' Lombardi said Tuesday in a phone interview. ''There was a lot to choose from, don't forget. There are a lot of good players and you could easily argue that this guy should be here and everything else, and you wouldn't be wrong.''
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Lombardi was quick to point to the Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane, Minnesota Wild's Zach Parise and San Jose Sharks' Joe Pavelski as the offensive talent that should mesh with the toughness of Dubinsky, Callahan, St. Louis Blues captain David Backes and Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler.
No Kessel came as a surprise given that he tied for the scoring lead at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and is leading the Pittsburgh Penguins in points in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Lombardi said the U.S. had plenty of skilled wingers and was looking to fill specific roles with its final few players.
''He's a top player, but so are these other guys,'' Lombardi said of Kessel. ''It's a good problem to have, but you can't have all skill just like you can't have all grit. You're building a team, not an All-Star team.''
Lombardi and fellow USA Hockey management members Paul Holmgren and Brian Burke like a certain amount of size and toughness on their teams, so they knew this team would have a certain MO. Hiring Tortorella cemented that, and the final roster meetings in Colorado included a lot of the coach's input.
