Matt Hendricks' rugged style sets tone for USA at world championships
The 3-0 start by the Americans at the world championships has been aided by coach Todd Richards' appreciation that an inspirational player such as Matt Hendricks can be as beneficial as stars such as Evgeni Malkin or Jaromir Jagr.
"There is reason why Matt is wearing the 'C'," Richards told USA TODAY Sports. "There is a reason why we asked him to be captain of this team."
Hendricks' human tornado playing style seems to be setting a tone for the Americans. They will be seeking their fourth consecutive win Thursday in 10:15 a.m., ET game against Belarus in Ostrava, Czech Republic
"A lot of time the identity of the team takes on the personality of your leader or leaders," said Richards, who coaches the Columbus Blue Jackets. "The way that we work, the way we play, the desperation we have, our shot-blocking… You could use the same adjectives to describe our team as to describe his game."
U.S. defenseman Torey Krug (Boston Bruins) said Hendricks is a natural choice to lead the Americans.
"He's one of the guys who has the most pride in putting on this USA jersey," Krug said. "He is not taking this opportunity for granted. He's playing fast, and playing hard. The penalties he takes are for solid bodychecks that wouldn't be called in North America. They bring energy to our team."
With the NHL playoffs ongoing, the Americans are lacking in star power up front and in net, and yet they have clicked off wins against Finland, Norway and Russia by out-scoring that trio 11-4.
The strength of this team is a defense that includes Seth Jones (Nashville Predators), Justin Faulk (Carolina Hurricanes) and Torey Krug (Boston Bruins), among others. Those players project to be Olympic candidates if the NHL sends its players to the 2018 Winter Games.
"When you play against these guys, you know they are great players," Richards said. "But when they are part of your team, you watch them very closely, and they are very impressive. ... They can skate, and they can handle the puck and they have a lot of poise."
The American goaltending tandem of Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets) and Jack Campbell (Dallas Stars) has one game of NHL experience between them. But the two have a combined for .942 save percentage in this tournament.
In terms of skating and offensive potential, this team may better than the team that captured the bronze medal in 2013. That team, captained by Paul Stastny (Colorado), ended an eight-year medal drought.
"We will be able to skate with anyone in this tournament and we will have the puck more than we did in 2013," said USA general manager Jim Johannson.
This is a faster team than the Americans had in 2013. This team also has college players such as Dylan Larkin (Michigan), Jack Eichel (Boston University), Jimmy Vesey (Harvard) and Mike Reilly (Minnesota) playing prominent roles.
No American team has won a gold medal at the world championship tournament since 1933. The Americans were awarded the world championship by virtue of winning the Olympic gold medal in 1980.
The last silver medal earned by the Americans at the world championships, not connected to the Olympics, was in 1950.
"Our chemistry is our biggest strength to be honest," Krug told USA TODAY Sports. "It's a good group of guys, a great mixture of young guys and players with NHL experience. When that comes together, there is great energy on the ice.
When this team's roster was unveiled, Krug said he felt as if the defense could help lead the way.
"We have a group that can push the puck to the forwards," Krug said. "Also, we can contribute by jumping into the play five-on-five. It's definitely a strength of our team. We take a lot of pride in our defensive play."