Ronald Lawrence Wilson is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey player and head coach. In his coaching career in the National Hockey League (NHL), he has coached the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also was head coach of the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 1998 and 2010 Winter Olympics. Wilson holds dual citizenship of the United States and Canada.
The 1997–98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League. For the first time, there was a break in the regular season to allow NHL players join their respective national hockey teams competing at the Winter Olympics. The Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes. The Stanley Cup champions were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Washington Capitals in four games.
Neal LaMoy Broten is an American former professional ice hockey player. A member of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid in 1980, Broten was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000 having appeared in 1,099 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games from 1981 to 1997 with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings. He is the older brother of Aaron and Paul Broten.
David William Christian is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal during the 1980 Winter Olympics. Christian went on to play for five National Hockey League teams over a 15-season career, from 1980 to 1994.
Ryan Suter is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, and Dallas Stars. Internationally, Suter has represented the U.S. national team at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Thomas Patrick Chorske is an American former professional ice hockey player. A forward, he played for eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). In September, 2006, he was named color commentator for New Jersey Devils radio broadcasts, a position he only held for one season before resigning. He was replaced with former team color commentator Sherry Ross. Chorske returned to Minnesota and now works in business and is hockey analyst for Fox Sports North covering The NHL Minnesota Wild and University of Minnesota Golden Gopher NCAA hockey games.
Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is a Swedish ice hockey coach and former ice hockey player. Gustafsson is a former head coach of the Sweden men's national ice hockey team, a post he held from February 2005 to May 2010.
Timothy Leif "T. J." Oshie is an American professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, as the 24th overall pick. He then spent the first seven years of his NHL career with the Blues before being traded to the Washington Capitals in 2015. Oshie won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Capitals in 2018.
Matthew Norman Niskanen is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers from 2007 to 2020.
Robert Thomas Mason is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his career he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, Quebec Nordiques, and Vancouver Canucks, while also playing for several teams in the minor American Hockey League and International Hockey League, in a career that lasted from 1984 to 1995. With the Capitals he played in the Easter Epic, a 1987 NHL playoff game. Internationally Mason played for the American national team at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Mason is the former goaltending coach of the Minnesota Wild.
Gaétan Joseph Pierre Duchesne was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played with the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He retired in 1995, then returned in 1996 and became a player-coach with the Quebec Rafales of the International Hockey League and later after retiring again in 1998, an assistant coach with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Robert Harvey "Bob" Paradise is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who appeared in a total of 368 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games between 1971 and 1979. Internationally, Paradise played for the American national team at the 1969 and 1977 World Championships, as well as at the 1968 Winter Olympics. He is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Aaron Kent Broten is an American former professional ice hockey player. Drafted in the sixth round, 106th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Rockies, Broten went on to play 748 regular season games in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Louis Vincent Anthony Nanne is a Canadian-born American former National Hockey League defenceman and general manager. He played in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars between 1968 and 1978 and then served as the general manager of the team from 1978 to 1988. He also coached the team briefly during the 1978–79 season. Internationally Nanne played for the American national team at the 1968 Winter Olympics and the 1976 and 1977 World Championships, as well as 1976 Canada Cup, and managed the American teams at the 1981, 1984, and 1987 Canada Cup. He is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and of the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.
Robert Wesley Brooke is an American former professional ice hockey forward who played 447 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, and New Jersey Devils between 1984 and 1990. Internationally Brooke played for the American national team at several tournaments, including the 1984 Winter Olympics and the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cups, as well as three World Championships.
Steven Allan Jensen was an American professional ice hockey player and owner and director of Heartland Hockey Camps. Jensen was a forward who appeared in 438 games in the National Hockey League from 1976–82. For 39 years, Jensen served as founding owner and director of the Heartland Hockey Camp located in Deerwood, Minnesota, and was a full-time teaching professional with more than four decades of instruction experience, including 12 years of experience playing International and NHL hockey. He was a five-time member of the United States men's national ice hockey team and played in the 1976 Canada Cup.
James "Jimmy" Camazzola is a Canadian-born Italian retired professional ice hockey forward. He played 3 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1983-84 and 1986–87 seasons. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1984 to 2002, was mainly spent in top leagues of Germany and Italy. Internationally he played for the Italian national team at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics, and the 1992 World Championships. His older brother, Tony Camazzola, also played in the NHL with the Washington Capitals.
David Quinn is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and the head coach for the United States men's national team. He was previously the head coach of the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL); assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL; and head coach at Boston University. He was formally inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2021.
Mats André Zuccarello Aasen is a Norwegian professional ice hockey winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. Prior to joining the NHL, Zuccarello previously played for Modo Hockey in the Swedish Elite League. In 2010, he won the Guldhjälmen, awarded annually to the most valuable player in the Swedish Hockey League. He is one of nine Norwegian players to have played in the NHL, and is regarded as the best to have played in the league.
Ice hockey, referred to in the US simply as "hockey", is a popular sport in the United States. Hockey in the US began in 1894 when the first artificial ice rink was built in Baltimore, Maryland. Now hockey is most popular in regions of the US with cold winter climates, such as the northeast and the upper Midwest. However, since the 1990s, ice hockey has become increasingly popular in the Sun Belt due in large part to the expansion of the National Hockey League to the southeast and southwest US, coupled with the mass relocation of many residents from northern cities with strong hockey support to these Sun Belt locations.
United States 