Olympic hockey teams need players to step up with the stars

Like Kobe Bryant figured he would make his Olympic debut last year in Beijing long before Jerry Colangelo picked him, Natalie Darwitz has a hunch she'll be shooting pucks at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

And like Bryant got help in winning a gold medal, Darwitz knows her shoulders aren't big enough to carry the U.S. women's ice hockey team, ranked No. 1 in the world and riding a wave of momentum.

Three-time Olympians Jenny Potter and Angela Ruggiero have to provide leadership. Chanda Gunn and Jessie Vetter must offer stability in goal. A supporting cast that includes Caitlin Cahow, Molly Engstrom and Helen Resor must deliver.

"What mix will be the best?" Darwitz said Wednesday during a USA Hockey photo shoot with Ruggiero and NHL players Zach Parise and Ryan Suter at Sertich Ice Center.

It's the million-dollar question as Mark Johnson prepares the battle-tested American women and Ron Wilson readies the fast-rising U.S. men for Vancouver, where Canada will reign as the decisive favorite.

Fresh off guiding the Wisconsin women to their third national title, Johnson hopes to find answers in a 30-women performance evaluation camp that runs through Saturday at the Olympic Training Center. The American women will hold another camp in August, and they'll play a 10-game tour featuring a Feb. 4 meeting with Finland at World Arena.

When it's over, Johnson should have an easier time selecting a 21-player team that's capable of claiming its first Olympic gold since 1998, evidenced by four wins in its past five games against Canada.

"It's tough when you are successful," said Darwitz, gunning for her third Olympic berth. "We've won the last two world championships. People that were on those teams, it doesn't automatically mean they're on the Olympic team."

To make the team, Ruggiero said, "You've got to be fit. You've got to be eating right. You have to be a great hockey player."

On the men's side, Wilson, the Toronto Maple Leafs' coach, won't have Chris Chelios, Mike Modano or Keith Tkachuk - Olympic veterans whose presence never materialized in an eighth-place finish in 2006.

Heading into an August tryout camp, Parise and Suter are locks, along with forwards Chris Drury, Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel; defensemen Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin and Brian Rafalski; and goaltenders Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas. Avalanche players Paul Stastny and John-Michael Liles and  former Colorado College defenseman Mark Stuart (Boston) are in the mix.

"You have to earn the right to be on the team," said Suter, part of the American squad that took fourth last month at the world championships. "There are so many good players, young players at all positions. There is so much more depth."

Said Parise: "There are going to be players that could play, and they're not. Some good players are going to get left off. ... It has always been a good team. Hopefully it will be a little better."