Michael Russo has covered the Minnesota Wild and NHL for the Star Tribune since 2005 following 10 years of covering the Florida Panthers for the Sun-Sentinel. Michael uses “Russo’s Rants” to feed a wide-ranging hockey-centric discussion with readers, and “Russo Radio” can be heard Wednesdays at 6 p.m. on KSTP (AM-1500).
Follow Russo on Twitter and Facebook. Email Michael to talk about hockey.
On the homepage
Koivu, Backstrom, Miettinen, Havlat, Zidlicky named Olympians
The Wild will have five Olympians head to Vancouver in February.
Mikko Koivu, Niklas Backstrom and Antti Miettinen were named to Finland’s roster Wednesday, while Martin Havlat and Marek Zidlicky were named to the Czech Republic’s team.
“This was my goal at the start of the year,” said Miettinen, who was selected to play in the 2006 Winter Olympics but had to withdraw because of an injury. “I’ve always enjoyed my time representing my country in the World Championships, but this is a whole different thing. It’s the Olympics … in Vancouver. It’s going to be big for Finland. It’s a dream."
Koivu and Backstrom were part of the Finns’ 2006 silver-medal squad, but Koivu was a fourth-liner and Backstrom didn’t play in a game.
Havlat made the 2002 Czech team as a 20-year-old and even played some on a line with his idol, Jaromir Jagr. He missed the 2006 Games with a shoulder injury, while Zidlicky captured a bronze medal with the Czechs four years ago and led all defensemen in the tournament with four goals.
“Nobody’s expecting anything from us. I think it’s good. No pressure,” Havlat told me last month in a Hockey News Olympics magazine feature I wrote that will be on newsstands soon. “I think we can only surprise. Nobody expected us to win in ’98, and as [Dominik] Hasek showed, if you’ve got a hot goalie, you can win whatever you want.
“It’s going to be special, especially being in Canada. For the fans back home, you know everybody’s watching. This is what you dream of.”
The Canadian team will be named at 11 a.m.
The U.S. team will be named Jan. 1.
Wild won't have any Canadians, and don't have any Americans currently on the roster.
Join the discussion: Your Voices is a group blog featuring unique perspectives from members of your community. Find commentary on current events, public issues and day-to-day life in Minnesota.
Recent posts
Near the Wyoming-Utah border in Sept. 4, 2009 on a mountainous curve we came upon a group of mule deer. Luckily, all drivers were alert and could enjoy them as they made their way over the barrier.
See thousands of photos from other StarTribune.com readers and share your own photos and video today.
Comment on this post | 20 comments | Hide reader comments