'Greenland Derby' against the US is a chance at the Olympics for Denmark to show its hockey growth

MILAN — Denmark's athletes walking into the opening ceremony at the Olympics led Eurosport broadcaster Davide Livermore to highlight an upcoming men's hockey game.

''The big crunch derby on Valentine's Day in the ice hockey rink, given all that's happening in Greenland at the moment, is the USA against Denmark,'' Livermore said. ''The Greenland Derby, as no one's calling it just yet.''

U.S. President Donald Trump's rhetoric in recent weeks about taking control of Greenland has stirred up national pride in Denmark, which oversees the semiautonomous island. That the teams just happen to face off at the Milan Cortina Olympics is no extra motivation to the players, but it is a chance for them to ride a wave of patriotism as significant underdogs.

''I think we're just going out there to try to win a hockey game," former NHL forward Alexander True said. ''We're not thinking too much about anything other than the hockey game.''

To many back home, it may mean more than a hockey game.

Onlookers and fans seem more tuned in to the geopolitical story line than members of the national team. Last month, thousands marched in support of Greenland, and hundreds of military veterans waved Danish flags at a silent protest in the capital city of Copenhagen.

''Politics and all the stuff going on in the world is not something we're focused on right now,'' forward Nicklas Jensen said. ''But of course playing against the U.S is special. It's arguably the best team on the planet they put together, so it's going to be a tough challenge.''

Now Denmark is at the Games for a second time in a row, a result of a pipeline of players making it to the NHL and inspiring others. Frans Nielsen led the way to the NHL and was followed by the likes of Jannik Hansen, Lars Eller, Frederik Andersen and Nikolaj Ehlers.

''It's been a long process, but we have been and we keep producing some top-level talent out of the small pool of players that we have,'' defenseman Oliver Lauridsen said. ''I think the fact that we have been able to perform on the biggest stage with the national team is also helping to foster the next generation of hockey players.''

Morten Poulsen, 37, is Denmark's oldest player at the Olympics, and he has seen the growth firsthand. Poulsen has been around so long he has played with some of his younger teammates' fathers and older brothers.

''I've known these guys from a very, very young age and seen all the sacrifices, all the hard work they've been doing to be such a great success, both for themselves but especially from the nation, too,'' Poulsen said. ''The hockey country of Denmark has really gathered a lot from a lot of people that's shown the way for a lot of years now.''

The most tangible evidence of the growth came last spring when Denmark stunned Canada — with three-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini — on home ice in the quarterfinals at the world championships. Even losing in the bronze-medal game, fourth place was highest finish at any tournament in the national team's history.

With the NHL's best back at the Olympics for the first time since 2014, it's hard to imagine Denmark matching or topping what it did at worlds. The Danes have the longest odds of winning their group that includes the U.S., Germany and Latvia at 33-1. They are tied for the third-longest shot of winning it all in Milan at 300-1 on BetMGM Sportsbook.

Rather than feel intimidated, True said he and his teammates feel like they have nothing to lose and being such an underdog ''makes us play a little more free and not grip the stick too much.'' The task being so tall is nothing new and actually something players are embracing.

''Might go into every game as underdogs, but that's what we love,'' Jensen said. ''We love to try to surprise. We have a very proud, strong group that's really looking forward to this tournament.''

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