If there’s any team that can give Canada a run for the money at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, you’d have to think it’s the United States. Some of the most exciting and hotly-contested games on the major international scene in recent years have pitted hockey’s two North American powers at opposite ends of the ice. There was the epic 3-2 Canadian overtime win over the U.S.A. in the gold medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, exactly eight years after the Canadians toppled the Americans in the gold medal game at the 2002 Winter Olympiad in Salt Lake City.
One of the finest games played at the 2014 Sochi Olympics was Canada’s 1-0 semifinal victory over the Americans. But if your looking for the finest moment ever put forth by Team USA’s NHLers it was when they defeated Canada 2-1 in a best-of-three final to win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
When it comes to Team USA, you could say that we’ve watched them grow up as a hockey-playing nation during the history of the Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey.
At the inaugural Canada Cup in 1976, the Americans were almost an afterthought, a team there to fill out the field, a roster populated with young NHLers and minor leaguers facetiously referred to as Team Useless. People were actually somewhat impressed when they finished the tourney 1-3-1.
By 1984, the Americans were semi-finalists and in 1991, they faced Canada in the final. Then in 1996, Team USA came full circle, posting a 2-1 victory over Canada in the best-of-three final to capture the first World Cup of Hockey.When it comes to Team USA, you could say that we’ve watched them grow up as a hockey-playing nation during the history of the Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey.
At the inaugural Canada Cup in 1976, the Americans were almost an afterthought, a team there to fill out the field, a roster populated with young NHLers and minor leaguers facetiously referred to as Team Useless. People were actually somewhat impressed when they finished the tourney 1-3-1.
By 1984, the Americans were semi-finalists and in 1991, they faced Canada in the final. Then in 1996, Team USA came full circle, posting a 2-1 victory over Canada in the best-of-three final to capture the first World Cup of Hockey.
Best US Hockey Team Betting Lines
If it’s a contrarian World Cup of Hockey bet you seek instead of going with the overwhelmingly-favored Canadians, you can’t go wrong by looking toward the men who will suit up for Team USA.
Start with Patrick Kane, the reigning NHL scoring champ and current Hart Trophy holder. There are Stanley Cup winners like goaltender Jonathan Quick and Dustin Byfuglien, proven goal scorers such as Joe Pavelski, David Backes, Zach Parise and Max Pacioretty and solid defenders like Ryan Suter, Ryan McDonagh and John Carlson.
The United States won’t go into the tournament as the favorite, but they should never be overlooked.
US Hockey Team Schedule
This is where you will find the Team USA tournament schedule and much like Canada, there’s a huge edge for the United States in the World Cup of Hockey.
Since the event is being played on an NHL-sized 200×85 foot ice surface at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, they will be familiar with the surroundings. All the games will be governed by NHL rules and while it’s true that the vast majority of the European players are also NHLers today, the reality is that this is the game the Americans grew up playing and not the Olympics or World Championships, which are played on Olympic sized 200×100 foot ice pads.
US Hockey Team Standings
The Team USA World Cup of Hockey standings are listed right here. The Americans are grouped with the Czech Republic, Team Europe and arch-rival Canada in one group of the two-group, eight-team tournament.
The Americans will get the tournament underway, playing the first game against unheralded Team Europe in what could be a tricky game for them. But they won’t have any trouble getting fired up three nights later when they face the Canadians.
With just the top two teams advacning to the playoff round from each group, it’s quite possible that the Team USA-Czech Republic game to finish off round-robin play could determine which country goes through to the semi-finals and which country goes home.
How To Win At US Hockey Team Betting
Almost every sportsbook believes that the United States can be a significant player in the ultimate outcome of the World Cup of Hockey but not all are in agreement on just how much of a player the Americans will prove to be.
Most see the Americans joining Canada as the two teams to advance out of their group to the semi-final stage, but that's where the opinions of the U.S.A. seem to drift off in different directions. BetOnline views the Americans as co-second favorites along with the Russians and Swedes, all listed at +450 in their World Cup of Hockey futures book. Bovada, though, lists Team USA as fourth likely to win the tournament at +600, trailing Canada (-105), Russia (+400), and Sweden (+500).
TopBet also had the United States (+550) at No. 4, behind the Canadians (-125), Russia (+450), and Sweden (+500).
While the 1980 USA Olympic Team, the so-called "Miracle On Ice" bunch, gets most of the glory when the lore of USA Hockey is told, save a place for the 1996 World Cup of Hockey champions.
This was a team comprised of some of the most legendary American NHL players, Hall of Famers like Chris Chelios, Brian Leetch, Phl Housley, Mike Modano and Brett Hull, along with contemporary American hockey legends such as Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk, Tony Amonte and Mike Richter.
What they accomplished on the ice might not have been as unlikely as the American college kids toppling the mighty Soviet machine in Lake Placid, but in the history of hockey in the U.S.A., it's equally as important.
