Up Close With PSR
Olympic Hockey Coach Herb Brooks

EDITOR'S NOTE: Herb Brooks and the Olympic Games go hand-in-hand. Back in 1980, he was the coach who squeezed a miracle out of a bunch of American kids who weren't supposed to be able to play hockey with the elite teams from the rest of the world. So it's fitting that Brooks, now a scout with the Penguins, was tapped to coach the Americans as the Games come home to Salt Lake City this month. Of course, now his team is full of highly-paid National Hockey League players and is up against the best players on the planet – amateur, pro or otherwise. The United States hasn't earned an Olympic medal in hockey since the Miracle on Ice, and perhaps going back to the future with Brooks and GM Craig Patrick is as good as any approach. In addition to his scouting duties with the Penguins, Brooks carved himself a frantic schedule through late December as he traveled the NHL scouting Americans for the team he will take into the Games. Brooks took time in late January to talk to PSR about his team, his approach to forming it and the prospect of coming out with gold again. PSR Senior Writer Bob Grove caught up with Brooks recently to discuss the Olympics.

PSR: When the Stanley Cup playoffs roll around, everyone says good special teams and goaltending are critical. Is it the same for the Olympics?

Brooks: We talk about the goaltending, and I don't want to put any special pressure on the goaltenders, but this is the normal situation. Goaltenders understand that; it goes with the territory. It's the same for a pitcher in baseball or a quarterback in football. Look at St. Louis and the Packers: Brett Favre had an atypical day, six interceptions (against St. Louis). . . and it kills you. That's why these guys are very unique athletes. They have a high skill level and the ability to deal with that pressure, and that's why I respect them.

PSR: So choosing between Mike Richter, Mike Dunham and Tom Barrasso will be a critical decision for you?

Brooks: Sure, we have three very capable goaltenders and you have to try and pick the hot hand, that type of thing. It's a decision we'll probably make at game time. It's a tough decision, certainly.

PSR: How difficult a challenge is it for the coaching staff to try and mold a team with very little practice time?

Brooks: We don't have any time. The last players come in on the 14th, most will come in on the 13th, and we have one practice before we play on the 15th. That's how it goes. All the teams have the same problem, and so it's a level playing field. The things we worked on back in September, I really think the retention will be very small. I'd like to think the NHL would cancel the All-Star Game in Olympic years, and the extra time would be used for some practices. I feel very strongly about it.

PSR: The Olympic rink is 15 feet wider than an NHL rink, and that's a major issue for you, right?

Brooks: I've said all along the Europeans will have an advantage in this thing to get to play on the big ice. It will be like old home week for them. For the Canadians and the Americans, that's a challenge and we have to overcome it. As far as puck possession, we have to think about how we handle it as opposed to dumping and chasing. Off the puck, we have to think about how we defend on the bigger sheet, how the defense handles rushes and reads the play. Those are the two main features.

PSR: All of these guys have had some experience on the bigger rink, but probably not enough to make a difference.

Brooks: They've had some experience, but it's been very sporadic, maybe a couple days here or a couple days there. For most of them, really, the last time they played on the big rink was four years ago in the Olympics.

PSR: Some critics have already said your defense is too old, with guys like Gary Suter and Chris Chelios and Phil Housley. You like to think of them as more experienced, right?

Brooks: Yes, experience was one of the variables we looked at. There were a lot of variables beyond their skills, like how they play in big-time games, high-pressure games. I'd like to think that if everything else was equal, experience might have been the tie-breaker. Some other guys who aren't on the team, maybe they had good experience but their game didn't measure up.

PSR: Was picking this team as difficult as you thought it might be? It seems like it must have been, because a guy like Derian Hatcher, who played on the 1998 team and not that long ago was considered a lock by many people, didn't make it.

Brooks: It was a little harder. I really didn't think it would be that difficult. But a lot of players played so darn well that it made it very difficult. Guys who didn't make the team, the decision wasn't made because they couldn't play, but because it was just a numbers game.

PSR: That says a lot about American hockey, doesn't it?

Brooks: American hockey has gotten better and better all the time. We're not only getting more depth as we go on, but we have more guys who can compete against anybody.

PSR: It's been 22 years since you coached the Americans to the gold medal at Lake Placid. Has time made that accomplishment any more amazing for you?

Brooks: I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it, to be honest. The people who judge things more objectively, like the people at Sports Illustrated who picked that as the top sports event of the last 100 years. . . I think that says more about it than anything.

PSR: Of course, you have Craig Patrick back on your side as general manager again for these Games. Does that help your comfort level?

Brooks: When they talked to me about coaching the team, I asked about whether Craig Patrick and (assistant GM) Larry Pleau were going to be available, and they said, yes, they thought so. That was a big factor for me. I've always said that if you can't work for Craig Patrick, you can't work for anyone. Craig knows me, knows my bad points and my good points.

PSR: Lots of people think there's no place in the Olympic Games for professionals. Where do you come down on that issue?

Brooks: In an idealistic world, it would be good to keep the amateur in there. It's a unique competition. If you're looking at it as a young hockey player, he'd say, 'Geez, I've got to be an NHL All-Star to play in the Olympic Games.' To broaden the base of participation, we need the amateur in there. But I certainly understand the NHL's point of view, too. It's an opportunity to showcase the NHL, and it's a better field because of that. It gives much better visibility to the NHL, so business-wise I understand that. The question is, will the NHL stay in the Olympic Games in 2006 when they move to Europe? Maybe that marketing angle won't be there for them. I can understand both sides of the argument.