Caps John Carlson makes US Olympic Roster

With the Winter Olympics in Sochi just weeks away, the writers here at Shades of Red are excited to write about some of the selected Olympians from the United States. Especially Ice Hockey. Please check out our blog and Facebook page (links provided in footer) as well as the articles we write for Bristow Beat in the weekly sports column throughout the Olympics.

 

After the Bridgestone Winter Classic on New Years Day, the US Olympic Men's Ice-Hockey roster was announced. John Carlson, a defensemen from the Caps was selected and deservedly so. At just 23 years of age, the Massachusetts product's all around skill was too great to be ignored. David Poile, the US Men's Hockey Team General manager, told reporters a bit about why Carlson was one of the players selected on Wednesday: "This year his game has transitioned from somewhat of a defensive defensemen to a two way defensemen. He leads the NHL I believe in short-handed minutes with a team that's pretty good on the penalty kill and his offensive game has gone way up."

 

The Capitals coach, Adam Oates, was not surprised that Carlson was chosen to be a US Olympian and had this to say about his defensemen: "He's one of the best defensemen in the league. He plays a lot of minutes, plays physical, he's got an unlimited tank. He plays every situation and can do anything you ask of him."

 

Adam Oates is correct. Carlson has established himself as one of the top defensemen in the league. He's been given the responsibility of shutting down opposing team's top forwards every game and has faired quite well in doing so. Carlson leads the Caps in ice-time this season and is averaging over 24 minutes per contest. He is ranked sixth among defensemen in the league with seven goals scored and fourth among defensemen with four power play goals. On special teams, Carlson is averaging over four minutes a game on the penalty kill and almost three minutes a game on the power play.

 

Carlson is the 1st player in Capitals history to have made the US Olympic roster and his experience on the big stage fits the bill. He has played in multiple playoff series with the Hershey Bears and Capitals and even played for the US in the 2010 World Junior tournament. In fact, Carlson scored the game-winning overtime goal that won US the Gold medal in that 2010 tournament. He finished the World Juniors with seven points in seven games and was named to the World Junior All-Star team.

 

"It's obviously a huge honor to play for your country," Carlson said.

 

The United States is the only country who has released their Ice hockey rosters (men and women) but the deadline for all countries rosters is set for noon on January 7th. There's no doubt that there will be many more Capitals players representing their countries in the Sochi Olympics and we will talk more about that when the rosters are released. One thing that's known is every countries rosters will be packed with talent and this should be incredibly fun to watch. What else would we expect from the worlds greatest hockey players and athletes coming together for the greatest tournament known to man?

 

GO USA!

 

Here's the (quite impressive) US Olympic Men's Ice-Hockey Roster:

 

Forwards

David Backes, St. Louis Blues
Dustin Brown, L.A. Kings
Ryan Callahan, New York Rangers
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues
Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche
Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets

Defensemen

John Carlson, Washington Capitals
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
 Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks
Paul Martin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh Penguins
Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues
Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild

Goalies

Jimmy Howard, Detroit RedWings
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

Thanks for reading,

Zach Hart
Shades of Red