Wood file: Canada can lose occasionally and still be No. 1
Canada was snakebit in the gold medal hockey game, and sometimes, even when you dominate the other team, you come up sho...
Mike Modano is considered one of the greatest American hockey players.
The Livonia, Mich. product recorded 1,374 points in 1,499 NHL games which was the highest mark ever by an American until he was passed by Patrick Kane in January. He also won silver with the U.S. men’s team at the 2002 Olympics.
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He also has a connection to Saskatchewan as he played his junior hockey with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.
The hall of famer joined The Green Zone on Monday to discuss Team USA beating Canada for the gold medal at the Olympics in both men’s and women’s hockey as well as look back on his time with the Raiders.
Listen to the full interview with Mike Modano:
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
THE GREEN ZONE: What’s it like to see the U.S. win gold at the Olympics?
MIKE MODANO: It’s just such an emotional thing. You realize what went into that whole two weeks and the preparation that went into it.
You understand what they are feeling and going through — not at the gold medal level — but the intensity of those games and the pressure and the desperation hockey and adversity and the whole thing.
It was a little nerve-racking at home, just sitting at the edge of your seat and watching it. You figured one goal wasn’t going to hold up and, sure enough, we had to go into overtime.
THE GREEN ZONE: What impact will double gold have on USA hockey?
MODANO: It’s just huge. It was another thing where you have, maybe, a ton of novice fans who don’t know much about the game or don’t watch much NHL but are tuned into the Olympics but then you just come across the U.S. and Canada, which everyone was hoping for from the start of the tournament and everyone got that.
All of a sudden the numbers are jumping when it comes to viewers because it’s going into overtime and it’s 1-1. You see all the watching parties from coast-to-coast in Canada and the U.S. Everyone is in the bars and restaurants at 7 a.m. for the puck drop. it says a lot about the game and where it’s at and the magnitude of that scenario.
It certainly put it in a good spot. The women were just phenomenal as well with some great hockey. To go back-to-back like that with the women and men says a lot about the game and where it’s at. It just keeps getting better and better.
I feel like it all started in the early ’90s with expansion, where you went into cities that didn’t quite have NHL at the time, and now you see those 32 cities just flourishing and you see a ton of kids playing the game now.
THE GREEN ZONE: A lot of people say that might have been the best hockey game ever played in the history of the game. Do you agree with that with how talented these players are?
MIKE MODANO: I strongly agree with that. I think you just see from top to bottom, there’s really no weak links in any one of those lineups.
Even Sweden and Finland — those four teams are just heavily stocked. For Canada and the U.S., you have some of your best offensive-skilled players being defencemen with (Cale) Makar, (Quinn) Hughes, (Josh) Morrissey, and (Zach) Werenski. Guys who can just carry the puck and lead rushes and get back.
You have a lot of guys at a high-end level skill that can beat a guy, pass it, skate like the wind. It would have been amazing to watch in person.
THE GREEN ZONE: Have you got an unsung hero from the U.S. squad?
MIKE MODANO: I’m kind of biased but I thought (Matt) Boldy had an amazing tournament. I think he got the things going with that great individual effort to get it up to 1-0 and let the team relax a little bit and settle into the game.
I think everyone had their little moments when they contributed … (Dylan) Larkin was great throughout the tournament. Little bits and pieces where guys had a bite in the game that helped contribute and get them over the hump. That was (U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team general manager) Bill Guerin’s idea and the philosophy was to build a good, strong team and you can’t complain when you win.
THE GREEN ZONE: How good do you feel about your former teammate and longtime friend Guerin?
MIKE MODANO: I was pretty happy for him. He Facetimed me from the locker room so I was able to say hi to a lot of the guys and be excited for them. They were all pumped up.
Billy is such a great dude and a great guy. I’m pretty lucky to be working with him. He took his time and put a lot of time and effort into this deal. The selection was hard and everyone was putting in their two cents every day to try and get the best team and best players available.
If you go that route, you don’t need a general manager — you could just select guys and go. It’s a little work putting the puzzle together but he can sit back and say he put a team together that won the gold in Milan. That’s a great feat for him and another feather in his cap for his career.
THE GREEN ZONE: How long did it take you before you looked at the silver medal without seeing it as a disappointment?
MIKE MODANO: I think it took a little while. You sit at home before you start up with the (NHL) team and you’re looking at it. You feel like you’ve had a positive tournament.
We had a great semifinals against the Russians to get into the finals against Canada. A couple bad breaks led to the two-goal lead and that was it. That thing is sitting in my closet and I tend to pull it out at this time of the year and the kids want to look at it and friends and stuff like that. It’s still neat to pull out.
THE GREEN ZONE: You helped contribute to a story on your billet mom on Carole Ring with your time in Prince Albert. How do you reflect on the late 80s in Prince Albert?
MIKE MODANO: Carole had a couple house rules — there weren’t many of them — but one of them was (eating at) the dinner table and hanging out and talking about your day.
She was the sweetest lady. I get teared up trying to talk about her and what she meant at that time (to me) moving away from the U.S. and going to Canada, I had no idea where I was going. Showing up at her table and front door, I couldn’t have been luckier to have been situated with her family … I can go on and on about what she meant.
THE GREEN ZONE: How big were these years in P.A. to becoming a first overall pick and eventually a hall of famer?
MIKE MODANO: I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It’s probably good you’re so young and naive and not really understanding geography as much as I probably thought I did at 15 or 16, going into Saskatchewan from Detroit and a town of about 20,000.
It gave me a whole different level of appreciation for the game of hockey and what it meant to those people and the fans and the kids in that town. I just had the time of my life there. I would spend my summers there and Carole had a big pool in the back and we’d hang out there and barbecue.
We would go up to Emma and Candle lakes in the summers and fish and water ski and hang out. I just had the time of my life.
The hockey was tough, it was a grind and physical and skilled at the same time. I don’t think there was a better league at the time to get acclimated to whatever the next step would be out of junior. I didn’t know what I was in for but it turned out to be the best thing that happened.
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