Team USA banking on tight-knit bond to lead the way to mens hockey gold

MILAN — Team USA general manager Bill Guerin added only three new players to his Olympic squad who did not compete in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The Stars’ Jason Robertson and the Canadiens’ Cole Caufield — and the 32 goals they each posted through 57 games — demanded consideration.Even the 21-year-old Lane Hutson of the Habs forced his way into the conversation as the third-highest producing defenseman in the NHL this season. But it was not enough for Guerin to see past what he and everybody else on Team USA experienced in Montreal and Boston in February 2025. An extraordinary bond was born inside Team USA at 4 Nations.

Those who were around the United States at the precursor to Milano Cortina 2026 describe a sort of gravitational pull within the group. Guerin and Team USA coach Mike Sullivan have been forthcoming about how much that team’s chemistry, camaraderie and buy-in factored into Olympic decisions.It may have even taken precedence over other determinants.

That fact is not lost on the American players who touched down in Milan Sunday morning. “I think right there, I mean, that’s one of the reasons I think I’m going is because of that,” Rangers captain J.T.Miller told The Post before he left for his first Olympic Games.

“There’s so many good players out there, but I think that we had such a chemistry as a team and there was a dedication to want to win the game even though we just came together a week before.We all felt that.

It was real.I think that’s why that team is essentially the same.

We played so well in that tournament, had a lot of injuries.The last game could’ve went either way. “I don’t know, I think we just all felt that.

I can’t speak on behalf of Billy or Mike, but that wasn’t fake.We felt what that felt like.

I’m sure there’s a reason into why most of us are going back.It was a fun team to be around.

Super high-end team.Some of the players are — the amount of Hall of Famers...