Introduction to "American Heroes"

Even for those who don’t what a slap shot is or who the San Jose Sharks are (second best team in hockey), the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team’s captivating but heart-wrenching 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the gold medal game Sunday had to make even hockey’s bigger haters a fan of the sport, if only for a few hours.

But who were these men representing the U.S. in enemy territory? How did they get there?

Unlike football, where athletes usually have clear path to the pros (high school → college → pros), hockey players take many long and unusual journeys to get to the NHL.

Hockey players are notorious for giving boring, non-informative interviews, so it’s hard for casual fans to get to know the players behind the pads. (Sidney Crosby is no Chad Ochocinco.)

And that’s where I’ll come in. In this blog, “American Heroes,” I’ll tell the story behind these players and maybe- just maybe, make some of you just a little less indifferent to hockey.