Resentment is not an emotion Kyle Okposo wears well, so forgive him if he was polite on Thursday night after spending an entire game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks absolutely dumping on Team USA general manager David Poile and his decision to leave Okposo off the U.S. Olympic team.
Just one day after it was announced via a television spectacle that Poile was not choosing Okposo — the NHL’s second-leading scorer among American-born players — the Islanders forward went out and played a monster game, netting the deciding goal in a 3-2 overtime win.
“Obviously, I wanted to come out and play well,” said Okposo, whose winner 58 seconds into the extra period was his 16th goal of the year, which supplemented his 26th assist of the season earlier in the game. “Not being named to the team is tough, but I tried to use that as motivation.”
Motivation resulted in him leaping against the glass as a surprisingly boisterous crowd (announced at 13,618) which braved the snowstorm, began to loudly chant “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
“That was pretty awesome at the end when that puck went in and hearing everyone chanting ‘U-S-A,’ ” Okposo said. “That was pretty special.”
After the outdoor Winter Classic game on New Year’s Day, the Olympic team was announced with kids in Team USA sweaters skating off the blueline at Michigan Stadium and toward the TV cameras, turning to show a name and number of each player who had made it. When that line of children, going in alphabetical order, went from Ryan Miller to Brooks Orpik, that was the way Okposo learned he would be staying home in February rather than going with his countrymen to Sochi, Russia.
To make matters worse, soon after the announcement, a story was posted on ESPN.com that detailed the selection process, explaining Okposo was hardly a consideration because Poile and his staff didn’t think his game fit the larger international ice surface.
“I read the story,” said Okposo, who was a first-round pick after playing two years on the bigger surface at the University of Minnesota, and also starred in two World Junior Championships and three senior World Championships. “That part of it is a little frustrating, that they think I’m not built for the big ice. But that’s their opinion. I think I’ve proven myself on the big sheet, in college and a lot of international experience. But that’s their viewpoint and that’s OK.”
It wasn’t just the goal that allowed Okposo to stick it to the Team USA hierarchy. All throughout the game, he showed speed, poise and physicality. With the game tied 2-2 midway through the third, he set up John Tavares for an open-net scoring chance that he flubbed, and on a power play in the waning minutes, Okposo made two spectacular stick-handling moves through traffic that resulted in great scoring chances, albeit fruitless.
“The bottom line is they put together the team that they wanted to,” Okposo said. “I’m disappointed I’m not part of it, but I wish them all the best.”