NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It sure seems come February, the Rangers will be sending three players to Russia to represent the United States in the Olympics.
David Poile is the general manager of the U.S. team, as well as the general manager of the Predators, and made it clear Saturday morning at Bridgestone Arena that Ryan Callahan, Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan were all pretty well locked into spots on the team.
Even though Poile had previously said he thinks the team will look very similar to one that won a silver medal in Vancouver in 2010 — a team that only Callahan was on — there are still spots available.
“All those guys that played there in 2010 certainly have their foot in the door,” Poile said. “They deserve the opportunity to come back.
It’s not going to be everyone, but it’s going to be most of the guys that played in 2010, for sure.”
Callahan is a given, as Poile said the Rochester native became part of a five-player leadership group established earlier this year.
McDonagh, from St. Paul, Minn., has smade his case over the past couple seasons, and Poile wasn’t coy about the defenseman’s prospects.
“He has played really, really well,” Poile said, “and I’m very confident that he has an excellent chance of being on the team.”
Stepan, from Hastings, Minn., also fills a need for the team up the middle.
“I see he’s second in scoring on the Rangers and that’s a component we’re going to need,” Poile said. “Center ice is a critical area for us. We have really good centermen, but we’re not really, really deep at center. So I’m trying to say it the right way, but we’d really like Derek to be on the team.”
There have been some rumblings about Chris Kreider possibly getting a look, but it seems Poile thinks the 22-year-old still has a way to go.
“A little bit of a late addition to our evaluations, but he’s playing really well right now,” Poile said. “Under the circumstances, we’re not going to make any decisions until we have to.”
The team roster has to be set by Jan. 1, and the Olympic break spans from Feb. 8-25.
Defenseman Marc Staal took the morning skate and deemed his bruised right ankle to be good enough to play after missing Friday’s practice.
Michael Del Zotto stayed in on defense, while Justin Falk and J.T.
Miller remained the healthy scratches.