J.R.
7-26-05, 3:39 PM
Don Waddell, the only general manager in Atlanta Thrashers history, was selected as GM of the 2006 United States Olympic hockey team on Tuesday.
Waddell was chosen just four days after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the league will send its players to the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, and the 2010 games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"It's a privilege to continue my association with USA Hockey and represent my country," Waddell said. "The Olympics are the pinnacle of international competition and hold a special place in the history of hockey in the United States."
The use of NHL players for the third straight Olympics was not secured until the league reached agreement with the union on a new collective bargaining agreement. That deal was ratified by the players on Thursday and by the league's board of governors on Friday.
Waddell has served as a USA Hockey executive in various capacities for the past seven years, including as the GM at this year's World Hockey Championships in Austria and the assistant to St. Louis' Larry Pleau for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
The United States was beaten in the quarterfinals at the world championships by the Czech Republic eight months after losing a semifinal game of the 2004 World Cup in St. Paul, Minn., to Finland.
"He's been a leader in the development of hockey in the United States and we know he'll do everything he can to build a team that we will all be proud of," USA Hockey president Ron DeGregorio said.
While using NHL players in the Olympics, the Americans won the silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, after not winning a medal four years earlier in Nagano, Japan.
The United States captured the gold medal in 1960 at Squaw Valley, Calif., and with the "Miracle on Ice" team 20 years later in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Paul Holmgren, the assistant to Philadelphia general manager Bob Clarke, will serve as Waddell's assistant. Jim Johannson, a two-time Olympic player, will be the team's director of hockey operations.
Since taking over the Thrashers before their inaugural season of 1999-2000, Waddell has built a team featuring young forwards Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk that only once has failed to improve from the previous season.
Atlanta earned a club-record 78 points during the 2003-04 season, the last before the lockout, and finished second in the Southeast Division. The Thrashers, however, have never reached the playoffs.Via: Yahoo Sports (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050726/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_usa_hockey_waddell).
Waddell was chosen just four days after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the league will send its players to the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, and the 2010 games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"It's a privilege to continue my association with USA Hockey and represent my country," Waddell said. "The Olympics are the pinnacle of international competition and hold a special place in the history of hockey in the United States."
The use of NHL players for the third straight Olympics was not secured until the league reached agreement with the union on a new collective bargaining agreement. That deal was ratified by the players on Thursday and by the league's board of governors on Friday.
Waddell has served as a USA Hockey executive in various capacities for the past seven years, including as the GM at this year's World Hockey Championships in Austria and the assistant to St. Louis' Larry Pleau for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
The United States was beaten in the quarterfinals at the world championships by the Czech Republic eight months after losing a semifinal game of the 2004 World Cup in St. Paul, Minn., to Finland.
"He's been a leader in the development of hockey in the United States and we know he'll do everything he can to build a team that we will all be proud of," USA Hockey president Ron DeGregorio said.
While using NHL players in the Olympics, the Americans won the silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, after not winning a medal four years earlier in Nagano, Japan.
The United States captured the gold medal in 1960 at Squaw Valley, Calif., and with the "Miracle on Ice" team 20 years later in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Paul Holmgren, the assistant to Philadelphia general manager Bob Clarke, will serve as Waddell's assistant. Jim Johannson, a two-time Olympic player, will be the team's director of hockey operations.
Since taking over the Thrashers before their inaugural season of 1999-2000, Waddell has built a team featuring young forwards Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk that only once has failed to improve from the previous season.
Atlanta earned a club-record 78 points during the 2003-04 season, the last before the lockout, and finished second in the Southeast Division. The Thrashers, however, have never reached the playoffs.Via: Yahoo Sports (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050726/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_usa_hockey_waddell).