Hello readers,
I have a question that I need your help on. I’ve been racking my brain over the last few weeks trying to figure out what the identity of American hockey is. I have an idea in my mind of who I think best exemplifies modern American hockey, but I wanted to know what fans think.
So, I recently posed the question on Twitter, and I will pose it again here:
When you think of USA Hockey, or American hockey in general, who is the first CURRENT player that comes to mind? Additionally, your answers may be the same for this question, but I’m equally interested: Who is your favorite current American born player and why?
I’d love to hear your answers, so please leave your thoughts in the comments section. I’ll share the results from my unofficial Twitter and Blog polls and give you my own thoughts on who I think of first and why.
So comment away!
The United States of Hockey 
To elaborate on Drury: There’s just something about him being the All-American guy. That Little League World Series victory in ’89 is what made me a fan (as we’re about the same age), but then following him through BU hockey and a national championship, then a Stanley Cup with Colorado and of course his role in past Olympics but mostly his effort in 2010. Says a lot about someone to take on a role as the 13th forward and a PK specialist in an atmosphere like that and to carry on as a professional…it’s the same thing he’s doing with the Rangers now. Quiet leadership and hardwork is what puts him tops on my list.
As I said on Twitter, Ryan Miller is the first to come to mind for USA Hockey but Inglourious Backes is my fave.
Ryan Kesler would be my choice. Hard worker, intense player, good team leader. His goal against Canada in the Olympics is proof!
The poster boy for USA Hockey is Ryan Miller, simply as a result of his stellar performance for the US team in Vancouver and the accompanying publicity he received. The problem is that for most fans of the NHL, it is hard to differentiate between American and Canadian players and the NHL rarely makes a mention of it. I bet many casual fans were learning some nationalities for the first time in Vancouver.
Forget to say that my favorite US player right now is currently Jack Johnson, simply because he played for that god awful team that went to Germany to (insert word other than compete) for the World Championships when everybody expected and would not have criticized Olympians from that year to say no.