USA Hockey Magazine

AUGUST 2021 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 13 their negotiations to pave the way for NHL players to compete in Beijing. "I'm going to operate on the premise that the NHL and the Olympic Committee are going to work towards an agreement and we're going to participate," Sullivan said. "I think that's the approach that we have t o t a k e , a n d w e 'r e j u st entrusting that the pow- ers that be are going to work out an agreement. H o p e f u l l y t h a t w i l l b e sooner than later, because it's such an exciting time for hockey." For Johnson and Hoff, the table has already been set as both of their teams will hit the ice with tar- gets on their backs as the defending gold medalists. In the case of the wom- en's team, there is still the matter of competing i n t h e I I H F Wo m e n 's World Championship in Calgary later in August before the focus shifts to Olympic preparations. "There's no doubt that there'll be a piece of the World Championships that will be eval- uatory in nature. At the same time, our goal is to win," said Johnson, who will be guiding his first Olympic team but is no stranger to the international stage. "We've got some great young players who haven't had … national team experience. So they 'll certainly get a taste of what it's like at the highest level and be forced into some evaluation right off the bat. But make no mis- take, our goal is to win a world championship and that'll stay number one." C o m i n g o f f o f a n impressive tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic, w h e r e t h e y c a p t u r e d their second straight IPC Para Ice Hockey World Championship, the U.S. s l e d t e a m l o o k s t o b e peaking at the right time. But that doesn't mean that Hoff and his coaching staff are ready to rest on their golden laurels. "A s m u c h a s w e j u s t c a m e o f f o f W o r l d Championships with 17 really good players, there are some young players that are really going to force us to make some tough decisions. I think that's good," said Hoff, who will be making his first appearance as head coach of a U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team after serving as an assistant coach in 2018. "Sled hockey in this country has grown to that point where we just can't be satisfied with where we're at." P k David Hoff, left, and Joel Johnson both have extensive experience coaching U.S. teams at international events. Hoff recently led the U.S. National Sled Team to a gold medal at the World Para Ice Hockey Championship. Johnson is gearing up to lead the U.S. Women's National Team into battle at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship slated for late August in Calgary, Alberta. –MIKE SULLIVAN When you look at the player pool that we have in the United States today, it's as deep as it's ever been. A n d I t h i n k t h a t 's a b o ld st a te m e n t w h e n y o u co n s i d e r s o m e o f t h e g r ea t A m e r i ca n b o r n p lay e r s ." Accredited. College-Prep. Online. Protect Your Protect Your NCAA Eligibility NCAA Eligibility highschool.nebraska.edu/usah highschool.nebraska.edu/usah (402) 472-3388 (402) 472-3388 NCAA-approved courses online. e University of Nebraska does not discriminate based upon any protected status. Please see go.unl.edu/nondiscrimination.

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