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LaFontaine, a native of Michigan, several times throughout their youth careers. Olczyk and Jensen made a statement when they teamed up on the East squad at the National Sports Festival tryout in Colorado Springs in the summer of 1983. Jensen was the leading scorer of the camp and Olczyk was second among the 80 participating players. The youngest of all skaters, Olczyk said that if he was given the opportunity to make the team, then his expectations were to make it. Jensen wasn't quite as optimistic. "I didn't expect to make the team," he said. "I still had a year of high school left and didn't know if that would impact the decision of the Olympic Committee." The anticipation of making the team ended once the roster was finalized, but one thing was for certain: expectations were high for the 1984 team. They had played 65 exhibition games, including a 3-3-1 record against NHL teams and 3-2-1 series win over the Soviet Selects, the next best team in the USSR behind their Olympic squad. T h e w i d e - o p e n , u p - t e m p o st y l e o f hockey that Vairo promoted was a per- fect suit for the Diaper Line. But the trio didn't join forces until two months after the exhibition season had begun. "I hooked up with LaFontaine during the second or third game on the left wing," Jensen recalled. "We clicked right away, and from then on I never left that line. I was a playmaker—sort of a corner man—and Pat used to fly up the middle. He was just good at everything. "Louie told me at one point that he thought Eddie would get a real jumpstart being up on our line on the opposite wing." With the speed and playmaking abili- ties that Jensen and LaFontaine brought to the table, the big-bodied Olczyk was the perfect fit for the line that provided a much-needed spark for Team USA. "I know I brought down the average speed of our line. Those guys looked like they were shot out of a cannon, and I was picking up their dust," said Olczyk, who was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013. "We all had our specialties that we brought to the game, and we had magic right away." The Diaper Line had the magic touch leading up to and throughout the Games, but Team USA struggled for production from its other lines. Being seeded fourth behind Czechoslovakia, Canada and Finland didn't make things any easier. Team USA needed to gain at least a split of its first two games for a chance to advance to the medal round. It didn't happen, as they dropped the opener to Canada, 4-2, and the following game to Czechoslovakia, 4-1. They finished the preliminary round 2-0-2, but the damage was already done. "Expectations were high," said Vairo. "The pressure didn't hit us until it hit us between the eyes when we took the ice for our first game." "We were a team that had some great runs throughout the year, but you have to peak at the right time," added LaFontaine, who w a s i n d u c t e d i n t o b o t h t h e Ho c ke y H a l l o f Fa m e a n d t h e U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. "We got off to a tough start and got behind the eight ball." Hopes to relive the miracle may have been lost, but the opportunity to repre- sent their country and how the experi- ence shaped their careers is what each player cherishes the most. "There was no way I was ready to play in the NHL," said LaFontaine, who joined the Islanders less than a week after the Olympics. "Being part of the Diaper Line is a special bond that we'll always share. It was an amazing, developing year." "The experience was an unbelievable dream that doesn't seem real. It was the greatest year of my life," added Jensen. "We had guys on the cusp of becoming really good hockey players," Olczyk said. "Trying to follow in the footsteps of the 1980 team—forget it. No matter what we did, it would never be the same." Vairo's only gripe: "The world never saw how good they really were." P Z a c C l a r k i s a f o r m e r U S A H o c k e y Magazine intern. The original story was printed in the August 2007 issue of USA Hockey Magazine. 34 // AUGUST 2021 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM DANDIES Diaper In 2013, Pat Lafontaine, center, and David A. Jensen, right, were on hand in Dallas as their linemate Eddie Olczyk was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. PHOTOS BY USA Hockey Magazine Archives

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