Christopher Wuensch - No Miracle On Ice This Year: A Look Back

Christopher C. Wuensch throws on a winter hat, scarf and mittens and delves into the trading card collection in his basement to take his hockey cards off ice.

There will be no miracle this year.

Team Canada disposed of their neighbors to the south in the semifinals of the 2014 Winter Olympics, denying Team USA its first gold medal in ice hockey since the fabled squad of the 1980 Games.

Instead, Team USA finds itself looking for its first bronze medal in 78 years, when they square off against Finland on Sunday morning.

The 1-0 loss to Canada, unfortunately, preserves the lore 1980 Miracle on Ice squad and further demonstrates the difficulty facing Team USA on the international hockey scene.

The inevitable argument will ensue for a (very) short period, before going dormant for another four years: should the Olympics eschew professional players for the ranks of the amateurs?

The greenhorn image of the 1980 squad is a big part of what endeared the Miracle on Ice players to the country — that combined with a Cold War mentality and a 20-year gold medal drought.

No matter which way the rule sides, there will always be detractors to the pro vs. amateur debate. And both sides make valid points and both sides have had their share of success. USA has collected two silver medals since 1980 (2002 and 2010) with roster of professionals.

The amateur game doesn’t always translate to success at the pro level. Of the 20 members of the Miracle on Ice team, only eight reached the NHL.

How the Miracle on Ice team fared in the NHL:

You remember the Miracle on Ice players, right? There was Mike Eruzione and…and…Al Michaels, maybe? The no-name anonymity was this team’s charm — save for LW Eruzione, whose quirky last name stands out in many folk’s mind.

Fact is, the Team USA captain’s career essentially ended in Lake Placid. Eruzione walked away while still on top.

Neal Broten

Talk about a name that unfortunately fades into obscurity. Broten was the first player ever to win a championship on the collegiate (Minnesota), international and professional level. His game-winning goal in Game 4 of the 1995 finals sealed the first Stanley Cup for the New Jersey Devils franchise. 

Ironically, he capitalized on the goal when Viacheslav Fetisov, a member of the 1980 Russian squad, fell down on the play.

Broten also secured the game-winner in the 1979 NCAA Finals against North Dakota.

In a word, Broten was about as clutch a player that ever played. He finished his 17-year career with 289 goals and 634 career assists.

Herb Brooks

The whip-cracking coach moved on to the NHL after the 1980 games after the Olympics and after coaching Minnesota and Broten to the 1979 title.

He built a modest career in the pros. You might even say average. Brooks finished his coaching career with the Rangers, Devils, North Stars and Penguins with a 219-219-66 record over seven years.

He revised his role as Team USA coach for the 2002 Olympics, but fell short, winning a silver medal.

Ken Morrow

Morrow played his entire 11-year-career with the New York Islanders. He wasn’t known for his scoring touch—except when it counted. Morrow scored 17 career goals, 11 of which came in the NHL playoffs.

Mark Johnson

Johnson carved out a solid career with four teams: Penguins, North Star, Whalers and Devils. He never won a Stanley Cup. In his final season with the Devils, Johnson was a roommate on the road with Slava Fetisov, who was a defenseman for Team Russia in 1980.

Mike Ramsey

Ramsey played 18 years in the NHL after being drafted No. 11 overall in the 1979 draft. A Stanley Cup eluded him in 1993 with the Penguins and 1995 with the Red Wings (losing to Broten and the Devils).

Dave Christian

When Christian won a gold medal in 1980, it’s understandable if his father Bill and Uncle Roger simply said: “meh.” Bill and Roger were members of Team USA’s 1960 gold-medal-winning team.

Christian was drafted by Winnipeg and joined the Jets one week after winning gold in Lake Placid. He scored seven seconds into his first NHL game, setting a record for quickest career goal that still stands today.

He played for 16 seasons and when the NHL didn’t want him anymore, he finished his career with the Minnesota Moose of the IHL.

Jack O’Callahan, Mark Pavelich and Dave Silk each played seven seasons in the NHL.

O’Callahan eventually went on to found Beanpot Financial Services after playing for the Blackhawks and Devils. Pavelich bounced around Switzerland before Brooks and his Team USA assistant coach Craig Patrick brought him stateside to play for the New York Rangers. Silk was drafted by the Rangers and played 249 games in the NHL with the Bruins, Jets and Red Wings. Like close friend O’Callahan, Silky also went into finance as part of the management team at Bear Stearns Investments.

TIDBITS

The average career of the eight players from the Miracle on Ice squad that went on to play in the NHL was 10.2 years.

Combined they scored 1,146 goals and registered 2,257 assists—exactly 1,111 more assists than goals. Of those goals, 115 came in the playoffs to go along with 183 postseason assists.

They spend a total of 3,586 minutes idling in the penalty box or the equivalent of 59.8 hours in the sin bin.

There were only six NHL teams that never employed neither a player nor coach from the Miracle on Ice squad. The Philadelphia Flyers were the only United States-based team of the six. The Canadian dissenters include the Canadiens, Canucks, Maple Leafs, Nordiques* and Oilers.

*The Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995. Neal Broten, the last Miracle on Ice player in the NHL, retired after the 1996-97 season.

The Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) signed the most former Olympic stars with five, followed by the New Jersey Devils with four and the Bruins, Penguins and Rangers each with three former Miracle on Ice players.