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For the first time in 12 years, Olympic hockey will feature the best of the best.
National Hockey League players were first allowed to play in the Winter Olympics in 1998, but that took a break after the 2014 Games.
Before NHL players played, American teams were mostly filled with college and amateur stars, all while facing professionals from other countries. That’s exactly why “Miracle on Ice” is called just that – with a little help from Al Michaels, of course.
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Jim Craig celebrates Team USA’s victory over the USSR on February 22, 1980. (Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
In 2018 and 2022, the NHL again barred current players from competing, but the league reversed course for next month’s competition.
Jim Craig, the goalkeeper on the 1980 US team, is all for bringing in the pros.
“As long as the playing field is level, why not have the best athletes in the world compete against each other? You have the very best thing playing for each other,” Craig told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
But since each athlete has a distinct responsibility to build their own brand, Craig wants each player to enter this year with the same mentality that he and his teammates had.
Players and fans stand for the U.S. national anthem prior to the first period of the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game between Canada and the United States in Montreal on Saturday, February 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
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“I just hope they have the same commitment that the amateurs had, right? That what’s most important is not their brand or where they play. It’s about representing their country and it’s not about themselves,” Craig said. “That’s what I’m really proud of our teammates that we were able to do. It wasn’t about who was going to get the best contract, where are you going to go, how much money are you going to make? It was about what was really important and that’s representing your country.”
For Craig, the 4 Nations Face-Off proved to be just that.
“You can be politically correct all you want, but you can see how unpolitically correct those teams were,” Craig said with a laugh. “Canada wanted to win and the United States wanted to win and you can even see how Canada has picked their team [this year]. I mean, their teams are now not just the greatest athletes. It’s an ingredient in things needed to beat the US.
“They are tougher, there are players who like Herb [Brooks] said: ‘I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right players.’ I really think that now when they go into the Olympic Games, it’s not whoever scores the most. They’re really looking for something that’s going to help them win, and that’s something Herb did a long time ago.”
Matt Boldy #12 of Team United States and Sidney Crosby #87 of Team Canada shake hands after the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship game between Team Canada and Team United States at TD Garden on February 20, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Chase Agnello-Dean/4NFO/World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images)
Men’s hockey begins on February 12, with the gold medal game taking place 10 days later – 46 years to the day the Americans defeated the Soviets.
