Colin Stephenson: Winter Olympics gives Rangers chance to escape from bleak reality
J.T. Miller and Scott Morrow of the New York Rangers look on after a game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 28 in Elmont. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH — Mika Zibanejad stood out from his teammates at Rangers practice Monday. The center was wearing his navy-blue Team Sweden gloves and pants in an effort to break them in for the Olympics.
Rangers coach Mike Sullivan, who’ll be coaching the U.S. team in the Olympics, was asked if Zibanejad’s gloves and pants made him start thinking of his first-line center as an opposing player now, one whom he’s going to have to figure out how to defend when the tournament starts next week.
“I really haven’t given it that much thought,’’ Sullivan deadpanned. “I know that that’s part of it . . . and obviously, Mika’s a good player. He’s having a great year for us. I certainly like him when he’s on our bench.’’
Sullivan, assistant coach David Quinn, captain J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck are all going to the Olympics in Milan-Cortina to represent the U.S.A. Zibanejad will be playing for Sweden.
For those five, going to the Olympics certainly is an honor, but it also represents an escape from the bleak day-to-day reality they are living with the retooling Rangers, who have lost 14 of their last 17 games (3-12-2).
“Yeah, I mean, it’s obviously going to be a different situation,’’ Zibanejad said when asked about getting away from the Rangers’ mess for a few weeks. “But you also get put with your country’s best players, and you’re going to play against other countries’ best players. So obviously it’s different. The competition and the level will be incredibly high.’’
After a hectic pre-Olympic schedule, the Rangers find themselves in a slow week. They have two more days of practice before Thursday’s home game against Carolina, which will be their final game before the NHL shuts down for the Olympics. So they were willing to take a moment to talk about the Olympics and what it means to them.
“It’s just very humbling,’’ Trocheck said. “I mean, it’s such an honor to be able to go over and represent your country. Every time I’ve been able to wear a USA sweater, it’s always an honor. To be able to do it at the Olympics is something that you just don’t really see as being a possibility when you’re a kid, and it’s always just a pipe dream when you grow up. And for this to be actually happening, it’s pretty surreal.’’
An added bonus for Trocheck is that the tournament is being held in Italy, where his grandparents came from. He’s never been to Italy before.
“I’ve always said I wanted to go,’’ he said. “We’ve always talked about it. My grandparents always went back every year, and I just always had hockey or something going on where I wasn’t able to go. And then getting older . . . me and my wife have always talked about going over there, like as a vacation. And then it comes time to do it, [we have] two months in the offseason to see family, and it just hasn’t worked out. So finally, to finally be going, it’s exciting.
“I just want to be able to say that I’ve been to Italy,’’ he said. “I have this whole shtick where I’m this Italian guy and I’ve never been to Italy.’’
Zibanejad has played for Sweden at the U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-20 levels and has competed in two World Junior Championships, two World Championships and at last season’s 4 Nations Face-Off. But this will be his first time at the Olympics.
He was supposed to go in 2022, but the NHL pulled its players from participating in the tournament because of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was disappointing,’’ he said of that experience. “And at that point you never knew if we’re going to be able to do it.
“Representing your country at the Olympics, I don’t think anything beats it,’’ he said. “Honestly, I don’t think it does. Like, no World Championship . . . nothing beats representing your country at the Olympics.’’
Notes & quotes: Adam Fox and Conor Sheary, both on long-term injured reserve with lower-body injuries, practiced with the team in non-contact jerseys. Rookie Noah Laba, who left Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh with an upper-body injury, also wore a non-contact jersey, though he took part in all of the full-contact drills and looks ready to return . . . Defenseman Vincent Iorio, whom the Rangers claimed off waivers from San Jose on Saturday, practiced. He was issued jersey No. 6. “I thought he looked good today,’’ Sullivan said. “It’s my first time seeing him up close, but he looks like he has decent puck skills. He has good size [6-4, 220]. I thought for the first practice . . . he executed pretty well in some of the drills that we were doing.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
