Two minutes with Brian Gionta will tell you all you need to know why he was named the captain of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Not only the oldest athlete in the U.S. delegation, he is one of the most well respected and accomplished with 289 career NHL goals and a Stanley Cup to his credit. After leading the U.S. in scoring at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, the Rochester, N.Y., native is poised to lead a different group of Americans players. Armed with some great questions from readers, USA Hockey Magazine caught up with the 39-year-old after his first practice in in PyeongChang, South Korea.
After 2006 In Turin did you circle 2018 as a personal goal or are you just trying to rub it in? (Olympic teammate and former NHLer Mark Parrish @MarkDParrish)
I’m just showing him my longevity. Mark was a great teammate and a great guy. I guess I never thought I’d be in this position so it’s pretty cool to be able to do this.
What is the toughest challenge about mentoring a team that you don't know well and does not know each other? (CLM @ConMartin)
It’s feeding off different guys. It’s all about the youth of your younger guys and the experience of your older guys and blending them together. It’s not necessarily mentoring in this short of a period, it’s more tweaking things here and there. You have to let them run free and have fun with it.
Does bigger rink favor your speedy game? (CLM @ConMartin)
It gives you more time and space so you have more time to make plays. With that you have to get to the same area to score goals but it does give you that extra second on the outside.
Do you plan to play in the NHL this season? (Jacob Conte @JacobSConte)
We’ll see. You never know what opportunities are out there. My focus is over here right now but once we’re done we’ll turn the page and see what’s there.
Do They Have Garbage Plates In PyeongChang? (The Great Bluedini @GreatBluedini4)
I have not been here long enough to really research the local cuisine but there’s only one true garbage plate and that’s in Roch.