Hockey

Tortorella assisting U.S. team

By TOM JONES
Published March 30, 2005

Lightning coach John Tortorella has been like a painter without a canvas for the past nine months.

Finally, his wait is over. Tortorella has a hockey team to coach. Tuesday he was named associate coach for the United States in the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championships in Austria. Carolina coach Peter Laviolette was named head coach.

"It's perfect timing with the state of the NHL right now," Tortorella said. "It's a tremendous honor and I'm looking forward to it."

Tortorella has had chances in the past to coach American teams in international competition, but kept his focus on the Lightning. But with the NHL lockout and an eye on someday being involved in the American Olympic program, Tortorella took advantage of this opportunity.

"This is the first step for me in understanding what international hockey is all about," Tortorella said. "And the Olympics are what international hockey is all about. Getting involved in that in any way possible is really what I would like."

It's a unique time for Tortorella to get involved with USA Hockey. Herb Brooks' 1980 Olympic team won the gold medal and sparked a growth in American hockey. Many children influenced by the 1980 team became the core of American teams over the past decade. Those players included Keith Tkachuk, Mike Modano, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Jeremy Roenick and John LeClair. However, the Americans are expected to go with a youth movement in the upcoming World Championships. Other than Modano and, perhaps, a few others, it's unlikely the old guard will be included in future international tournaments.

"I think USA Hockey needs a change of face, a fresh start," Tortorella said. "We basically need to build a new foundation. And we're going to do that with this team here."

The team put together for the World Championships likely will be close to the team that represents the United States in the 2006 Olympics.

"You need time to prepare for the Olympics and these type of tournaments are where you start doing that," Tortorella said. "You just don't put together an Olympic team right before the tournament. You build over time. This is where you build the habits not only on the ice, but off the ice in terms of training, conditioning and all that."

USA Hockey will hold a training camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., in mid April and play two exhibitions against Canada. The World Championships will be April 30 to May 15 in Innsbruck and Vienna.

Meantime, Tortorella is getting practice time with his skates and whistle. He has spent most of the past week going on the ice during practice with the Lightning's minor-league affiliate in Springfield.

[Last modified March 30, 2005, 01:04:14]