George Richards, FHN Publisher
Former Florida Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck has had a busy few months.
When the recent omicron variant of the coronavirus ended the World Junior Championships prematurely and also put a halt to any NHL participation in the Beijing Winter Games, that meant some extra — and welcomed — work.
Vanbiesbrouck was managing the United States’ entry at World Juniors but when that was called off in December, he started looking at putting together an alternate Team USA roster for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
When the NHL officially pulled out of Beijing, USA Hockey quickly went to Plan B.
That meant replacing Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin with Vanbiesbrouck who helped put together a roster filled with college-age players as well as veterans playing in the AHL and pro leagues overseas.
”The Olympics is a huge stage,” Vanbiesbrouck told Florida Hockey Now from his hotel in Los Angeles before departing for Beijing.
”There is a great contrast of players and these Games will be unique in that way. We have really been bolstered by our NCAA crew who are pushing hard to be NHLers and that’s right around the corner. As an insider, you are optimistic and encouraged with what you see. As an outsider, you wonder what this is going to look like. This could be one of the most uncertain tournaments going in, but it’s a pretty equal level.”
Team USA begins play with the first of three preliminary games Thursday against China at 8:10 a.m. (USA Network).
Although the US team has not had a whole lot of prep time together, Vanbiesbrouck says “there is a high level of excitement” amongst his team.
Where Team USA will finish when the medal round concludes obviously is not known. They are currently a long-shot to win Gold with Russia a betting favorite.
Vanbiesbrouck also says he has been playing a lot of attention to what the Florida Panthers are doing — “we have Florida fans in the household so they are hard to avoid” — and is keeping a close eye on goalie Spencer Knight, a player whom he heaped plenty of praise on at the 2019 NHL Draft.
When it comes to the roster, Vanbiesbrouck and USA Hockey had a list of available players who would be willing participants if the NHL team was not able to go.
With a mixture of college kids and older professionals, the roster was sort of a work in progress.
Former Florida Panthers defenseman Steven Kampfer, for instance, was placed on the team after he was playing for Kazan Ak-Bars in the KHL.
Editor’s Note: More on Kampfer later this week.
David Quinn, former coach of the New York Rangers, replaced Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan as coach of the team.
For Vanbiesbrouck, the additional workload was more than welcomed.
Vanbiesbrouck has been involved with USA Hockey in some capacity since 2008 and is now the assistant executive director of hockey operations based near Detroit.
This is, by far, his biggest assignment to date.
Many have questioned Vanbiesbrouck’s rise through the ranks of USA Hockey over the years based on him being forced out as coach and general manager of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2003 after repeatedly using the N-word against one of his players, then 19-year-old team captain Trevor Daley.
Vanbiesbrouck has spoken about the incident over the years, including in 2018 when he said “it was a racial slur and I was absolutely, 100 percent wrong.
“There’s not a lot of days that go by that I don’t feel remorse for that. I’m extremely sorry for it. It’s not who I am, it doesn’t define me as a person and I have no prejudices in me, and it will never happen again.”
Middle Row (L-R): Media Officer Dave Fischer, Media Officer Michael Reedy, Nick Abruzzese, Nathan Smith, Brock Faber, Matthew Knies, Drew Helleson, Matty Beniers, Noah Cates, Marc McLaughlin, Brendan Brisson, Sean Farrell, Sam Hentges, Ben Meyers, Assistant General Manager Marc Boxer
Back Row (L-R): Team Physician Dr. Mike Stuart, Team Leader Brij Singh, Equipment Manager Scott Aldrich, Equipment Manager Nate LaPoint, Assistant Coach David Lassonde, Assistant Coach Mike Hastings, Head Coach David Quinn, Assistant Coach Scott Young, Assistant Coach Brett Larson, Athletic Trainer Jason Hodges, Athletic Trainer Chris Mizer, Video Coach Alex Dawes, Athletic Trainer Stan Wong
Not Pictured: Jake Sanderson, General Manager John Vanbiesbrouck
As a player, Vanbiesbrouck was one of the top goalies in the NHL and, at the end of his career, earned him a spot on Team USA for the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.
In what turned out to be his final season with the Panthers, Vanbiesbrouck did not see much action in those Olympics.
In fact, he only got 49 seconds worth of playing time — enough time to stop Jaromir Jagr in front of the net following a 2-on-1 break.
Vanbiesbrouck was replaced with starter Mike Richter, Team USA lost to Jagr’s Czech squad and that was it.
“It was the first opportunity for NHL guys to go and it was a blast,” he said. “Just to be selected to the team was a big honor. But you are always looking for results. We airmailed in, had a great group of players but we didn’t come out with any results.
“This is a result-based game, but it was an honor to be an Olympian, to represent our country. I see a lot of things related to that this time around. I’m just in a different chair.”
Being part of an Olympics team was still a highlight for Vanbiesbrouck despite the final result — and lack of playing time. Before going to the Olympics, he represented Team USA eight times from playing in the Canada Cup to the World Championships.
It is a dream come true for many on this Olympic roster — as it is for many NHL players who had hoped to go.
But with this current roster, many players never would have dreamed it could come true.
”I think everyone is very grateful for the opportunity,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “It’s a very neat deal, one of those things in light of what’s going on in the world today is a pleasant surprise. This is a bonus. But, make no mistake; this team is engaged and is very capable.
”Planning during the past two years has been very difficult and we were excited to have NHL players and a staff. Working with them was a great privilege. When we had to pivot, it took on a totally different context. It is hard work but it was fun work. It was fast but we were diligent. It was 24 hours. Here we are now with a team that’s prepared and it was well worth the effort. Well worth it.’’
As for the Panthers, Vanbiesbrouck said his family always make sure to put the games on television which makes their recent run of success “hard to avoid.”
Vanbiesbrouck was an integral part of the most successful Florida team in franchise history, the rat-fueled run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals.
Teammates of his from that team have often said they root for the Panthers to surpass their accomplishments and openly root for the team to have the kind of success which puts the 1996 team a little further back in team lore.
Count Vanbiesbrouck among them.
He would like nothing more than to see this Florida team finish what the 1996 team started — and actually get to lift the Stanley Cup.
“They are exciting to watch,” said Vanbiesbrouck, an original Panther taken in the 1993 expansion draft.
“It looks like one of the best teams in the history of the organization which excites former players, like myself, for sure. When you’re at the top of the standings, there is a sense of pride. It’s great for hockey, great for them. They have a real shot.
”They were very close to beating Tampa last year. They have a tough road because of their division, but we’ll see how it unfolds. I couldn’t be happier for them. They came through some adversity earlier in the season with the coaching change and things like that. They didn’t miss a beat. Sometimes that gets lost.”
As for Knight, Vanbiesbrouck said he keeps tabs on the U.S. Developmental team product.
When the Panthers drafted Knight with the 13th overall pick in 2019, Vanbiesbrouck told me that Florida would not be sorry in taking him.
“The Panthers picked a legacy goalie. He is going to be a top-five goalie in the NHL, and I have no doubt of that,” Vanbiesbrouck said from the draft floor in Vancouver. “I’m ecstatic for him and for the Florida organization. It is a great pick. If this draft wasn’t so deep with talent, he would have gone higher.”
He sticks with that previous assessment.
“He has had to deal with a little adversity and that’s not a bad thing,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “He has to grapple with the day-to-day, some things that are challenging. But it’s all good. He is going to be there in the end.”