Whatever their memories of 1996, the current members of Team USA understand the significance of what happened in that inaugural World Cup. There are some lessons from it they've already been stressing leading into their training camp, which began at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Monday.
They want to make sure they're ready to play their best from the drop of the puck in their preliminary round opener against Team Europe at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sept. 17 (3:30 p.m. ET; ESPN 2, SN, TVA Sports).
"We've talked about it as we've progressed here for this World Cup team about the way [the 1996 players] came together right away as a team and really put aside all of their egos and played hard no matter what was asked from them," New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "I think that's going to be a pretty good motto for us to follow. We're all big, important players for our teams during the regular season, but in this tournament you might be asked to do a little more or a little less than what you're accustomed to, and no matter what it is, it's very important for our team."
Prior to the 1996 World Cup, the United States had never won a tournament in which all the participating countries had access to their best players.
So to defeat Canada on its home soil was a defining moment for USA Hockey, justifying its belief its players were on par with the best in the world, particularly their neighbors to the north.
"I know that was a big event for me because the NHL players weren't allowed in the Olympics back then," New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider said. "It was kind of your only chance to see the best of the best. I remember that game against Canada and, if you looked at Canada's roster, the underdogs the U.S. were. So for the U.S. to pull that off, I still remember that to this day, and a lot of guys I've talked to around my age remember that as well."
The players from the 1996 U.S. World Cup team would prove to be a special group. From that team, Hull, Brian Leetch, Chris Chelios, Phil Housley, Pat LaFontaine and Mike Modano went on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Also enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame from that team were Amonte, Bill Guerin, Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, John Leclair, Richter, Mathieu Schneider, Gary Suter, Keith Tkachuk and Doug Weight. In addition, the 1996 World Cup team will be inducted into U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as a team in a ceremony in Philadelphia on Nov. 30.
"I think you look at that team [and] it's probably similar to the team we have going into this World Cup," said reigning Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. "You have some star players with, obviously, Modano, Amonte, John Leclair, Brett Hull [and] Mike Richter. And then you have role players on our team as well. If you look at guys on the '96 team like a Joel Otto, who was maybe a defensive forward or took faceoffs, that's kind of the buildup we have going into this tournament, too."
It's understandable the 2016 U.S. World Cup team wants to follow the 1996 team's blueprint. To many of the current generation of U.S.-born players, that 1996 World Cup team provided inspirational in a similar way to how '96 U.S. players looked to the "Miracle on Ice" team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.
Even if some of their memories of 1996 are faded or based on a replay, their connection to those players feels more real because they grew up watching them play in the NHL.
