Oh Captain, My Captain: Olympic hockey style

(AP) — One game into the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, Super Mario had to change his team's approach and lead by example.

Captain Mario Lemieux was in charge of a Canada club in crisis. Sweden hammered the team 5-2 in the opener, and if things were going turn around, serious adjustments had to be made. It started with No. 66.

And the man hand-picked by Wayne Gretzky to deliver a long-awaited gold medal to his hockey-crazed country showed his teammates the way.

"Their shifts were long, they were disconnected, they were disjointed and all that kind of stuff," said Tom Renney, a former New York Rangers head coach and current Edmonton assistant, who led Team Canada in several international tournaments. "From that point on, I don't think Mario Lemieux had a shift over 40 seconds. He's got such a presence and a way about him that a high-profile group like that really followed his lead with respect."

In a short tournament such as the Olympics, being unselfish is probably the biggest leadership trait a player can have. Lemieux's ability to conform paid off as Canada earned its first gold in 50 years.

When play begins next month in Vancouver, the top teams will be a who's who of NHL All-Stars. Only one player per team can be the captain, and a few others will have an 'A' sewn onto their jerseys as alternates.

That means several others who hold leadership roles on their NHL clubs will go without one in the Olympics. But with so much talent and strong personalities filling dressing rooms, leadership can and will come from many voices.

"The best players in the game lead by example anyway," Canada coach Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings said. "These are some of the best players in the world, so every team is going to have great leadership."

When one loss can be the difference between reaching the medal stand or playing in a consolation round, there is no room for jealousy or bruised feelings.

"We've got a number of guys who are wearing letters in the NHL that aren't going to wear a letter on this team," Team USA general manager Brian Burke said. "Leaders don't need letters to lead."

Burke and his selection committee, along with head coach Ron Wilson easily chose New Jersey forward Jamie Langenbrunner to captain the team. Langenbrunner's Devils teammate Zach Parise, former New Jersey defenseman Brian Rafalski of Detroit, Nashville's Ryan Suter and Dustin Brown, who serves as Los Angeles Kings captain, will be alternates.

When the U.S. roster was announced on New Year's Day, some raised eyebrows when Rangers captain Chris Drury received an invitation despite a statistically down season. More questions about his inclusion came up when he wasn't picked for an official leadership role.

"Chris brings a big commitment to the team's needs," Renney said. "He is one of those guys clearly who can sacrifice of himself to do whatever the job might be to win. He is versatile enough to do that. There is a real lack of ego.

"He is one of the guys that a dressing room, regardless if he's got a letter or not, is going to respect. He is a great competitor, and he is certainly all about the team and about winning."

Drury, chosen by Renney as Rangers captain before last season, declined to comment about criticism and isn't concerned that friction will be present when the team convenes in a few weeks.

He will be making his third straight Olympic appearance for the United States.

"I think everyone is just going to go and be themselves," Drury said. "We're there for one thing and one thing only. You've got to kind of check your ego at the door. I don't think we're going to have issues with things like that.

"I am just thrilled to be part of it, thrilled to be there. I am absolutely trying to do the best I possibly can to win my country a gold."

On the flip side, those designated to be captains will look around the room at their talented teammates and seek opinions and guidance, too.

"We have plenty of great leaders, and we're all going to know our goals and our focus going forward," Langenbrunner said. "We do have that core group, and you do have people that have been in those situations and could give their input. Quite frankly, I don't really see that being an issue."

Being a captain of an NHL team for a full season carries a much different list of responsibilities than being in charge of a club that is thrown together on short notice for a brief tournament. The NHL season won't break for the Olympics until two days before the puck drops in Vancouver.

That leaves clubs with only one day of practice before the action begins for real.

"The whole setup of going to play for two weeks in a short tournament compared to a whole season in the NHL, it is a little bit of a difference," said Swedish captain Nicklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings. "We have a lot of great leaders on that team — a lot of captains and assistant captains on other teams that will help in my role, too.

"It's not going to be that tough of a transition."

It will certainly be smooth between Langenbrunner and Parise, who occupy adjacent stalls in the Devils' dressing room.

The 34-year-old Langenbrunner is in his third season as Devils captain and will be an Olympian for the second time. Parise is 25 and enjoying his first Olympic experience in his first season as a New Jersey assistant captain.

Both hail from Minnesota and have developed a bond inside the Devils' winning environment.

"I have learned a lot from him being our captain and sitting next to him in the dressing room — the way he carries himself," Parise said.

"He's the type of guy in the dressing room that when something needs to be said, it's said. He knows that I have been known to get worked up now and then, and he is always there to make sure I'm not getting too ahead of myself. But he does that for everybody."