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Craig Custance, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

USA's place among hockey powers

If the last year of disappointment at the international level that hit USA Hockey happened in Canada, there would have been a countrywide panic. Maybe even a month-long summit on how to fix it.

Team USA’s fifth-place finish at this year’s World Junior Championships follows a World Championships in which the Americans finished sixth. That followed the disappointing fourth-place finish in the Olympics, which followed a fifth-place finish in the 2014 WJC.

Hey, weren’t we supposed to be hockey’s sleeping giant?

The country, if it’s noticed at all, has mostly responded with a disinterested shrug. But this weekend, the NHL and NHLPA are expected to announce an international calendar that includes a revamped World Cup. International hockey is expanding, and considering the struggles of the past year, it’s fair to wonder where America sits among the favorites in those tournaments. And if it’s not near the top, why not?

In this examination, we start with Nashville Predators GM David Poile, the architect of the 2014 U.S. Olympic team.

“Let’s call it like it is,” Poile said. “Canada is No. 1 clearly across the board.”

Wait, what? That hurts.

Thankfully, he continued.

“Having said that, if I were to take more of a global look at the last 10 years of tournaments from the world junior to Olympic results, I think the USA has performed very well,” Poile said.

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