ESPN Olympic Sports

PARK CITY, Utah -- There are many sights, sounds and stories at the Olympic media summit.

One of our favorites from Tuesday was freeskier Devin Logan's explanation of a tattoo she has on her right arm.

Logan, who competes on both the slope and pipe circuits, said the tattoo came to be while she we rehabbing a serious knee injury last year. Logan suffered the injury just days after winning the FIS freestyle ski halfpipe World Cup event in New Zealand in 2012, forcing her to have surgery and ending her 2012-13 season.

Now, she's back and eyeing a trip to the Sochi Olympics.

But, back to the tattoo ...

"Each flake represents a member of my family," Logan said Tuesday. "'Don't fear the journey' just means to not fear what life brings you. You don't know what will happen next, from day to day."

Will she add more body art soon?

"I've thought about it, but don't know if my mom would like it too much," Logan joked.

Maybe Mom wouldn't mind an Olympic medal tattoo?

PARK CITY, Utah -- Any edge, no pun intended, could enter into the calculation as ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White pursue the Olympic gold medal that just eluded them four years ago.

Will setting their free dance to a famous piece by a Russian composer (Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade") under the guidance of a Russian coach they unabashedly call a genius help them connect with the crowd at the Sochi Games? If they put together the complete package, they said Tuesday at the Olympic media summit.

The duo said they toyed with using the piece a few years ago, but is glad they saved it for the ideal competitive moment. The music is a way of honoring Russian influence on dance in general and coach/choreographer Marina Zoueva's tutelage specifically, they said.

"It never hurts to have the support of the crowd ... at the end of the day, it's really about moving the audience, making that emotional impact," Davis said.

But in a development no one could have foreseen a decade or two ago when the Russians dominated the discipline, Davis and White will have to try to dethrone fellow North Americans for the title: their friends and rink-mates Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada. The tandems have gone 1-2 at the past four world championships, with Davis and White prevailing in the past two editions.

Davis and White say it wouldn't be "healthy" to focus on the Olympic gold medal itself, and manage to be convincing when they talk about refining their already superlative chemistry.

"When we won worlds in 2011, one of the things that helped us [defend] is that we didn't say, 'Let's continue at this level and expect the same results,"' White said. "Our expectations go beyond any given placement ... staying in character from beginning to end, and keeping everyone enthralled."

The short program could prompt a world-wide sing-along. It will be set to music from "My Fair Lady," including, naturally, "I Could Have Danced All Night."

"It's bubbly, light, elegant, fun," Davis said.

Davis and White joked easily about their snail's progress toward undergraduate degrees at the University of Michigan -- they've crawled past the start lines of their junior years and are taking this academic year off for obvious reasons. "Each passing year is bringing us closer to the Guinness Book of World Records [for tenure as students]," White said.

The refreshing thing about them is their obvious desire to keep learning on the ice after all this time.

PARK CITY, Utah -- Despite his enormous success in the World Cup last season, gold medalist Ted Ligety still does not like the ski equipment regulations the International Ski Federation (FIS) imposed last year in an attempt to make the sport safer.

"I've been very vocal against the new regulations that have been put in place, for a variety of reasons," Ligety said at the Olympic media summit Monday. "The No. 1 reason is I don't think the safety question is really a valid question they were going to answer with these new skis. Also, I think it makes an unfair situation when a governing body makes rules that completely favor certain athletes and don't favor others.

"Also, it really affects the next generation of skiers coming up. This year, there will be 16-year-old skiers skiing on the same skis we did in the World Cup last year and they're hard for me to ski on a lot of times. That definitely does not help the development of the sport."

The regulations for giant slalom increased the minimum length of the skis (from 185 to 195 cm), as well as their minimum turn radius (from 27 meters to 35 meters). Ironically, Ligety said those modifications favor his style of skiing, but he said he is upset because they hurt skiers with different styles.

"In giant slalom, they definitely favor me. The style of skier they favor is someone who arcs more of the turn and takes the turn deeper, and that's definitely something I do," Ligety said. "But you look at someone like Massimiliano Blardone. He was third in the GS standings the year before and he was way out there this year [13th]. He was a guy that would take a straighter line and chop off the top of his turn, then hit it hard and get some acceleration out of his turn. And that technique just doesn't work anymore.

"There are definitely guys who have had their careers hurt by the new skis."

Ligety blasted the FIS on his website, calling the governing body a "dictatorship" and insisting the rules will ruin the sport. Asked Monday what changes he would have made instead, Ligety said he would prefer there be no regulations.

"FIS has proven themselves to be wrong every time they make new ski regulations," he said. "Before they made the skis wider and that made the skis more aggressive and created more injuries and now they're making them narrower. They keep having all these ideas that they test very mildly and they don't work, and then a couple years later they go back. I think it would be better if they just stayed out of it and let the ski companies make the regulations. ...

"I don't think it's made it any safer. In a lot of ways, it's made it more dangerous because you have to really muscle the ski around and manipulate and twist on the ski."

PARK CITY, Utah -- Though he hasn't competed in more than a year and is the oldest male on the U.S. alpine ski team, Bode Miller didn't exactly mince words when asked Monday about his plans for the upcoming season.

"I'm going to kick ass," Miller said. "That's the gist of it."

The statement was greeted with chuckles from the assembled media at the Olympic media summit, but this was no joke. The man who hasn't competed since microfracture surgery on his left knee in spring of 2012 finds himself refreshed, refocused and reenergized entering what is his fifth and likely last Olympic campaign of his decorated career.

The 35-year-old Miller said Monday that he left his decision to retire entirely to the results of the surgery. If things went well, he planned on skiing again. If they didn't, then that was going to be it. With the surgery a success, he's back for what he said is likely his last competitive season.

"It's perishable being a ski racer," he said. "Until you're rotten and shriveled up, you keep going. I'm pretty shriveled up, but I'm not all the way rotten ... at least not yet."

During his recovery, he spent much of his time on the beaches of Southern California with his wife, Morgan Beck, a professional volleyball player, doing plyometric exercises designed to help slim and strengthen his 6-foot-2 frame. He said he's now 20 pounds lighter than when he last competed, allowing him to be even quicker than he once was.

And, most important, his repaired knee is finally pain-free. Despite being relatively conservative during a recent training session in Portillo, Chile, the early results were promising.

"I didn't take a lot of risk," he said. "One thing during an Olympic season is risk management. It's easy to make stupid mistakes in summer training. But in terms of structure, the knee is perfect. The ligaments are in great shape. The last few days were demanding on the body and I was ready."

He added, "My fitness will be a huge asset for me. It's something that was neglected the past few years, so my plan is to kick ass."

And while doing so, help those who are less fortunate. On Monday, the USOC announced that Miller will be the first athlete ambassador for a new "Gateway to Gold" program designed to introduce people with physical and visual disabilities to Paralympic sports and identify those with the possibility of competing for the U.S. Paralympic Team. It was Miller who sought out USOC CEO Scott Blackmun last year with the goal of improving opportunities in the Paralympic space. The new program will essentially take the core principles of Miller's Turtle Ridge Foundation to a broader audience.

"It's a philosophy that needs a broader audience. It needs more exposure," Miller said. "People get inspiration from watching people deal with these situations and do the incredible. I would not still be racing today had I not gone through that process. It really is something I benefitted from and is really important. I'm thrilled to be part of it and ready to help out."

PARK CITY, Utah -- The United States men's hockey team has enjoyed a lot of success on North American ice.

The Americans won gold at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif., and, as you might recall, upset the Soviets en route to the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. The team won silver in 2002 (Salt Lake City) and 2010 (Vancouver), losing to Canada each time.

Playing elsewhere has been the problem. The U.S. has never won gold outside its own country and has medaled outside of North America only once since 1956. Even with NHL players, the U.S. team was, shall we say it, underwhelming at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano and the 2006 Olympics in Torino, finishing sixth and eighth.

Which does not exactly bode well for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

St. Louis Blues right winger David Backes, who was on the 2010 team, said Monday that the U.S. recently talked about this pattern and how to change it. He said playing on Europe's larger rinks and playing somewhere outside their comfort zone are the major issues. (All teams played on an NHL-sized rink in the Vancouver Games.)

"Collectively, they're the biggest challenges," he said at the Olympic media summit. "I know that's a politician's answer to the question, but I think that they're the difference between success on North American soil and not a lot of success on European soil. Those two things combine for a little bit of adversity before you've even dropped the puck.

"On top of that, the other guys are swinging the other way. [In Salt Lake and Vancouver], they were going from living in their comfort zone to coming over to North America and not being comfortable with our culture, our society, our food, whatever," Backes added. "Now they're back on European soil and are as comfortable as can be. That tilts the table a little, but preparing for that and being aware that it's going to happen and taking it in stride will be a big factor in whether we have the success we hope to have or whether we don't."

"We have to come to grips with that," said Nashville Predators GM David Poile, who is also serving as the general manager of the 2014 U.S. men's team. "People were very comfortable in Salt Lake and Vancouver. They had their families there. Socially, they were comfortable because they could go out after a game or on an off-day and go out to a restaurant. Sochi will have a totally different dynamic. Sochi is not really close to anything -- the city is 35-40 minutes away. It's going to be a different experience for all the athletes."

Adapting to the ice and a less physical game is also important, Poile said.

"There has to be some adjustments," he said. "Whether it's angles for goalies or what a defensemen does in going back and getting a puck or what position a forward plays, there have to be some changes. Maybe it just seems obvious, but it needs to be pointed out to the players and put into the strategy of the game."

PARK CITY, Utah -- Evan Lysacek's scintillating gold medal performance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics had everything but a quadruple jump. Conventional wisdom said that would be the last time a champion could afford to do without the biggest trick. The sport was advancing inexorably, and even though there are still very few men who can land clean quads consistently in competition, there's no doubt the attempt will be necessary in Sochi.

Lysacek knew that, and he had included a quad toe loop in a short program run-through on Aug. 21. He took a violent spill and stayed off the ice for a month because of an abdominal tear. But the pain returned when he resumed training, and doctor-ordered imaging last week revealed a tear to his left labrum that seriously endangers Lysacek's chances of competing at all this Olympic season.

The 28-year-old Chicago-area native had already pulled out of a competition this month and Monday told reporters at the Olympic media summit that he would be forced to skip Skate America, the first Grand Prix event of the season and an important bellwether for Lysacek back in his heyday. (Jason Brown, who won silver at the 2013 world juniors, will take Lysacek's place in the lineup.)

Lysacek joked that his rehab "has all the makings of a gripping reality show -- constantly developing, new characters constantly entering into the list." But his demeanor was subdued. He called his return to training on ice "a recent development" and didn't delve into specifics, saying only that he is being cautious and following doctors' orders.

In order to compete at the Olympics, Lysacek must first log a minimum qualifying score of 25 points in the technical elements of the short program and 45 points in the free skate -- basically, the equivalent of breathing and staying upright -- at an international competition.

The U.S. national championships in Boston in January, where the team will be selected (results generally prevail, but there is some discretion), doesn't count in that equation. At the moment, Lysacek has no other Grand Prix assignment or invitation. He said he is working with the U.S. Figure Skating Association to find an event or events where he can meet the standard and shake off the rust.

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A day after photos of Jonathan Toews wearing what is thought to be the previously unseen Team Canada jersey spread across the Internet, players were photographed wearing the Canadian flag over their shoulder at the NHL's player media tour.

Getty posted a photo on Thursday of Toews wearing a Canadian sweater during a photo shoot. The jersey had the Nike logo and had similar features to the jersey's Nike designed for the United States and Russia.

The photo was later removed from Getty's website.

Team Canada released a statement on Friday saying they would unveil their jersey for the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Oct. 8.

Updated: 3:06 p.m. ET

Hockey Canada released a statement on Friday afternoon:

Hockey Canada will unveil and launch the jerseys that it's men's, women's and sledge hockey teams will wear at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi on October 8.

We look forward to telling the story and innovation behind the jerseys at that time.

---

The wait to see Team Canada's men's hockey jersey for Sochi might be over.

While the United States and Russia already unveiled their new sweaters, Canada had not yet announced a date for the reveal. But at the NHL's Player Tour event on Thursday, Jonathan Toews was photographed wearing what could be Canada's jersey for the Olympics.

The jersey is all red with a large white stripe across the chest and the left arm, and there is a large red maple leaf in the center of the white stripe. "Canada" is printed in smaller letters below the stripe.

Designed by Nike, which also designed the U.S. and Russian jerseys, Canada's sweater has the same zig-zag pattern under the collar as the U.S. and Russia.

Getty Images has since removed the photograph from its website.

Bonnie D. Ford discusses comments made by Russian president Vladimir Putin, who attempted to ease concerns that a Russian anti-gay law would be used to punish athletes choosing to display rainbow flags at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

PARK CITY, Utah -- Every veteran on the U.S. women's ski jumping team has had multiple surgeries that kept them off their beloved hills, and they all can relate to the tunnel reigning world champion Sarah Hendrickson is about to enter. They kept her in their thoughts -- and texts and calls -- as they went about their business last week, and said they're confident she'll tackle the passage with the right energy.

"Never met an athlete that young, that talented, that smart, that driven, who knows what she's doing," said 2009 world champion Lindsey Van, who is 10 years older than Hendrickson and informally coached her during an injury layoff of her own one summer when Hendrickson was still a kid club jumper.

Hendrickson won the 2012 World Cup overall title and was a favorite to medal at the 2014 Sochi Games before a training jump went bad earlier this month. She underwent a three-pronged surgery last Thursday after tearing up her right knee on Aug. 21 in Oberstdorf, Germany. U.S. Ski team physician Dr. Andrew Cooper repaired her MCL and meniscus and reconstructed her ACL. Team officials declined to outline any specific timetable for her possible return.

Three-time Olympian and head coach Alan Alborn said Hendrickson should benefit from previous experience with the tedious process of rehab. She had surgery to repair microfractures on her other knee in April 2012 and could not put any weight on it for six weeks. Hendrickson had to rebuild atrophied muscle before she could even resume regular dry land workouts, but was back to jump training by September. "Five jumps later, I knew she was good to compete," Alborn said.

Alborn was careful not to compare the two injuries or make any predictions about how Hendrickson might progress over the next few months. But he and the other jumpers have all known her since she was a little girl and said they are certain of one thing: Her attitude. "If they say she can jump in January, that's when she'll be jumping," said teammate Abby Hughes.

Can Hendrickson be fit enough to compete in Sochi, where women's ski jumping is on the program for the first time in history? The answer is several months away, and will be contingent not only on her physical recovery but on team selection procedures. The United States, with one of the world's strongest athlete pools, will send four jumpers to the Winter Games in February. The winner of the U.S. Olympic trials on Dec. 29 qualifies automatically. Three others will earn berths based on World Cup results. All Olympic sports have a procedure for injured athletes to request a discretionary slot.

Jack Johnson is excited to be back with Team USA and looks to push the Americans one step farther to win the gold medal in Sochi.

CALGARY, Alberta -- Team Canada wrapped up its three-day Olympic camp with more "walk-through" practices Tuesday, and, while it has been unusual to see the players in ball-hockey mode on the covered ice, the innovative approach was a winner with the players.

Despite not skating for real, there was a sense of accomplishment at the end of it all.

“Being on the ice, going over video, getting to know some of the guys, I think we made the best of every situation," Sidney Crosby said after camp wrapped up Tuesday.

“A lot of information, details on the way we want to play. Just trying to grasp all that is important, because there isn’t a ton of time over there, so you make the most of having the time here together.”

Some people may snicker at a camp without actual on-ice practices, but Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman felt it was worth it, no question.

"The feedback from coaches and players is they think it’s been worthwhile,” Yzerman said. "They’ve spent a lot of time, even if they’re going on the floor, in meetings and video sessions. It just takes that one step further and they can walk through their positioning. Some guys learn different than others. Some guys tune out in video and meetings and whatnot. If we do this in a practical manner, it kind of drives the point home a little bit."

Head coach Mike Babcock spent a lot of time organizing the event and had specific goals he wanted to reach here.

"They [the players] came here for three simple things. No. 1 was to get to know everybody better from players to coaches to management to trainers, to get to know them and have a comfort level," Babcock said.

"No. 2 is to understand the details of how we're going to play -- terminology, where to stand, how to play in your own zone, how to play on the power play, penalty kill. We've gone over and over that. The walk-throughs made it slow enough to really spend some time on it.

"The third thing I think was critical for them is the evaluation process. How do you get to Sochi? We've tried to explain it to each and every guy so when they leave here they've got three months to do their part. They're in control of whether they go."

Just how much the players remember in terms of their system teaching come four months from now remains to be seen.

“I’m sure guys will need to refresh a little bit, but as far as just getting an idea for a foundation, it’s great we’re able to do it here,” Crosby said. "Kind of an unconventional way of doing it, but I think nonetheless we were able to benefit from it.”

Countries have until Dec. 31 to name their 25-man rosters, Yzerman indicating Canada would name its team sometime between mid- to late December.

"At the start of the season, we’ll start with this group of 47 -- we’ll keep an eye on everybody -- but focus on particular teams, particular games, particular players that we’re deciding on,” Yzerman said of narrowing down the choices. "There was a few guys we don’t feel the need to watch. But we know what they can do and they’re going to be on this team, assuming they’re healthy. We’ll arrange our schedule over the next week or so to get ready for the start of the regular season. We’ll get together as a group early November to narrow things down a little bit and talk about what we’re seeing and make sure we’re all in constant communication and get organized from November to mid-December and make our final decisions at that point."

In 2010, Canada was criticized for some its selections despite winning gold. Only in hockey-mad Canada is winning gold not quite good enough to satisfy everyone.

Yzerman knows the Team Canada brain trust won’t please everyone with its decisions this time, either.

"In 2010, we won, could you have put six or seven different guys on that team and still have won? Probably, maybe?” Yzerman said. "But we’ll beat it to death and talk about it and try and put the best team together. There will be logic behind our decisions whether it looks like it or not."

Canada's captain

The naming of a team captain will wait for now.

“It will probably be similar to Vancouver. I think it would be wise to wait until the team is named before we announce a captain,” said Yzerman, who named Scott Niedermayer captain last time around. "We’ll talk to the coaching staff about it and collectively reach a decision on that."

Hard to think Sidney Crosby won’t get the "C," although there will be a number of great candidates given that most of these guys are captains on their respective NHL teams.

“It’d be an honor for sure,” Crosby said of whether he’d be named captain. "But it’s not something that’s on my mind a whole lot. We all want to be on this team and lead by example when we need to, but it’s an honor to be a captain on any team.”

Regardless, Crosby will have a bigger leadership role than he had in 2010 when he was a 22-year-old first-time Olympian.

“I think if I look back at last time, I was probably more in awe and trying to learn from those guys [more] than anything,” Crosby said. "I don’t think it's a conscious decision you make, I think its just a natural progression when you’ve played on a team before, you understand things a bit better. It’s a comfort level. It’s a difference between going to your first Olympic camp and your second one. It’s a mindset.

“I think it’s kind of a natural progression for all the guys who were in Vancouver to come here and be a lot more comfortable, but with the number of guys we have here who are captains or leaders on their team, I think you’ll see a lot of guys who are comfortable.”

Yzerman said it’s the natural progression of this team to have some of the young stars from 2010 step up in the leadership department this time around.

"Sidney, Shea Weber, those types of guys that played very well and are elite NHL players,” Yzerman said. "Four more years later, a lot has happened in their careers. They’ve learned a lot. They’ve matured a lot. The Scott Neidermayers, the Chris Prongers aren’t here. It’s up to those players to take a step forward. So, yes, I expect some of these younger players to take a step forward. Jonathan or Sidney, for example, they’ve won gold medals, won Stanley Cups. They’ve accomplished a lot. They’re still young guys. But they’re leaders on their own clubs and we expect them to be here.”

Sharp's ready this time

Four years ago, Patrick Sharp arrived at the Canadian Olympic camp a little wide-eyed. But it’s a different feeling this time around for the Chicago Blackhawks star.

"Going back then, I think I was a different player,” Sharp said Tuesday. "I was 26 or 27. I don’t want to say I was star struck, but I was excited to be here. But I don’t know if I really believed then that I belonged. I know that’s a bad thing to say as a player. This time around, I’m much more confident, I’ve played in a some pretty serious games. Since 2009 we’ve gone deep in the playoffs three times and won the Stanley Cup twice. So a lot has changed for my game since then, and hopefully, I can play well this year and show the coaches and Hockey Canada that I belong."

What does Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman say about Sharp’s opportunity to make the team?

"A very good chance," Yzerman said. "One, he can play all of the three forward positions, which is a great asset. He plays in all situations, power play, penalty killing. He has been on teams that have won Stanley Cups and been an important player. Teams that win, certain traits they have, their players play a certain way and can play in big games and play under pressure and know how to win. He’s got all those things going for him."

Sharp’s ability to play all three forward positions is an obvious asset.

"I hope so,” said Sharp, a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario. "I know it’s tough putting these kinds of teams together and moving guys around in different positions. That’s something I’ve done my whole career in Chicago. If that helps my chances, that’s great."

You sense in Sharp’s voice how much it would mean to him to make this team. He was asked if making Team Canada would mean as much or even more than winning the Stanley Cup.

"That’s tough to answer,” Sharp said. "That’s like saying, who do you like better, my wife or my daughter. It’s two things that would be incredible accomplishments. And I’m jealous of Seabs and Duncs and Johnny who were able to win the Cup and the gold in the same year. I certainly want to be part of that and will do anything I can to make the team this year."

Marc Staal's recovery

Rangers blueliner Marc Staal says he’s ready to go after suffering a scary eye injury last season.

"It's good. Really good. I had a really good summer of training and I feel really good," Staal said Tuesday. "When I'm on the ice, I don't really notice it at all. I'm excited and anxious just to start the season up and get it going."

Staal said he has adjusted well.

"It was more of just adapting to the depth perception and things like that when I was coming back,” Staal explained. "It just wasn't clicking when I was trying to come back in the playoffs there. But with the time off and the training now, everything's back to normal and I'm feeling really good."

Many people believe Staal could make Team Canada as long as there are no signs he’s limited by what happened to his eye.

"I have no limitations at all. It's been a great summer of training,” Staal said. "Physically from the time I was cleared to start working out, there wasn't anything I couldn't do as far as physically getting ready. So that part of it has been really good this summer, just getting into shape, getting stronger and getting ready for the season."

Weber's game

Early in Canada’s trouncing of Russia in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Shea Weber threw his body around and it set the tempo for the victory.

But that was on NHL ice. He has given some thought to how he’s going to have to adjust his game on the bigger ice in Sochi.

"Yeah definitely," Weber said. "I had the chance to play in the world championships in Russia and Switzerland, so I’m a little familiar with it. You can get caught out of position a lot easier. It’s wider and there’s more time and space for those guys to make passes through you. So you have to be conscious. You still want to play physical but you don’t want to take chances."

Weber is a lock to make this team again, but he certainly hasn’t tried to sit down and figure out the 25-man roster.

"No, that’s why I’m the player, there’s too many tough decisions,” joked the Nashville Predators captain. "You go down the list and everybody deserves the chance. That’s why they’re here. There’s even guys that aren’t here that probably will get a good look during the season. We’re very fortunate in Canada to have a big selection, but definitely some tough choices."

Lucic's in shape

A lot was said last season about what kind of shape Milan Lucic was in. The topic reared its ugly head late in the regular season when he was a healthy scratch because of his ineffective play. He picked it up big time in the playoffs and was once again the player people in Boston were used to watching.

Good news, Bruins fans. One look at Lucic this week at the Olympic camp and you know he’s in excellent shape.

"I'm in a lot better shape than I was going into [last] year,” Lucic said. "I didn't take much time off; I maybe took a week off after we lost to Chicago just because I was feeling really good, how I ended off on a personal note and I kind of wanted to keep that going. I went back to how I used to always train. I had some things that were kind of bothering me that weren't allowing my body to train as hard as I used to and I rectified a couple of those problems and it's starting to feel better in the gym."

Iggy talk

Bruins center Patrice Bergeron is eager to see Jarome Iginla on the Bruins this season.

"For sure, it's going to be great,” Bergeron said. "I've had a chance to play with him and to meet him in Vancouver and he's an amazing guy and also player, very professional and a great leader as well. Very excited to have him with us and looking forward to getting to know him even more."

USA Hockey unveiled its jerseys for the men's, women's and paralympic national teams will wear for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. Here are some photos from Tuesday's announcement at the men's U.S. Olympic orientation camp in Arlington, Va.:

Do you like the new Olympic jerseys? Cast your vote here!

CALGARY, Alberta -- A little ball hockey, eh?

Team Canada took to the floor-covered ice Monday for "walk-through" practices, which is the coaching staff's unique solution to a tough situation given the inability to actually get on the ice for real practices.

The 45 players were split into two groups and ran around with their sticks in their hands playing out drills from the coaching staff while wearing track shorts, T-shirts and running shoes.

Kudos to head coach Mike Babcock for the clever solution for a tough predicament.

"I thought it was a real good day for us,” Babcock said. "Obviously, I have never done this before. We've put a lot of planning into it. I spent a lot of time talking to people to gather the information -- [head coach] Tom Izzo in particular with Michigan State basketball. He talks about the walk-throughs, and [they are] part of the reason that he believes they've been to six Final Fours in the last 15 years. Todd Downing is a quarterback coach with the Lions. He talked about the plays they walk through each and every day and the muscle memory and the timing and spacing that's going on.

"This is a big sheet, and guys aren't used to it. It's even bigger when you can't move very fast, and you couldn't go very fast today. But I thought it was a good teaching tool. The other thing is when you've got 23 guys on your team, you usually got to teach 23 different ways. Everybody learns different, so when you see it on video, it's one way you see it. In a book, it's another way. You've got a posting on the wall, you walk through it again and then you talk about it. To me, what we're trying to do is get them to understand the way we're going to play, so it meets the comfort for them when they arrive in Sochi."

It’s early, folks, but, for the heck of it, here were the lines:

Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Patrick Sharp
Eric Staal-Jonathan Toews-Rick Nash
Logan Couture-John Tavares-Steven Stamkos
Andrew Ladd-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry
Jeff Carter-Mike Richards-Martin St. Louis
Milan Lucic-Matt Duchene-James Neal
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall-Jordan Staal

"Don’t read anything into the lines," Babcock cautioned.

Joe Thornton’s absence from the camp (family illness) left Hall and Jordan Staal lined up with a University of Calgary player, Dylan Walchuk.

Talk about a thrill for the college player.

"I know. It's pretty sweet. Maybe I'll see myself on TV tonight if I get lucky," Walchuk said.

So much is going to play out over the next few months before Team Canada picks the team. It’s hard to tell a whole lot from these lines when you consider that most of the line combinations at the camp four years ago didn’t hold water come the Olympics in Vancouver four months later.

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Updated at 4:28 p.m. ET

CALGARY, Alberta -- Joe Thornton had to cancel his trip to the Canadian Olympic camp because of a family illness.

Thornton’s two-month-old son, River, was in the hospital, and Hockey Canada is obviously fully understanding of the veteran center’s situation.

Two of Thornton's teammates in San Jose expressed their support for Thornton on Tuesday.

"Our wives are best friends. He made the right decision, you got to stay home. Family is the most important thing," Dan Boyle said.

"Obviously, we’re all hoping that his son is OK and it sounds like he’s getting better which is good," Logan Couture said. "We miss not having Joe here. I’ll be headed to San Jose once this camp ends and we’ll get to catch up with him."

The total number of players at camp is down to 45 after Claude Giroux also cancelled his trip to focus on his rehab from surgery on his finger.