The United States hockey team announced its Olympic roster last night, and though they can hardly be considered gold medal favorites, it’s a good bet that the Americans will represent themselves well.

The announcement was made with surprising fanfare, with an on-ice presentation taking place before the Stars-Wild game at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The selection announcement was also televised nationally on the OLN network. It was certainly appropriate that the announcement took place there – a statue of 1980 Olympic head coach Herb Brooks is displayed right outside the arena.

Of course, there were also some controversial decisions made with regard to the players selected to represent America. Several weeks ago, Los Angeles Kings forward Jeremy Roenick generated a bit of needless controversy, saying that “it would be a travesty” if he wasn’t named to the Olympic hockey team, and adding: “They better hope I don’t get a job as a commentator on NBC, or it’d be ‘Go Canada’ all the way.”

If the charismatic Roenick does in fact find himself in Torino, Italy, it will not be on the ice for Team USA. As expected, he did not make the team; his play this season has not been Olympic caliber, and Team USA was clearly better served by dedicating his spot to a younger, more effective player.

General manager Don Wadell didn’t stay away from the aging veterans entirely, however. In a bit of a surprise, he selected Chris Chelios, who will be 44 when the tournament begins. It is unlikely that Chelios will be very effective on the larger Olympic rink; instead, he will be expected to provide the team with some valuable leadership.

Former Ranger Brian Leetch might have been a better choice; he is also a well-respected veteran, but he still has the skating ability to thrive in international play. The omission of Leetch and Roenick – and the retirements of Mike Richter and Brett Hull – represents the start of a changing of the guard for the American club. Dating back to the 1996 World Cup win, all four players have been reliable anchors for America’s international squads.

To that end, the American team has done a fairly good job of regenerating itself by injecting some much-needed youth into the lineup. Though the roster is smattered with some grizzled veterans – Mike Modano, Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuk, and Derian Hatcher chief among them – there are a number of talented youngsters making their very first Olympic appearances.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles has emerged as one of the NHL’s finest puck-moving blueliners, and he will likely run the point on the American team’s power play. Joining him will be Flames blueliner Jordan Leopold, who has struggled a bit this season (four points in 32 games, +8 rating) but remains one of America’s brightest young prospects. And forward Erik Cole, who has established himself as a bona fide top-line player for the Carolina Hurricanes this season after a strong performance in last year’s World Championships, should be one of Team USA’s best goal scorers in the tournament.

Looking locally, the Devils and Islanders each have three players on the team. Forwards Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta and defenseman Brian Rafalski will represent the Devils, while Islanders forwards Jason Blake and Mark Parrish will join goaltender Rick DiPietro in Torino. Of them, only Rafalski has previously represented America in Olympic play.

It will be interesting to see how the American team fares in the tournament. While it’s not as strong as the one Richter backstopped to the World Cup championship in 1996 and the Olympic silver medal in 2002, Team USA should be a scrappy, fun-to-watch squad and more than capable of pulling off an upset or two. If Esche or DiPietro catches fire, a gold medal, while a long shot, would not be an impossibility.