In a surprise move, Team USA did not give a letter to Chris Drury. The captain is Jamie Langenbrunner. The alternate captains are  Zach Parise, Dustin Brown, Ryan Suter and Brian Rafalski. To me, Drury was selected because of the leadership he provides. And that was going to be rewarded with a ‘C’ or ‘A’. Here’s what GM Brian Burke had to say:

“Leaders lead,” Burke said. “Leaders don’t need letters to lead. Ron Wilson and I were co-captains together in college and it didn’t change one thing on how we acted when they put a C on us. So, to me leaders lead. If you need a letter to lead, then you’re not a leader anyhow. We know what Chris Drury can bring. He doesn’t need a letter. 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. I wasn’t defensive at all about picking Chris Drury. In fact, every single guy — this will be illuminating for the people in the media that are skeptical about Chris Drury — every single guy on the selection committee had him on the team. So, I wasn’t defensive at all.

I get that, but if you pick Chris Drury because he’s Chris Drury, Captain Clutch, you give him a letter. Maybe I’m just being biased as a Ranger fan. But, he deserves a letter. And he didn’t get one.

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