Hockey

WOODRIDGE, ILL - When Olympic fever heats up and the NHL regular season inches closer to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson knows he will become public enemy No. 1 with Canadian sports fans.

Wilson already is loathed in places not part of Leafs Nation and by Don Cherry, the 75-year-old mouth that roars in Hockey Night In Canada's first intermission every Saturday.

But toss in the fact he will be sporting a USA Hockey blazer at the Olympics for the second time and discussing the prospects of his national team all season long, there are more reasons for Wilson to be detested north of the border.

Wilson knows this and knows his critics will pile on if the Maple Leafs stumble out of the gate this season, but he doesn't appear to be deterred. Yesterday, the opening day of the U.S. Olympic men's team orientation camp, the dual U.S.-Canada citizen was excited about receiving a second chance 12 years later.

Wilson was coach of the American men at the 1998 Nagano Games, where they finished a disappointing sixth. After their games, a few players caused $3,000 (U.S.) damages to their athletes' village dorms.

"I wasn't sure that I would get another opportunity after 1998," Wilson said. "It's a lot of work and it can be a distraction to your own [NHL] team, but to get this opportunity with your best friend [U.S. team and Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke] ... I'm living the dream. When you get on the back nine of your coaching career, you enjoy the opportunity that much more."

With the Leafs trying to get back to the playoffs after missing the four seasons since the 2004-05 lockout, Wilson, 54, will be stretched thin this year.

"With the Olympics being in Canada and the Maple Leafs being a pretty prominent Canadian team, I'm going to be hearing this all year," he said. "I have the ability to compartmentalize."

He revealed he wants to keep in regular contact with the U.S. team candidates throughout the NHL season, either by e-mail or in brief pre- or postgame chats when the Leafs go up against one of the 34 players attending the American men's camp.

"Obviously, when we're playing with a candidate, I will watch that player more closely," Wilson said. "But my job during the regular season is to win the games and make the Toronto Maple Leafs better."

It's strange, but Wilson and Burke are running the U.S. team, while Detroit Red Wings executives Steve Yzerman, Ken Holland and coach Mike Babcock are making the decisions for Hockey Canada.

Then there is Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson. He was a Providence College teammate of Burke and Wilson 35 years ago, a team then run by current New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello.

"Sometimes you wonder if this is a grand plan set in motion by Lou Lamoriello in 1973," said Wilson, who also coached the U.S. to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey title and a fourth-place finish at the 2009 world championship. "I'm truly honoured to first coach a team like the Leafs and also have my best friend as my boss."

His most important goal this week is to foster the same team chemistry of that winning group.

There will be a players' only dinner tomorrow at the conclusion of the camp. They will take in a Chicago White Sox game tonight, and are being accompanied by U.S. armed forces veterans of varying ages, known as True Heroes, who have been sharing their experiences.