Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin is adding quite the feather to his cap.
Guerin has been named General Manager for the U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team for the 2026 games in Milan-Cortina, Italy.
Guerin spoke with WCCO's Chad Hartman shortly after the announcement, and says it's a huge honor for him.
"No hesitation whatsoever, this is a dream come true, an amazing opportunity and I'm honored to have been chosen," says Guerin. "It's the chance of a lifetime. I'm thrilled. I really am."
For Guerin, the announcement is still very fresh and he said for timelines, not much is settled yet. They will name a group of players by this summer and he said he would like to name a head coach before that happens.
"Right now, I'm just in the very beginning stages of this," he says.
The 53-year old Guerin was himself is a three-time Olympian and a member of the 2002 silver medal-winning Olympic team that was coachedy by St. Paul's Herb Brooks. That team beat Russia in the semifinals before losing in a dramatic Gold Medal game against Canada.
Guerin says playing under Brooks was incredible for the players. Brooks, of course, was the famous coach who led the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" U.S. Olympic team to a shocking win over the U.S.S.R and ultimately a Gold Medal.
"It was such a different experience, he was just great, he really was," Guerin explained. "His sense of humor came out, a lot more than any of us had ever seen. He just did such a great job."
The U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey team is coming off a fifth place finish in the 2022 games in Beijing, China. Their last medal was at the 2010 games when they won the Silver, same as the '02 team. By the time of the '26 games, it will have been nearly half a century since they won Gold in Lake Placid under Brooks.
It's also been a number of years since the best hockey players in the world have competed in the Olympics. For the first time since 2014, the NHL will allow their players to participate in the 2026 and 2040 Games. Guerin had been tapped to fill the same role for USA Hockey in 2022 before the NHL decided not to have its players attend Beijing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Guerin, going from player to GM of U.S. Hockey is the culmination of a life in hockey.
"This has been a lifelong love with being an American-born player," Guerin says. "This is just so cool. I'm so happy about it. There are a lot of other great American GMs that I'm going to lean on for help. But to have my number called is so great."
Guerin added that his daughter Grace was born on February 22, which is the anniversary date for the victory over the Soviets in 1980, and he said he always wishes her a "Happy Miracle on Ice" day.
The Milan-Cortina Olympic Games will begin February 6, 2026. This is the third time Italy will host the Winter Olympics (after Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 and Turin 2006), and the fourth time overall after the Rome 1960 Summer Olympics.