D Jan Hejda

CZECH REPUBLIC

• Age: 31

• Olympic experience: Making his Olympic debut

• What it means: "I remember what it meant to our country when we won the gold medal in 1998. The celebration was unbelievable. It's a great honor to represent my country."

D Milan Jurcina

SLOVAKIA

• Age: 26

• Olympic exper-ience: Member of the 2006 team that finished fifth

• What it means: "Hockey is the No 1 sport in Slovakia. Everyone back home is waiting for the Olympics, and they will watch the games no matter what time they are on."

LW Fredrik Modin

SWEDEN

• Age: 35

• Olympic exper-ience: Member of the 2006 team that won the gold medal.

• What it means: "Any time you get picked by your national team, it's a great feeling. I've never played at the international level where it wasn't a phenomenal atmosphere."

C Sammy Pahlsson

SWEDEN

• Age: 32

• Olympic exper-ience: Also on the 2006 gold-medal team.

• What it means: "Just being an Olympian and being around all the athletes from all the sports means a lot. Having a chance to come back after winning it the last time is special."

D Fedor Tyutin

RUSSIA

• Age: 26

• Olympic experience: Member of the 2006 team that finished fourth

• What it means: "It is huge. All my family and friends are excited. I'm sure the whole country is excited. It's a big thing for us because we haven't won in a while and we have a pretty good chance this time."

-- Tom Reed

treed@dispatch.com