PLYMOUTH, Michigan -- Team USA, expected to have its best-ever men's hockey roster when NHL players return to the Olympics this February, isn't shying away from what's at stake.

"The expectation is to go to Milan and win the gold medal," Vegas star Jack Eichel said Wednesday at the Olympic orientation camp. "I think anything short of that, it would be disappointing."

The United States has not won an Olympic gold medal in men's hockey since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team. But no longer is Team USA a plucky underdog. Hockey has grown immensely in the United States -- participation has more than tripled in the 45 years since 1980 -- and with NHL players returning to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, a golden generation of superstars is ready for a golden opportunity.

"The st

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