Esche passed over for Team USA spot

By Tim Panaccio

Inquirer Staff Writer

Flyers goalie Robert Esche, who represented Team USA well in last fall's World Cup of Hockey, has been snubbed in the selections for this month's world championships in Austria.

Don Waddell, general manager of Team USA and the Atlanta Thrashers, is expected to announce his roster perhaps as early as today.

Esche found out yesterday through the hockey grapevine that he wasn't chosen. Team USA head coach Peter Laviolette has instead picked Edmonton's Ty Conklin as his starter, according to league sources.

The backup job and third spot are expected to go to the New York Islanders' Rick DiPietro, who, like Esche, participated in the World Cup of Hockey, and Tampa Bay's John Grahame, respectively.

Waddell could not be reached for comment.

Flyers right winger Mike Knuble, 32, has reportedly been selected.

"I'm kind of upset they didn't pick me," Esche said. "They haven't even called me. I mean, I think I deserve a call."

Esche, 27, played four games for Team USA last fall, taking the tournament's oldest, slowest team to the semifinals, where it lost to Finland, 2-1. He finished with a 2.53 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.

Waddell said recently that Team USA would include more youth and focus mostly on players who have been playing during the NHL lockout.

Conklin, 28, played for Wolfsburg in the German Elite League. The Grizzlies were one of the worst teams in Europe. Conklin appeared in 10 games, and had a 2.76 goals-against average.

"They said they were only taking players who had been playing this year, but I have been working out hard every day at Colgate," Esche said. "I have kept myself in good shape.

"It bothers me because I have always answered the bell for these guys. When my wife, Kelly, was pregnant with our first child, I went to Germany for them. It upset me that I don't even get a call."

Esche and his wife recently had a second child, a boy, Waylon.

Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock was a tad upset himself yesterday, saying the selection process was "curious."

It is possible that Laviolette thinks Esche's outspokenness during the lockout gave him too high a profile.

There is nothing curious about DiPietro. He plays for Laviolette on Long Island. There is nothing curious about Grahame, either. Laviolette's assistant coach for Team USA is John Tortorella, head coach of the Lightning. Grahame is the backup to Nikolai Khabibulin in Tampa Bay.

Team USA will hold its training camp April 16 to 18 in Lake Placid, N.Y. The world championships are scheduled for April 30 to May 15 in Innsbruck and Vienna.

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Contact staff writer Tim Panaccio at 215-854-2847 or tpanaccio@phillynews.com.