Sudden Olympics opportunity gives goalie Strauss Mann chance to prove he belongs in NHL

Strauss Mann went from a standout collegiate profession at Michigan to a crew in a distant Swedish city. Now, he is getting an opportunity to play within the Olympics.
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From Greenwich to Ann Arbor to Skelleftea to Beijing: Strauss Mann, an undersized goalie who starred at Michigan however was handed over by NHL groups, took his skills to Sweden. With the NHL pulling its gamers from the Olympics, Mann will now have a world highlight for Staff USA.

The solar set over 4 hours in the past in Skelleftea, Sweden by the point Strauss Mann calls. It’s 6:52 p.m. domestically, however this time of yr, there’s simply over 5 hours of daylight day by day. Mann is used to the darkness.

The Greenwich, Conn. native has been within the metropolis of simply over 70,000 off the Gulf of Bothnia since July. Final week, nonetheless, he discovered he would quickly be touring to Beijing when he was named to the U.S. Olympic hockey crew. It’s a twist these following his profession might see coming, however that doesn’t fairly uninteresting the jolt of the information. Mann stands all of 6-foot, a actuality he’s been compelled to hold round his hockey life like a backpack. The NHL handed him up when he was draft eligible, and regardless of producing two straight seasons through which he was named a Mike Richter Award Finalist as the most effective goaltenders in school hockey, Mann left the College of Michigan final April previous to his senior yr to pursue a professional profession, a transfer that  raised eyebrows and questions.

Mann, 23, is endearingly quirky. All over the place he’s gone, he’s gained immediate notoriety for adhering to a Paleo-inspired weight loss plan with a algorithm he follows religiously — no processed meals, sugar, olive oil or dairy, amongst different tips. This requires an inherent consolation in oneself, the sort that comes by means of in making a choice like flying midway internationally to take a leap of religion in your individual skills.

He’s trustworthy about that have. Startlingly so.