Sam Donnellon: For Flyers captain Richards, it's Team Canada first

IN TERMS OF the Olympic experience, Chris Pronger has been there, done that, felt this, and felt that. He was part of the Canadian Olympic team that stumbled miserably in Japan in 1998, beat the United States on its own soil for the 2002 gold, disappointed with a seventh-place finish in the 2006 Turin Olympics.

Mike Richards? He was 13 when Pronger's first Olympic experience ended in medal-less embarrassment. "I just remember that image that you see all the time, of Wayne Gretzky sitting on the bench," said the Flyers captain. "You obviously don't want that."

Not in Nagano, not in Turin and most certainly not on your own soil in Vancouver. "Canadians are just a little bit wild about hockey," Richards said with that wry smile of his. "It's going to be special. It's going to be something that I think you're going to remember. But at the same time I think you have to remember what you're there for."

Separated by age, experience and roles, Richards and Pronger are united by that thought. They are there for country, for pride, for a gold medal that is at least as important to their nation and to many of their NHL colleagues - especially the European ones - as Lord Stanley himself.

That means, said Pronger, that you take any role you are given, happily, accept any team infrastructure. If then-Canadian GM Bob Clarke can name Eric Lindros as captain on a 1998 team that included Gretzky, Steve Yzerman and Ray Bourque, Pronger's status as assistant captain should be a shrug of the shoulder for Richards, the Flyers captain.

Anyone who knows Richards knows that it is. So, too, is a change in his role, from a player relied on to play power plays, penalty kills and supply big goals, to fourth-line checker in the Olympics - or even, perhaps, bench player.

"You're playing for your country," he said. "So there's a lot of pride. So I don't think it will be hard to do."

"He's played in world juniors and internationally for Canada," Pronger said. "That's expected of you. You're not always going to be a first-line guy. You might be a defenseman used to playing 30 minutes, and you're playing 20, or maybe 15. Maybe you're not even playing. You're sitting on the bench. It's not cut and dry. There's so many players to choose from. It's just an honor to be on the team. And you do what you can to help the team win."