Kornacki: Love of the Game Leads Ebbett, Kolarik to Olympics
2/5/2018 2:02:00 PM | Ice Hockey, Features, Olympics
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Chad Kolarik and Andrew Ebbett, who once skated on the same line for the University of Michigan ice hockey team, will now play in the Olympics for their countries beginning next week in South Korea.
They have traveled roads with highs (Frozen Fours and playing in the NHL) and lows (injuries and getting sent to the minors) but now will experience playing on one of the greatest stages relatively late in their careers.
This will be the first Olympics since 1994 that does not involve current NHL players, and Ebbett and Kolarik -- both playing professionally in Europe -- were among the 25 to make the final roster cuts for their respective teams.
Kolarik, from Abington, Pennsylvania, did not try holding back what he felt upon learning he had made the U.S. Olympic team.
"I missed the call from Jim Johannson," said Kolarik of the then U.S. team general manager, "and there was a text message with it: 'Hey, Chad, give me a call when you have a chance.' I called him as quickly as I could.
"I just remember him saying that I made the team and me dropping to my knees and crying like a child, like my son, Christian, would. It was a surreal moment and something I will remember forever in my life."
Kolarik's wife, Kylee, rushed from the kitchen to the living room, where her husband was holding the phone and in tears.
Kolarik said, "She was asking, 'What's going on here?'"
The moment is sure to bring on even more emotion as he retells the story in the future. Kolarik was interviewed for this article five days before Johannson, 53, died in his sleep Jan. 21 at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
"To make the team is a whole different ballgame," continued Kolarik, 32. "To be one of the 25 guys selected is pretty special in your hockey career."
Kolarik received that call in Mannheim, Germany, where he plays for Adler Mannheim in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
He is married to Kylee Botterman, the 2011 NCAA all-around gymnastics champion at Michigan, and their son is 3. They have an offseason home in suburban Chicago, not far from where Kylee grew up.
Ebbett, from Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, found out on a phone call from Team Canada general manager Sean Burke.
"I had been pretty nervous for the three days before that," said Ebbett, 35, who has an offseason home in Canton, Michigan. "So, to hear him say I'd made the team and was going to South Korea was kind of surreal. It was so special and still hasn't soaked in yet.
"I broke my left leg my second year in Bern (during October 2015), which has become a second home, and didn't know if I was going to play hockey again. The doctor said he didn't know if I was going to walk normal again. It hit me pretty hard, but I stuck with it and did four months of rehab in Switzerland. I came back and that was the best thing that ever happened. We won the Swiss championship that year and again the next year.
"We also won two Spengler Cups with Team Canada, and so I hope these dream couple of years just keep going."
Ebbett said Canada opens group play Feb. 15 against the Switzerland squad that includes eight of his current teammates on SC Bern, which plays in that country's National League A. Two of his other current teammates, forward Mason Raymond and defenseman Maxim Noreau, also will be wearing the red and white maple leaf for Canada.
Kolarik said he will fly to Pyeongchang on Wednesday (Feb. 7) with practices beginning shortly thereafter, and the U.S. will see its first game action Feb. 14 against Slovenia. Forward Marc Arcobello, one of Ebbett's SC Bern teammates, will join Kolarik in the red, white and blue.
So, the Olympics really can be a small world, too.
Canada, the gold medalists in the 2014 Olympics, and the U.S. could meet if they emerge from their four-country groupings.
"Canada, obviously, is a great team and a great federation," said Kolarik. "It would be a tough road to meet them, but hopefully we'll meet them there. Andrew and I keep in touch, and we've already had some friendly banter.
"When I was a younger kid at Michigan, Andrew was a leader for me, and I still look up to him. It will be pretty special to have him there and have a familiar face. I was excited for him, and he was excited for me. To play against each other in an Olympics would be pretty crazy."
Ebbett added: "That would be pretty cool if I got to play Chad. We were linemates my senior year and we're pretty good buddies. I follow him closely. We talked last week and I said, 'Who would've thought that me and you would be the two guys from all those good Michigan teams going to the Olympics?'"
They were Michigan teammates in 2004-05 and 2005-06 -- Kolarik's first two seasons and Ebbett's last two. In the second of those seasons, Ebbett (14 goals, 42 points) and Kolarik (12 goals, 38 points) were second and third in team scoring behind leader T.J. Hensick (17 goals, 52 points), a two-time first-team All-American.
Both played in separate Frozen Fours.
Kolarik tied the 2008 semifinal against Notre Dame with his second goal of the game, but the No. 1 Wolverines lost in overtime, 5-4, in Denver.
"We came out a little flat and were down, 3-0," said Kolarik. "But we were a resilient group and definitely a team of close-knit guys. We battled down to tie it up."
Ebbett assisted on Michigan's first goal in the 2003 semifinal against Minnesota in Buffalo, New York, but those Wolverines also lost in overtime, 3-2, on a goal by Thomas Vanek.
"The next year," said Ebbett, "we had Kolarik and (Kevin) Porter as freshmen and we lost to Colorado College in the quarterfinals after being up, 3-0. That still sticks with a lot of us. I know that every summer when we get together to play golf or are on an alumni weekend, that one always sticks with us. It was a tough one that stings.
"Red (Berenson) always says our bond will last forever, though, and those are probably the truest words we ever talked about. About a dozen of us get together three or four times a year and we stay in touch with emails and phone calls.
"Then, talking about the bond of Michigan hockey, I've got two friends from those teams who I used to room with, Noah Ruden and Reilly Olson, flying around the world to see me play in the Olympics."
Kolarik was a first-team All-American and scored 30 goals as a senior, playing on a dream line with Hobey Baker Award winner Porter, who netted 33, and Max Pacioretty, currently with the Montreal Canadiens. Carl Hagelin, who has won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and one with Porter, also was on that team.
Ebbett was Michigan's team MVP as a senior and played his first three seasons with goalie Al Montoya, who is still playing in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers. Ebbett also recalled Jeff Tambellini, Eric Nystrom and Brandon Rogers among teammates who stood out.
Kolarik scored 78 goals with 174 points, while Ebbett had 38 goals and 143 points as Wolverines.
Coach Berenson made an impact on both of them.
"He taught me how to be a man and break out of that child mentality of being selfish," said Kolarik. "He taught me to grow up. I owe him a ton. He turned me into a Michigan Man."
Ebbett, who could not make the tribute to Berenson last spring, said: "I sent him a card saying thanks because I wouldn't be where I am without him. He was one of the biggest influences in my hockey career. I came in as an offensive player, and Red taught me to be a two-way player, stressing the versatility I would need to play pro."
He came up with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007-08 and spent parts of eight seasons in the NHL, finishing with the Penguins three years ago. His nine goals for the Minnesota Wild in 2009-10 were a career high.
"The highlight, for sure, was playing my first game in Anaheim against St. Louis with my linemates, Chris Kunitz and Teemu Selanne," said Ebbett. "My parents flew down from B.C. to see the game, and to see the smiles on their faces was huge. And then playing two years for Vancouver, being a B.C. boy, that was a real special time for me."
Kolarik played in a combined six games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009-10 and the New York Rangers the next season, registering one assist for his NHL career.
"My second game with Columbus was in Detroit and my family was there," he said. "That was pretty special. And I'll never forget getting called up by the Rangers and playing in Madison Square Garden, a dream come true."
A love of the game of hockey kept them playing through the minors and into Europe.
"I can't imagine not playing hockey, to be honest," said Kolarik. "It's in my blood."
Kolarik last played in the NHL seven years ago. He has been on teams in Sweden, Russia, Switzerland and now Germany. Ebbett is in his third post-NHL season in Switzerland.
Ebbett said, "The love of the game is why I came over to Europe."
Neither stayed in the game to keep their Olympic dreams alive, but that is what going across the Atlantic Ocean to play did for a couple of former Wolverine linemates who now get to play for their countries.
