MILAN (AP) \u2014 Even though Bo Horvat occasionally takes the train into New York City from his home on Long Island, it\u2019s not usually surrounded by two dozen of his teammates. <\/p>\n
That changed at the Olympics when he and Canada\u2019s NHL players<\/a> spent their day off from practicing riding the metro in Milan on a tour of the city. Photos and videos of Connor McDavid<\/a> and others popped up all over social media, as some of the most recognizable athletes rubbed elbows with the locals and tourists.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were crammed in there like sardines,\u201d Horvat said. \u201cWe were all in red coats and sticking out like sore thumbs. I think anybody could\u2019ve recognized us taking the subway. It was really cool to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n Captain Sidney Crosby organized the excursion to the Duomo and short-track speedskating, according to Hockey Canada general manager Doug Armstrong, and Horvat said goaltender Jordan Binnington was \u201cvolun-told\u201d he was in charge of shepherding 25 guys around town.<\/p>\n \u201cHe pulled through,\u201d Horvat said of Binnington. \u201cHe was our tour guide for the day. He did a great job. He got everybody there and everybody home.\u201d<\/p>\n They saw Canada take home silver<\/a> in the short-track speedskating mixed team relay, falling just short of host Italy. Winger Brad Marchand, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, had never seen speedskating or any other Olympic event live before.<\/p>\n \u201cTo see the intensity between the laps, how fast the athletes are going, one little mistake, how it can derail a competition not only for yourself, but for other players as well, it was awesome to be there and to root on Canada,\u201d Marchand said. \u201cIt just shows that the level of separation between winning and losing, at any level, is so small. But at this level, you\u2019re dealing with the best of the best in every sport, and the margins for error are so small.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. players meet Snoop Dogg<\/p>\n Some American players had their own fun away from the rink with the chance to meet Snoop Dogg<\/a>, who has become one of the faces<\/a> of the Olympics.<\/p>\n Matthew Tkachuk said Snoop had some great one-liners that \u201cmade for a hilarious 15 or 20 minutes.\u201d There was also a motivational element.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s \u2018Coach Snoop\u2019 so he was giving us some pump-up speeches,\u201d Dylan Larkin said. \u201cProbably one of the few people I\u2019ve met that\u2019s kind of larger than life. You look at him, and he doesn\u2019t even look real. It was an awesome experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Tage Thompson gets a big role right away<\/p>\n The U.S. returned to practice Wednesday to prepare for its opening game Thursday against Latvia, and coach Mike Sullivan revealed a top power-play unit of Quinn Hughes, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Tkachuk and Tage Thompson. The first four seemed to be automatic choices.<\/p>\n Thompson\u2019s ascension is notable because he did not make the 4 Nations Face-Off<\/a> roster a year ago and is one of just a few newcomers<\/a>. It helps that he\u2019s the tallest U.S. skater at the Olympics at 6-foot-6.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a great goal scorer (and) he has the ability to make plays,\u201d Sullivan said, adding that Thompson being a right-handed shooter also factored into the decision. \u201cTage is one of those guys that\u2019s a right shot, but he also has the skill set to play the position that we\u2019re asking him to play.<\/p>\n Filip Forsberg rides the pine as Sweden\u2019s 13th forward<\/p>\n