Angela Ruggiero has probably received more exposure on ``The Apprentice Los Angeles'' than in any of her three Olympics, but she still thirsts for hockey.
Ruggiero and Jenny Potter, both three-time Olympians, were among 24 players named Wednesday to the preliminary roster of the U.S. team that will compete in the women's world championships April 3-10 in Manitoba.
Joining Ruggiero, a Choate-Rosemary Hall graduate, are four other players with Connecticut ties: two-time Olympian Julie Chu of Fairfield, 2006 Olympians Caitlin Cahow of Branford and Helen Resor, a Yale sophomore from Greenwich, and Hilary Knight, a senior at Choate in Wallingford.
Ruggiero, Chu, Cahow and Resor are among 13 players guaranteed berths on the 20-player national team. Knight, 17, will compete for one of the seven remaining spots.
``Hockey has always been a part of my life since I was 7 years old, and it will continue to be until I retire,'' said Ruggiero, director of Project Hope for the New York Islanders when not filming episodes for Donald Trump's television series.
``It's something I love. It's usually the brightest part of my day. Coming off an Olympic year, when you spend every day and every night with your teammates, you miss them.''
Nicknamed ``The Olympian'' on ``The Apprentice,'' Ruggiero, 27, was one of 18 candidates to start the NBC show's sixth season last month in the contest to be hired as a Trump apprentice. She is one of 13 still active after four people were fired by Trump and one resigned. Candidates have had to accomplish team tasks that ranged from washing cars to selling honey.
In last Sunday's show, Ruggiero's team capitalized on her hockey fame with a marketing plan that had Ruggiero selling honey from a table draped in a banner that promoted her Olympic success.
``I should be the next apprentice because I achieved success on a world platform as a result of my strong work ethic, determination and commitment, the same traits needed to succeed in business,'' said Ruggiero, who lives in Oyster Bay, N.Y.
The U.S. will go to the world championships as defending champion after finishing second to Canada in the previous eight championships. Hilary Witt, Yale women's coach, will serve as one of head coach Mark Johnson's assistants.
``Any time you win a gold medal, you remember that more than when you don't win a gold medal,'' said Ruggiero, competing in her seventh world championship. ``We'd never won a gold medal before in the world championships, and it came in a thrilling shootout.
``It was two years ago, technically speaking, but it's something everybody who was on the ice remembers.''
Canada is the reigning Olympic champion, while the U.S. won the bronze in the Turin Games. Since then, Ruggiero, in her full-time job with the Islanders, has been working on a program to develop youth hockey in China, and Chu has gone back to school.
``Returning from the Olympics, there's always the question about the transition back to a college atmosphere and to college hockey,'' said Chu, a Harvard senior and team captain. ``For me, it's been so incredibly easy. Academically, you take a little time to shake off the rust from the reading and the essay portion of academics, but it's really been great being able to go back to school.
``The team has always been like a family to me, a comfort zone, and I've been really fortunate to have a successful [19-6-2] season and to have great teammates who I really enjoy being around. I'm just trying to enjoy the last few weeks of my season and get the most out of it.''
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