The 1980 United States men’s hockey team provided a seminal moment for many hockey fans across the country when the team’s underdog run to the gold medal, highlighted by its historic upset of the Soviet Union in the medal round, captured the hearts of a nation and created countless new fans.

One of them was a young boy in Hamden, Connecticut, named Chris Scoppetto. Now, 46 years later, Scoppetto will be a part of a U.S. Olympic hockey team himself, serving as the team’s head equipment manager — the latest milestone in a decorated career.

“One of my first memories is the ‘80 Olympic team with guys like Mike Eruzione and Jack O’Callahan,” Scoppetto recalled. “So just to be affiliated with that is special.”

Scoppetto began his journey as the self-described “stick boy” for the New Haven Nighthawks, an American Hockey League team that existed from 1972-1992 and was affiliated with the Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, and Los Angeles Kings. He worked his way up, landing his first NHL opportunity in 1997 with the Phoenix Coyotes, for whom he started a career that has now exceeded 2,000 NHL games.

After two seasons with the Coyotes, Scoppetto joined the Nashville Predators in just their second season as a franchise. He’s since made stops with the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers before joining the New Jersey Devils, his current team, in 2016. During that time, he’s worked with Hall of Famers such as Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom, as well as some American Olympic legends.

“Growing up with guys [such as] Brian Leetch and Chris Chelios, just looking up to those guys wearing the [USA] jersey, it’s just a huge honor,” said Scoppetto. The two Hall of Fame defensemen combined to play in six Olympics, both winning silver at the 2002 Salt Lake City session. They were also part of the last American team to win a best-on-best international competition in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Scoppetto’s gamedays start early, with morning skates for a night game typically held around 9-10 a.m. After that concludes, players will return around three hours before puck drop. In between, he and the rest of the equipment staff are hard at work, doing everything from sharpening skates to setting out jerseys. With the Olympics, it’s his job to make sure everyone’s equipment, from sticks to sweaters, makes it to Milan safe and sound.

Once the puck drops, Scoppetto’s job isn’t done. He has to be alert for potential equipment malfunctions, with broken sticks a possibility on every shot or pass. And his duties have only grown since he first entered the NHL over a quarter century ago.

“Guys come back and a lot of guys change their [skate] blades now," he detailed. "That's one of the big innovations in the past 15 years — instead of taking the whole skate off, we just change their steel on the bench."

Scoppetto brings past international experience to the table, working for Team USA for four world championships, the 2004 World Cup, and last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Other than that four-game tournament last February, Scoppetto hasn’t worked extensively with most of the American roster, with one obvious exception: the Devils’ top player, Jack Hughes, whom Scoppetto has known since before Hughes broke into the NHL as the No. 1 draft pick in 2018.

“I love Jack. I was actually fortunate enough to be with him before he was drafted at a world championships, and then we drafted them later that summer,” Scoppetto said. “So I have a great relationship with him. I was at the All-Star Game with them in Las Vegas, and he took my son out to do one of the All-Star [events] together. … It’s just been a great relationship on and off the ice.”

Scoppetto is also close with Team USA brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk. Their father, Keith, a four-time Olympian (1992, 1998, 2002, 2006) and 1996 World Cup champion, was a player for the Coyotes during Scoppetto’s tenure with the team. Now, after a career working with numerous Olympians, Scoppetto is honored by the opportunity to be part of an Olympic team himself.

“Just being named to the team, just getting a call from [Team USA general manager] Billy Guerin, who I’ve known, been friends with for a long, long time, and just getting that call from him was extra special,” Scoppetto revealed.

Scopetto has been a champion once before, working for the Red Wings during their most recent Stanley Cup championship in 2008. It won’t be easy for the United States to capture its first gold medal since the one that sparked his hockey passion almost a half century ago. Scopetto had a front-row seat for Connor McDavid’s overtime goal in the 4 Nations championship game for Canada, adding fuel to the American fire after Canada eliminated the U.S. in the last two Olympics featuring NHL players (2010, 2014), one of which included another overtime winner thanks to Sidney Crosby’s golden goal at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Other nations such as Finland, Sweden, and Czechia pose a threat as well. But even the thought of reaching the top of the podium almost renders Scopetto speechless — a reflection of the childhood joy America’s last Olympic gold brought him all those years ago.

“Being on the bench with [the team], and getting to spend this time with the best players in the world and representing our country — which is the biggest thing we could do, besides serving for it," Scopetto said. "When we land in Milan, I don’t think I’ll have words for it.”