from Arielle Aronson of Fox Sports,

Bobby Carpenter was just 17 when he became the first American-born high school hockey player to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated in February of 1981.

The "can't miss kid" was also the first American-born player to make the jump directly from high school to the NHL later that year, and the highest US-born NHL draft pick when he was selected third overall by the Washington Capitals. He was also the first American-born player to score 50 goals in a season.

Still, Bobby Carpenter has never won a medal at the Olympics.

"I was too young and then I was pro," Carpenter told FOXSports.com. "And then when they allowed professionals to play in '98, I was too old. I was like, 'Jeez, my timing is just really bad with this one.'"

"But oh, are you kidding me? I would have loved to play in the Olympics."

This winter, Carpenter gets another chance at the Olympic dream: His daughter, Alex, is a member of the US women's hockey team.

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