Mike Sullivan on coaching Team USA, facing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, belief in Penguins goalies and revamping the bottom 6

Mike Sullivan rattled off the names as if he was reciting his current Penguins roster.

However, it was a roster from 41 years ago. And it wasn’t the Penguins.

“Mike Eruzione. Jim Craig. Jack O’Callahan. David Silk,” Sullivan said. “Those were the four guys from BU (Boston University) where I ended up going to college. Those were guys I looked up to as a kid. They were such great players.”

And there were many more from that 1980 Team USA Olympic ice hockey squad that the Penguins coach could have recited during an interview with Mark Madden on 105.9 The X Monday.

Last week, Sullivan was named head coach of the American team that will go to Beijing for the 2022 Olympics. The Boston native was 12 years old when he watched the famed 1980 “Miracle on Ice” crew shock its way to an American victory in Lake Placid.

“I was involved with a local hockey team that traveled a fair amount,” Sullivan said during the interview. “And all I remember of that whole experience was every time we were in a rink, we were trying to find a TV. In the pro shop. In the lobby of the rink. Just to try to check in on the team and how they were doing. … So I was around my own peers and my own teammates playing the game that I love when that whole experience was taking place.”

Now Sullivan is going to be tasked with attempting to get America’s first gold medal in the sport since that historic tournament.

“It’s quite an honor to have this opportunity. I’m really excited about it,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of really good American-born coaches out there. So the fact that they have entrusted me with this great responsibility is humbling. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.”

If NHL players are allowed to participate in the games — and that’s still not a guarantee as squabbles over expanded media rights deals continue — Sullivan will also likely be in the tricky position of coaching against some of his star players, such as Sidney Crosby (Canada) and Evgeni Malkin (Russia).

“It’s strange when (Crosby) is on the other side, or Geno is on the other side,” Sullivan replied. “I have so much respect for those guys and how good they are. It will be a big challenge for us, that’s for sure.”

When it comes to building an American roster, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman, USA Hockey’s John Vanbiesbrouck and former Penguin Bill Guerin (now general manager of the Minnesota Wild) will be part of the team aiding Sullivan. And he thinks a lot of the heavy lifting will be done during the next few months.

“We’ll have a lot of preliminary discussion between now and when training camps start,” Sullivan said. “I think that will be very helpful so that when the NHL season does start, all of us are going to be so invested in our respective NHL teams that it will be difficult to find the time to dedicate to it. But we’ll find windows of opportunity.”

Sullivan and Madden also discussed some Penguins-related matters.

• On the franchise’s decision to avoid making any major free agent signings or trades: “We didn’t have to go out and have to replace the top of our lineup. That is a very difficult challenge. It is also a costly challenge. We’ve been so fortunate to have the core group of players that we have in Pittsburgh that make up those critical positions for us. The top end of our lineup is consistent, and it is strong.”

• On new players who will be replacing departed forwards Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann: “Brock McGinn is a real quality player. We think he is going to help us on the penalty kill. We think there is another dimension there offensively that we can tap into. He is a really stable 200-foot player that plays on both sides of the puck. He is a guy that plays inside so he gets to the net front.

“Danton Heinen is another guy that is going to give us some added depth as well. He has the ability to play up and down the lineup. He has got good offensive instincts. He could potentially score 15-20 goals for us.”

Heinen’s career-high with Boston was 16 in 2017-18. Sullivan also referenced Evan Rodrigues, Drew O’Connor and Radim Zohorna as players currently with the franchise who could take on bigger roles next season.

• On his approach to training camp knowing that Evgeni Malkin will be injured to start the season: “That’s why the depth is so important. There were times last year when we didn’t have him and guys moved up and filled roles. In some ways, that galvanizes a team. I believe that’s what we went through last year as a group.”

• On the notion of starting 2021-22 with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith as the goaltenders: “I think these guys are real good goaltenders. Tristan Jarry is a really good young goaltender. There were times last year when our goaltending tandem was one of the best in the league. It’s unfortunate that Casey was hurt during the course of the playoffs. But the tandem that we had are really quality goaltenders and we believe in these guys.

“It’s a tall task to backstop a team when the stakes are high. I believe Tristan is only going to get better through that difficult experience (losing to the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2021 playoffs). We learn way more from our failures than our successes. And I don’t think Tristan is any different. He’s a high-character kid. He’s going to learn from the experience. And he is only going to get better.”