'Miracle on Ice' legend Jim Craig hints at what NHL stars must remember as Olympic hockey brings pros back

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For the first time in 12 years, Olympic hockey will feature the best of the best.

National Hockey League players were first allowed to play in the Winter Olympics in 1998, but that took a pause following the 2014 Games.

Prior to NHLers playing, the United States teams were mostly filled with college and amateur stars, all while facing pros from other countries. It's precisely why the "Miracle on Ice" is called exactly that — with a little help from Al Michaels, of course.

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Jim Craig celebrates Team USA's win over USSR on Feb. 22, 1980. (Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

In 2018 and 2022, the NHL again barred current players from competing, but the league reversed course for next month's competition.

Jim Craig, the goaltender from that 1980 USA team, is all for bringing the pros in.

"As long as the playing field is equal, why not have the best athletes in the world be competing against each other? You have the very best playing for each other," Craig told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

However, with every athlete having a separate responsibility of building their own brand, Craig wants each player this year to go in with the same mentality that he and his teammates had.

Players and fans stand for the U.S. national anthem prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game between Canada and the United States in Montreal on Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

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"I just hope that they have that same commitment that the amateurs had, right? That what's the most