Mike Kemp remembers watching Jake Guentzel as a youngster on the ice.

That was well before Guentzel turned in a standout hockey career for Omaha and he's continued that with a decades-long stint in the NHL.

"I knew he would be a great college hockey player, but he's taken it above where most of us thought he would," said Kemp, who has long been associated with Omaha Hockey and whose name is on the Baxter Arena ice.

Now comes another milestone moment for Guentzel and Kemp can't wait to watch the former Maverick on the world stage.

The 31-year-old Guentzel was selected to play for Team USA in the Winter Olympics, which begin this week in Italy. The United States' first men's hockey game will be Feb. 12.

This will be the first time since 2014 that NHL players are allowed to play in the Olympics.

"To have someone go now when there's NHL players competing and it's the highest level, it's amazing," Kemp said. "This is really a special thing because it's the best of the best in the world."

Guentzel got his first taste of international hockey competition last year when he played for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He ended up scoring three goals in four games in that event.

"He's one of the top players in the whole country. Anytime you're in that category, you're a pretty special player," Omaha head coach Mike Gabinet said.

Gabinet and Kemp echoed the same sentiments about what makes the 5-foot-11, 176-pound forward special.

"He's not a real big guy, but he's consistently one of the top players in the National Hockey League," Gabinet said. "His intelligence is unbelievable. He's in the point, point, point one percent of how to think the game."

Added Kemp: "He's not the biggest guy, he's not the strongest guy, but he is the smartest guy. They always say hockey is a game of read and reaction. You don't sit down and draw a play up in the dirt and go execute. It's a game where you need to be smart and he is one of those players who is gifted with intelligence. He just understands the game and that's why he's as successful as he is because he knows where to go."

Guentzel showed that attribute during his three seasons with the Mavericks. He helped lead Omaha to a Men's Frozen Four appearance in 2015 and he scored a goal in the national semifinal against Providence.

He then played eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the Stanley Cup in 2017. He's spent the past couple of seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He's closing in on 300 career NHL goals, and three times he's scored at least 40 goals in a season.

Now Guentzel is getting a chance to play in the Olympics. He's an Omaha native who is an Omaha Hockey alum.

"It's a huge point of pride," Kemp said of having a former Maverick in the Olympics. "When we see any of our kids get that exposure and they talk about our program, it means the world."

Gabinet said when it comes to the program, Guentzel comes back to Omaha in the summer and has always been gracious with his time. Now Guentzel will be in the hockey spotlight.

"We try to celebrate our alumni as much as we can and educate people about a player like him who has been through our program," Gabinet said. "It's so positive."