SUNRISE, Fla. -- Ryan Whitney insists that it doesn't bother him. That he can't be upset, because things played out precisely the way he expected them to.

		Scouting report Matchup: Penguins at Florida Panthers, 7:38 p.m. today, BankAtlantic Center. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WWSW-FM (94.5). Probable goaltenders: Sebastien Caron for Penguins. Roberto Luongo for Panthers. Penguins: Are 0-5, with one tie, in past six visits to Florida. ... Have been tied after two periods just three times in 22 games, going 1-1-1 in them. ... Mario Lemieux has one goal in his past six games. Panthers: Are 4-4-1 at BankAtlantic Center. ... Have scored conference-low 48 goals. ... Home-ice power play ranks among league's worst, with conversion rate of 11.5 percent. Hidden stat: Panthers have allowed three or more goals in a period in three consecutive games.

That's what he says, anyway. With his mouth. Not his eyes.

Whitney, the Penguins' rookie defenseman, learned a few days ago that he has no chance to be part of Team USA at the Olympics in Italy this winter. He is not on USA Hockey's preliminary roster for the Games, and players must be on that list to be eligible for selection to the team that's going to Turin.

Although USA Hockey has not released the names of the players on that list, federation executive Jim Johansson confirmed via e-mail that "Ryan Whitney is not under consideration for selection to the 2006 Olympic team."

Penguins forward Ryan Malone apparently still is. He had a drug test administered Monday on behalf of USA Hockey; that Whitney was not asked to do the same was another piece of evidence that he wasn't in Team USA's short-term plans.

Whitney realized he was a long shot to compete in the 2006 Olympics when he wasn't invited to Team USA's orientation camp in September, and starting the season in the American Hockey League probably guaranteed that he wouldn't turn up on USA Hockey's radar.

"It would have been nice, but I didn't expect it at all, so there's no room for disappointment," Whitney said. "I'm not disappointed because I never really thought about it.

"If it did happen, it would have been amazing. And, hopefully, it does in the future, but I'm not disappointed right now."

Whitney said he has been targeting the Games in Vancouver a little more than four years from now for a long time, but the reality is that he probably would not have been out of place on the U.S. defense in Turin.

Team USA does not figure to be particularly strong on defense, and Whitney has the size, skill and skating ability to be effective in any kind of game, including those contested on the larger international ice surface.

He enters the Penguins' game against Florida at 7:38 p.m. today at the BankAtlantic Center with nine assists in 11 games since being recalled from the Penguins' minor-league team in Wilkes-Barre. It will be a long time before he sees another minor-league game without forking over the price of a ticket.

"He can control play in his own zone, he can hit the outlet guy," Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk said. "His first pass is something. It's been apparent since he turned pro.

"His first pass seems to be in the area [of the intended recipient], and he seems to know what he's trying to do. And he certainly has the foot speed and the skating ability to be on the big ice surface, as well."

Even though he has been in the NHL less than a month, Whitney is logging an average of 24 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time per game. That's more than any teammate except Sergei Gonchar, who plays 25:39.

He is being used in all situations, and Olczyk has enough faith in him to give Whitney and his partner, Steve Poapst, some high-profile assignments, like playing against Peter Forsberg's line during the Penguins' recent home-and-home series against Philadelphia.

"I think he's feeling more comfortable [than when he arrived in the NHL]," Olczyk said. "He's skating with the puck a little more than he was earlier.

"I don't see him playing any different. I just seeing him feeling a little more comfortable and confident."

Whitney hasn't maintained his early scoring pace -- he rang up seven assists in his first four NHL games -- but no one, including Whitney, expected him to continue accumulating points that way. Not unless they believed he was capable of producing one of the most productive seasons by a defenseman in NHL history.

"I knew that wasn't going to happen," Whitney said.

What he probably didn't know was that he would move into such a prominent role this early in his NHL career, become a player the coaching staff is willing to send over the boards at any time.

"I'm happy," Whitney said. "I'm playing a lot, and that proves they have confidence in me. I just want to keep playing the way I'm playing."

If he can do that -- and continue to move along the learning curve that young defenseman experience in the NHL -- there won't be much danger of USA Hockey officials overlooking him four years from now. Getting the call then would be in keeping with Whitney's original timetable.

"I think my realistic goal is to play in 2010," he said. "I'd love to play then."

No doubt, but Whitney wouldn't have minded doing it in Turin a few months from now, either.

And he might have done it a lot better than the decision-makers at USA Hockey realize.