Are the United States regretting some roster snubs after two games?
For any country, having a deep pool of high-quality hockey talent to choose from is a great thing. One of the catches, though, is that there will always be really good players, a.k.a. “snubs”, left off best-on-best national teams. This is something Canada has known for a long time, and a phenomenon the United States is now starting to deal with. The U.S. might have the deepest and most complete roster in the men’s hockey tournament at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, but general manager Bill Guerin is still getting plenty of criticism for the players he didn’t pick.
Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson and Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield, who are each tied for third in the NHL this season with 32 goals, were both puzzlingly passed over by Guerin. Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, who has the third-most points in the NHL among defensemen this season, was also omitted from the squad. After two relatively easy but less-than-dominant wins against Latvia and Denmark to start their tournament, it’s fair to wonder if the Americans are second-guessing leaving some of their premier talent at home.
On Daily Faceoff‘s USA vs Denmark Post Game show, hosts Shawn DePaz and Steve Peters discussed if the United States are regretting some roster snubs after two games.
Shawn DePaz: How do you feel about the guys who are not in this lineup? Obviously Clayton Keller is there, but has yet to see the ice. Unless the American win gold, there are going to be the people that bring up the Cole Caufield, Jason Robertson, even Alex DeBrincat of it all. How do you feel about the guys who have yet to put on a jersey in these Olympics.
Steve Peters: I know we talk about snubs. “Snubs” is a word that gets used a lot. I don’t think “snub” is the right word because every player that’s at this Olympic tournament for Team U.S.A. is a very good hockey player. They’re players the general manager thinks fit what they need to win. But when you look at the scoresheet in the National Hockey League, and the guys that put up numbers for the American-born players are Cole Caufield, Jason Roberston, DeBrincat. Those are the guys that are leading the way offensively, and to not see them here for a team that after the first period you’re down 2-1 and you’re going “Gosh, could we use a really good play, like a wrist shot from Jason Roberston from the top of the circle or Cole Caufield around the blue paint? Yeah, we really could.” Right now the fear’s not there, because you’re right, they eventually start scoring.
You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Saturday’s show here…