4 players 'have likely' played themselves off Team Canada's roster.
Disappointment in the future for these 4 Canadians?
This may end up being a moot point if the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players Association pull out of the Olympics, but it sounds like there is a growing sense that some key players may not make the final cut when it comes to Canada's roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Earlier this month Team Canada general manager, and current St. Louis Blues GM, Doug Armstrong shared his thoughts on the roster selection and revealed that a number of players having hot starts to the season wouldn't be making the cut, due to how the format was set up.
"The part that a lot of people probably don't understand is that our long list had to be in, in early October," said Armstrong. "That's the list you're choosing from so you really eliminate any player having great starts this season from being part of the Olympic team. It's unfortunate for guys that are having great Octobers/Novembers that weren't on that long list that won't be part of the team but that's just the way it is for all the countries."
Armstrong didn't name any players in particular at the time but I suspect that the likes of Nazem Kadri would be among the group of players who, likely would have earned a spot based on their performance this season, but weren't included on that list in October.
What Armstrong did not discuss however was the possibility that some players might be playing themselves off the list due to poor performances this season. In a recent article for the Toronto Sun, controversial columnist Steve Simmons named 4 players whose poor starts to the season, he believes, has cost them their spot.
Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele, Islanders’ Mathew Barzal, Vancouver’s Bo Horvat, and Montreal’s Nick Suzuki have likely played themselves off the Team Canada list.
Scheifele has 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points through his first 15 games of the season and currently sits at a plus minus of -2 on the season.
Barzal has 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in 17 games and is a -8 on an Islanders team that has been horrible to start the season.
Horvat, like Barzal, is stuck in an ugly situation in Vancouver and has 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points on the season.
Suzuki, like Horvat and Barzal before him, has been playing for a bad Canadiens team and has 4 goals and 11 assists for 15 points ion 23 games.
None of these guys are putting up horrible numbers by any stretch of the imagination and they are all still quality NHL players, but that won't cut it went it comes to making Canada's roster when it comes to Olympic Men's Hockey. Canada has a veritable All Star Team from which to pick and choose their players from and simply having a solid performance won't get you into that elite group.
There's still time for them to turn it around, but Hockey Canada may already be looking in different directions.
