On December 31 and January 2, the United States and Canada announced their final Olympic rosters for their men’s ice hockey teams. With teams built on National Hockey League (NHL) superstars, fans were still not happy with the outcome. Both countries want one thing: the gold medal. Therefore, putting their best to represent their country is a given. General Manager Bill Guerin of team USA picked with “careful consideration.” But should Guerin have been more careful picking his team? While there were notable names on the rosters, there were players who were excluded that left fans confused and angry.
I was confused about both of their selections.
With having limited spots on their roster, the USA did a good job by picking standout players like Matt Boldy, Auston Matthews, Brock Faber, Zach Werenski, Tage Thompson and Jack and Quinn Hughes. But, they also included players that myself and others might not have picked.
Forward J.T. Miller from the New York Rangers was selected to come play. Many fans were upset that they would select him over Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars. Robertson has been having a notably good start to the season, averaging 1.21 points per game, and as of January 7th, he has 52 points in 44 games. He is completely outplaying Miller, who has only averaged 0.81 points per game and has 22 points in 35 games. In addition, Miller got injured in early January and has yet to return making Roberston the more fit player for the Olympics.
Another player I feel should have been left out of the roster is Matthew Tkachuk. Although Tkachuk won the Stanley Cup for the 2024-2025 season, he suffered an injury that has caused him to stay out of the 2025-2026 season so far. Tkachuk has not played since game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup finals back in June. With him not having played since, it makes me wonder why they chose him as one of their 14 forwards rather than someone who has been having an impact this season. Alex DeBrincat, who plays for the Detroit Red Wings, has had not only an incredible season but also an incredible career. Unlike Tkachuk, DeBrincat hasn’t missed a regular-season game since 2021, earning him the status of having an “Ironman streak” (the Ironman streak is given to players who have played the most consecutive regular season games). On top of that, DeBrincat has reached 68 points, which is his personal best over the last three seasons. In this situation, DeBrincat seems like the more reliable player compared to Tkachuk.
Team Canada had a similar situation to the United States. Canada’s General Manager, Doug Armstrong, did a phenomenal job for the majority when picking his team. Being able to have Macklin Celebrini (who became the third teenager to record 26 points in 13 games behind Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky), Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid all on the same team is something every Canadian dreams of. However, there is one notable player who caused heads to turn when he was left out of the roster. Connor Bedard. At only 20 years old, Bedard has set the standard for the NHL, averaging a point per game. As of early 2026, he has 174 points in 183 games. He is an outstanding playmaker with a shot of 83.5mph. Bedard also led his 2023 World Junior team to gold with 23 points and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. He was the first overall pick by Chicago in 2023 and won the Calder Trophy for the 2023-24 season. This award goes to the top rookie. Obviously, Bedard is an outstanding player and an outstanding teammate. People wanted a chance to see Bedard and Celebrini playing on the same team; that duo would have made for a record-breaking team, so we wonder why they decided to leave Bedard out.
With both Team USA and Canada stacked with outstanding players, we are eager to see if the players left in and out will make that big impact everyone says it will. Personally, I think Team Canada has the better team. The winter games for these two teams begin on Thursday, February 12. So for now, we wait to see these two teams on the ice to prove which one drafted the better team.
