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While Jason Robertson and Adam Fox didn't make the USA Hockey Olympic roster, and Sam Bennett and Mark Scheifele weren't selected to play for Canada, that doesn't necessarily mean neither of those players will be in Milan next month.
USA Hockey and Hockey Canada have a group of players on standby who can be called in the event of an injury.
“We have identified a number of players who can be replaced if necessary,” Team USA general manager Bill Guerin said Friday. “There is a plan.”
Like Guerin, Canada general manager Doug Armstrong was unwilling to disclose how many players are on the waitlist, other than to say all were asked if they wanted to remain under consideration and told they would need to continue to undergo Olympic drug testing.
“It’s not one player, it’s one player,” Armstrong said Thursday. “What we're going to do is say, 'If this style of player gets injured, we'll have a list of players to look at. If a player of this style gets injured, we will have a list of players to look at.” The list is long, but not too long because we need players of different styles.”
Canada
Bennett, who won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with Florida, Travis Konecny and Seth Jarvis are the only skaters on the Canadian Four Nations roster not selected for Milan. Bennett and Scheifele, a forward for Winnipeg, were perhaps the most surprising omissions, with 19-year-old McLean Celebrini, Nick Suzuki and Tom Wilson all making it as rookies.
“There were a couple of players who stepped up right away,” Armstrong said when asked about Scheifele. “There are so many players who are right on the doorstep. Not a single player made it out of this team. We just had to narrow it down to 25.”
Canada returned its entire Blue Line from the Four Nations, although a standout rookie made the decision more difficult than expected. Matthew Schaefer was the top pick in last year's draft and played so well for the New York Islanders in his first season in the league that he forced himself onto the team.
“I’ll be honest with you: he wasn’t on my radar at the beginning of the season,” Armstrong said. “He is an 18-year-old man that we are talking about, he will compete in the Olympics. He has fantastic talent. Every evening he gets you up from your seat. He is more mature than his years on and off the ice. I was shocked at how quickly he infiltrated our conversations, and that’s to his credit.”
The goaltender is undoubtedly Canada's most unknown player, although Jordan Binnington's big-game ability has earned him a spot in the starting lineup, with Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper also in the lineup. Colorado's Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgwood have been on the best team in the NHL so far, which will force both of them to score potential replacements.
United States
Robertson leads all US NHL players in points and has helped Dallas reach three straight Western Conference finals. Fellow forwards Alex DeBrincat and Cole Caufield also rank in the top 10 in scoring among Americans.
“If we do it this way, you won't need a general manager. You don't need a trainer. Just do it statistically,” Guerin said. “But at the end of the day, we have a job to do and we are putting together a team. Not just a group of people. This is a team.”
Fox and former New York Rangers teammate Chris Kreider were the only American players to play in the Four Nations early last year who did not reprise their roles in Italy. The U.S. selected five left-handed hitters and just three right-handers, so Fox appears to be next in line over someone like the undersized Lane Hutson or New Jersey's Luke Hughes.
“A lot of these players, there's a chance that some of them will get the nod,” Guerin said. “We don't know what will happen. There's a lot of hockey now. There are a lot of players on this roster that are missing.”
There are several options online if anything happens to Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Ettinger or Jeremy Swayman. One of Chicago's Spencer Knight, Vancouver's Thatcher Demko and Seattle's Joey Daccord should be on speed dial just in case.
