10 NHL Players in Danger of Missing Out at the Olympics
Now that we're a week into December, we're ever closer to the New Year's Eve deadline for countries to submit their rosters for the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy. That means NHL players have just a few more weeks to impress the GMs and staff of their home countries to make the team or to get healthy enough to make it.
With the number of injuries we've seen around the league, the stress is sky-high for the people putting together the rosters and the players who want to be on them to be back in time to play.
We've put together a list of players who are in danger of missing out on their chance of going to the Olympics. If this has a stronger focus on the U.S.A. and Canada, you'll have to forgive us for that, because those teams are in the most competitive situations.
Who's impressing? Who's hurting bad? Who needs to step it up? Let's dig in.
Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
1 of 10
Who: Team Canada
Why he will make it: Macklin Celebrini is having a monster breakout season with the Sharks. He's second in the NHL in scoring behind would-be Canada teammate Nathan MacKinnon and just ahead of would-be teammates Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard in the scoring race.
Celebrini's incredible season has forced Canada's management to reconsider whether they need to include him on a team that won the Four Nations Face-Off a year ago without him. Celebrini's addition to the team would give them yet another dominant playmaker and scorer, allowing Canada to beat the rest of the world's pants off throughout the tournament with ease by outscoring everyone.
Why he won't make it: Canada doesn't really need to add Celebrini to the roster. At 19 years old, there are plenty of years ahead of him to be part of a dominating Canadian roster, particularly when older players start to come back to the pack. Canada will have MacKinnon, McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Brayden Point up the middle as it is, and that's not even factoring in grittier guys like Sam Bennett and Anthony Cirelli, who will surely have a role to play.
It may sound ludicrous to omit Celebrini from the roster, but Canada did it before in 2006, when Crosby didn't make it in favor of veterans. Of course, Canada also didn't medal at the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy.
Huh...something to think about in a few weeks maybe.
Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
2 of 10
Who: Team USA
Why he'll make it: Hughes was an easy choice for the United States' Four Nations Face-Off roster because he's one of the most prolific playmakers and scorers out of the U.S.
He's a perennial leader of the Devils in scoring, and his creativity with the puck, along with how fast he plays, makes him one of the most dangerous players on the ice anytime he's out there. He's dynamic and a shoo-in for the team... provided he's back from the freak dinner injury he sustained recently.
Why he won't make it: Injuries have been a nightmare for Hughes throughout his career. Every great season he's had has seen him miss some time, while in others he's missed swaths of time, which have knee-capped the Devils' hopes. The injury that's got him out now came from an off-ice team dinner situation that assuredly wasn't fun to experience and is probably a bit embarrassing in the aftermath because it's kept him off the ice since mid-November. He needed surgery on his finger, and the two-month timetable really pushes the envelope for when Team USA GM Bill Guerin has to submit a roster.
If there's any doubt about Hughes' health, the USA has a host of players they can name in his place. The only problem, then, is that they'd be without Jack Hughes unless someone else was injured later.
Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks
3 of 10
Who: Team Canada
Why he'll make it: Much like Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard is having a monster breakout season. Unlike Celebrini, Bedard has a little bit more playing experience. Bedard is among the top five in scoring in the NHL, and he's got the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoff race, maybe a little bit sooner than expected.
Still, Bedard, being 20 years old and in his third NHL season, and now officially crushing it, should mean he can be part of a Canadian team that's more than capable of accommodating his presence. Bedard's brilliant play this season, not to mention his incredible shot, would add a different kind of wrinkle to their lineup.
Why he won't make it: Unfortunately, the reasons for leaving Bedard off the roster are eerily similar to why Celebrini won't make it either. One of the biggest things they stress when putting rosters together for competitions like this is two-way play and the ability to play hard minutes against elite competition. It's a fair worry because when you're dealing with the U.S., Sweden, Finland, Czechia, and the rest of the world, those games can get really tough, really fast, and with so few games, showing inexperience in a moment in any of the games at the Olympics can be the difference between winning gold or not.
Is that fair to Bedard if they don't think he's ready yet? Probably not because you don't know, but the thrill of seeing young superstars go off doesn't outweigh the reality that Canada has to win gold or else it's a failure.
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Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
4 of 10
Who: Team USA
Why he'll make it: There's no doubt that Connor Hellebuyck's legacy as a goalie in the NHL is solidified. He's won the Vezina three times, and not just won it last year, but was also voted the league MVP. He's the best goalie in the league, and even though he had some hiccups in the playoffs the past few years, it doesn't take away from his brilliance the rest of the time.
Hellebuyck performed outstandingly during the Four Nations for Team USA, and that he wasn't named one of the first six players for the Olympic team was a bit of a surprise. Then again, the U.S. has the best goalie depth in the world, and anything can happen in the lead-up to the Games in Milano Cortina. Anything like a sudden need for surgery, for instance, which Hellebuyck had recently had on his knee to take care of something that had been nagging him since training camp. That surgery has put him on the shelf for 4-6 weeks.
Why he won't make it: Although Hellebuyck seems poised to be back on schedule from the procedure on his knee, the timeline for recovery puts him right on track for when rosters have to be submitted. Provided Hellebuyck hasn't had any setbacks in recovery, and everything progresses normally, he'll be good to go, back playing for the Winnipeg Jets, and ready for the Olympics.
However, if things don't go as smoothly as hoped and there are interruptions to his recovery schedule, the United States' collection of top-tier goalies will come in handy. From Jake Oettinger to Jeremy Swayman to Spencer Knight to Thatcher Demko to Joey Daccord, there are a lot of would-be substitutes for the roster who would be more than capable of stepping in. None of them has the hardware collection Hellebuyck has, but many of them are having great starts to their seasons, nonetheless, and a track record to match.
Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals
5 of 10
Who: Team Canada
Why he'll make it: It's not as if Canada's Four Nations roster was really lacking much of anything on their way to winning the title, but with how feisty and ferocious the matchups against the United States were, particularly with Brady and Matthew Tkachuk hitting everyone in red and white, having a counterpuncher to them like Tom Wilson would've gone a long way. It would've exponentially increased the emotions and provided a lot more nitro glycerin in their matchups.
While we know all about Wilson's physical play, fighting ability, and penchant for being a habitual line-stepper with how clean or dirty his hits are, the guy can score goals and make life miserable for defenders around their own net with his strength. Although Canada has Mark Stone to play that kind of way, what Wilson provides is a fair bit different. If Canada wants to make the roster meaner, he's the guy.
Why he won't make it: We pointed out Mark Stone already as a guy who does a lot of things Wilson does, but does so more often without taking penalties, but it's Wilson's knack for racking up PIMs that would be a reason to leave him out of the mix. These games all get heated, not just the Canada-USA games, and although Wilson has been much better at playing it cool, the Olympics provide a vastly different setting than any NHL games outside the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The risk of Wilson doing something that earns a suspension or an extended time in the box during an important game has to be considered. That said, if Team Canada's management was what it was 20 years ago, Wilson would be a mortal lock to make the team.
J.T. Miller, New York Rangers
6 of 10
Who: Team USA
Why he'll make it: The surly and nasty edge Team USA plays with at times can be centered around the way J.T. Miller plays the game. He goes hard, attacks the play all over the ice, and can body up defensively as well as crash the net, and does it without a care for what opponents think.
Miller embodies the spirit the American coaching staff wants to see out of all their players, and that he will do whatever is asked of him in international games goes a long way. In previous seasons, he's been able to equally pile up points and be a playmaker as much as he can be an edgy irritant to opponents. Miller was an easy pick for the U.S. team at Four Nations, and the effort he put in throughout that tournament served them well.
Why he won't make it: For all the good things we said about why he will make the team, why he won't be is basically made up of how things have gone this season for him and the New York Rangers.
Miller hasn't been as effective a scorer this season (his 18 points tie him for 35th among American players, with five others) as he has been the past few years, and the Rangers' overall lack of scoring is a significant problem for them. Even Miller's gritty style of play hasn't worked as well in New York this season, and the Rangers, on the whole, have struggled, in part because of it. He's not solely to blame, but being the captain of the Rangers, he's the guy who has to answer for all of it.
Although Miller's role on Team USA would be clear, the big question for Bill Guerin and Mike Sullivan to ask is if it can be better fulfilled by other players or not.
Cole Caufield, MontrƩal Canadiens
7 of 10
Who: Team USA
Why he'll make it: Cole Caufield is one of the most dangerous and dynamic scorers in the NHL. His size allows him to get around the ice like a water bug would on a pond, and he's able to get into areas unnoticed to get on top of loose pucks or find an open area to unleash his superb shot. His 16 goals tie him with Matt Boldy and Cutter Gauthier for most among American skaters, two behind top American scorer Jason Robertson.
Caufield would provide great depth on the wing and would make life miserable for slower teams and defenders trying to keep up with him or contain him in the offensive zone. Even more, Caufield would be incredibly dangerous for the U.S. on the power play, whether he was playing at the circle for one-timers or pouncing on pucks around the net.
Caufield also sort of represents the chances other U.S. forwards in similar roles might have, such as Tage Thompson, Clayton Keller, Will Smith, or Logan Cooley. Similar skills and abilities at various sizes and strengths.
Why he won't make it:Ā One noticeable part of Caufield is his size, and while he's incredibly skilled and an awesome scorer, the U.S. already has a couple of similar players in mind who are built like Jack Hughes and Kyle Connor. Those players also have skill sets similar to Caufield's, which makes him an ideal player to maybe replace guys like that due to injury, but more than likely makes him too similar to put on the team with them.
On paper and in video games, having a whole line of guys like Caufield, Connor, and Hughes would be fun and exciting, leading to a boatload of goals. In practice, however, when running up against teams that play fast and physical and make life miserable to get around the offensive zone, having a lot of players with a similar makeup like that can cause their offense to disappear. Whether we like it or not, a lot of how teams like the US and Canada form their rosters is done with the other team in mind for future matchups, and too many smaller forwards would cause more problems for the team than against.
Morgan Geekie, Boston Bruins
8 of 10
Who: Team Canada
Why he'll make it: Let's start with a trivia question. Who are the top three goal scorers from Canada going back to last season? First is Nathan MacKinnon with 56, and Sam Reinhart is third with 54. Second? Morgan Geekie with 55. The kind of offensive production the Boston Bruins have gotten from Geekie has given them life this season and provided a ray of hope a year ago while they sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
Geekie's knack for scoring at 5-on-5 (nine of his 55 goals are on the power play) is a massive difference maker in Boston, and it's landed him on the radar for attention around the NHL in a big way, especially now with the Bruins winning games. It's been such a late, sudden push by Geekie to earn attention for what he's doing that it's actually working against him, which is too bad, because with how he's playing, he'd be a great sneaky addition to Canada's roster.
Why he won't make it: Unfortunately for Morgan Geekie, he's one of many, many, many centers who should be under consideration for the team. Between MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, Connor Bedard, Sam Bennett, Nick Suzuki, Macklin Celebrini, and more, he's really lost in the mix despite being a goal-scoring maven for the past season and a quarter.
Geekie also wasn't part of Hockey Canada's summer orientation camp, which was meant to bring together everyone who might be part of the team, while everyone else we mentioned was there. We're sure part of that was because they wanted to see if last season's 30-plus goal pop-off was a flash in the pan, but given how he's played this year, that's not the case.
The deck for Canada is loaded to draw from, and it's somewhat stacked against Geekie.
Adam Fox, New York Rangers
9 of 10
Who: Team USA
Why he'll make it: Adam Fox has shown all season with the Rangers why he's so important to them. His ability to drive possession, move the puck with ease, and control the flow of the offensive attack is unmatched on that roster. The Blueshirts were clearly a better and more dangerous team with the puck when he was on the ice.
That's always been the case, but with the Rangers struggling to score regularly, Fox's abilities have stood out that much more. It's funny how that works out for the best players: when times get tough, they tend to look a lot better as they try to turn things around.
Unfortunately, a recent injury to Fox has slowed them from the blue line, and if he's out for an extended period, that bodes poorly for their chances of getting better situated in the playoff race.
Why he won't make it: The upper-body injury he sustained on Nov. 30 against Tampa Bay is too brutal to come back from in time for Italy. Fox's injury landed him on long-term injured reserve immediately, and while that's as much a cap move as it is a roster move, if his injury wasn't so bad, they wouldn't force him out of action for as long as LTIR demands.
Going on LTIR means missing at least 10 games and 24 days, which puts him out until around Christmas. With Team USA needing to submit a roster less than a week later, they'll need to know how serious Fox's injury is before nominally including him on the team. While they could name him and replace him later (the likely move), it's shaping up to be a daunting road back, given the condensed schedule and the rehab time needed to return.
Losing Fox would be a brutal blow to the U.S. defense, and it could alter how the blue line is assembled.
Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim Ducks
10 of 10
Who: Team USA
Why he'll make it: The way the Ducks have jumped out and attacked the game and the league this season has shown that their mix of youth and veterans are coming together to stun everyone, and Cutter Gauthier is a big part of that. While Leo Carlsson is leading the charge, Gauthier is one of the top goal scorers among Americans.
Gauthier's 16 goals this season tie him with Matt Boldy and Cole Caufield for second among Americans, and those guys are all chasing Jason Robertson for the lead with 18. More impressive still is that Gauthier is fourth in points among American skaters, behind only Robertson, Jack Eichel, and Kyle Connor. Those are at least two guys who will be on the Team USA roster, and if, somehow, Robertson doesn't make it, we'll have a lot more to yell about.
Still, Gauthier is putting in a great season, and while it was new Ducks teammate Chris Kreider who was on the Four Nations roster last year, Gauthier would be a worthy heir to that spot given the way he plays. He's been outstanding in past competitions playing for the United States, and there's no reason to think he wouldn't be again at the Olympics.
Why he won't make it: If there's something that coaches and executives really resist adding to their teams for major international competition, it's young players, and Gauthier, at 21 years old and in just his second full NHL season, that alone makes him a tough sell to claim a spot on the team.
Gauthier has been outstanding in past competitions playing for the United States, including having nine points in 10 games during Team USA's run to the gold medal at the World Championships in May. Even with all that experience, the number that often means the most is age, and 21 would be really young for this Team USA roster.
That's not a proper excuse, especially when Boldy and Brock Faber were part of the American roster at Four Nations, but then again, that was a hometown call from Bill Guerin. It was a good call, mind you, but it shows that if a really young player is going to get the call, it helps to have the boss make it.
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