The Team Canada roster has finally been revealed, and Nick Suzuki will represent his country.
Team Canada finally revealed its roster ahead of the Milano Cortina Olympics, and Montreal Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki has been selected. The centerman has been on an absolute tear since he was snubbed for the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year, and his performance left the national team’s brass with minimal choice. Suzuki received a call from Julien BriseBois early this morning after a night when he could barely sleep. Speaking on RDS, the captain was visibly excited and he'll now have a weight off his mind.
After 39 games, Suzuki is on pace for the best season of his career with 44 points, which projects to 93 points on a full season, which would be a four-point improvement on his output from last season, which stood at 89 points.
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Suzuki’s role with the national selection is likely to be much different from the one he plays with the Habs, but he’ll no doubt be thrilled with the opportunity to take part in the Olympics, no matter the role he’s asked to play. From the moment he entered the league, the 26-year-old has shown himself to be versatile, playing up and down the lineup, at even strength, on the penalty kill, and on the power play.
Whenever Martin St-Louis needs someone to fulfil a delicate mission, the captain is the man he turns to. The forward was just 23 years old when he became the youngest captain in the storied franchise's history.
Team Canada’s roster includes a lot of the usual suspects. At forward: Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart, Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, Tom Wilson, Macklin Celebrini, Bo Horvat, and Mark Stone will join Suzuki. On the blueline: Cale Makar, Josh Morissey, Shea Theodore, Devon Toews, Travis Sanheim, Drew Doughty, Thomas Harley, and Colton Parayko have been selected. In net, Logan Thompson, Darcy Kuemper, and Jordan Binnington were the chosen options. Three forwards who were part of the Team at the 4 Nations have been omitted: Sam Bennett, Travis Konecny, and Seth Jarvis.
Suzuki was not the only Olympics hopeful on the team, although he will be the only one to compete for Canada. Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson are both hoping to receive the call from Team USA, but the roster announcement is not scheduled until January 2. Oliver Kapanen is also hoping to get a call from the Finnish team, just like Patrik Laine, although his core muscle surgery might have thrown a spanner in the works. Juraj Slafkovsky has already been named to the Slovakian team, and Jacub Dobes hopes to be one of the goaltenders selected by Czechia.
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