Despite a standout season, Wyatt Johnston is overlooked for Team Canada's roster, favoring familiar faces from the Four Nations Faceoff instead.
Wyatt Johnston is having his best season in what is already a fantastic four year career, but despite being added to the reserve list for Team Canada, he was passed over as a possible last minute addition.
Team Canada went with a familiar name to their most recent team from the Four Nations Faceoff when they chose Seth Jarvis to be the second late addition to the roster headed to Milan, Italy. Jarvis replaced Brayden Point, who is the second Tampa Bay Lightning forward to have to be swapped due to injury.
Earlier in the week, Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett took Anthony Cirelli's spot after Cirelli got hurt in the Lightning's epic Stadium Series win over Boston. Bennett boasts the pedigree of being a Conn Smythe winner for playoff MVP and back-to-back Stanley Cups, and is a like-for-like swap in terms of play style. Bennett will bring more of a grinding, physical game that Cirelli had been chosen for.
Jarvis has reached the 25 goal mark for Carolina this season and leads the Hurricanes in several categories including goals. He has had a good season despite missing eight games, but a season that is rivaled if not bettered by the season Johnston is having for the Stars.
Johnston is first in the league in power play goals by a handful, and has already tied the Dallas franchise record with 18 on the season. Playing with Mikko Rantanen, he has proven that his game is elevated to an even higher level playing next to elite talent much like Team Canada has spread across their roster. Johnston has also given Rantanen the ability to lock in his elite level in his first full season away from the Colorado Avalanche and Nathan MacKinnon.
The biggest reason Bennett and Jarvis were chosen over the other names on Team Canada's reserve list may have nothing to do with current performance as much as it has to do with continuity, though. Both were members of the first best-on-best team assembled by Canada since the 2014 Olympics when they won gold at the Four Nations Faceoff last year.
For both Canada and the USA, their rosters deeply reflected the same lineup from last year's tournament, and even with other standouts making their mark this season, it seemed like the management for both teams valued that experience over almost everything else.
The Stars don't have to look far to see that bias come into play, with Jason Robertson missing out on the chance to represent Team USA despite being the highest scoring American player in the NHL this season.
Johnston wasn't a part of the tournament last year either, and that certainly seems to have hurt his chances to be a legitimate candidate to replace anyone for Team Canada before the players from Four Nations get the opportunity first.
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