Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has had a fantastic year in 2025, and he deserves to represent his country at the Olympics, but will there be room for him? We'll finally have an answer on Wednesday.
With the Milano-Cortina Olympics right around the corner, Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is waiting to hear if he’s done enough to make his way on the Team Canada roster. The roster announcement deadline is Wednesday, and RDS will be live to report on the announcements starting at 11:30 AM.
After being snubbed for the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Canadiens’ centerman went on an absolute tear, carrying the Habs on his back and getting them into the playoffs. This season, he once again leads the team in points with 42 points in 38 games, on pace for 91 points, which would be a career-best for him.
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He’s currently 18th in scoring in the league, and eighth amongst all Canadian forwards, ninth amongst all Canadian players. In this calendar year, he has 65 assists, the sixth most among NHL players; he trails only Nikita Kucherov (79), Connor McDavid (79), Nathan MacKinnon (70), Mitch Marner (67), and Lane Hutson (67). Three of those five players are sure to play at the Olympics, and if Russia were allowed to play, Kucherov would be an unquestionable inclusion. As for Hutson, he’s likely to be a victim of his diminutive frame, even though he deserves to play for his country.
Of course, should Suzuki make the Team Canada roster, he won’t be playing the same role he plays with the Habs; the number one center role is already filled, but there’s so much more that he can do on the ice. The former Vegas Golden Knights draft pick can play in all circumstances, on the power play and on the penalty kill.
Unlike some of the best forwards in the game, Suzuki takes a lot of pride in his excellent defensive play, and he’s always willing to dive in front of a shot to block it, whatever the circumstances may be. Even if the Canadiens have a comfortable lead, he’ll still try to block the shot because that’s just how his compete level is.
It’s unfortunate for him that his line is not performing as well as it usually is right now, but the Team Canada executives must already be fully aware of what the 26-year-old pivot can do. His body of work speaks for itself, and he deserves to represent his country, but will there be room for him? We’ll soon have an answer...
After practice in Sunrise, Suzuki admitted that selection has been playing on his mind and that there has been some anxiety coming with it. He explained that when he didn't have a good game, he wondered if he had played himself of the team, adding that when he did play well, he felt like he did some good to get on the team. He called it a crazy start, but admitted that there are probably a lot of guys in the same situation and he's just trying to do as well as he can.
On Monday, some Suzuki Team Canada merchandise appeared on the Fanatics website, did the maker unwillingly leaked that the Canadiens' captain has made it? It could have since the items were soon after taken down.
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