Had Knies made Team USA, it would've been his second appearance at the Olympics (he represented the US when NHL players didn't attend in 2022).
When Team USA revealed the men's 2026 Olympic roster on Friday morning, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews' name was listed, as he was one of the five early selections this past summer.
But one of his Maple Leafs teammates wasn't jotted down: Matthew Knies.
The 23-year-old's name should've been in consideration for the United States' Olympic roster ever since he put up career highs in goals, assists, points, and hits last season. His chances of making the team should've improved after a strong start to this year, too.
Not only is Knies on pace for another career year — currently with 11 goals and 25 assists through 37 games — but the forward is also once again racking up the hits. Aside from Vincent Trocheck, Knies would rank second in hits among forwards had he been named to Team USA's roster.
His 36 points would place him 15th among US-born forwards, with his points percentage (0.97) ranking Knies 11th.
"I mean, I think he's played great this year, and he's a great young and up-and-coming player," said Matthews on Thursday, the night before Team USA's roster was released.
"I think there's going to be guys that get left off that made a good case to be on it. I mean, there's just so many players from so many different countries that are great players, that are having great seasons, and you kind of leave it in the hands of the general managers that are directing the team.
"I'll kind of leave it up to him, but obviously, selfishly, I'd love to see him be on the team."
Matthews is right: there are going to be several players left off Team USA's Olympic roster that are having strong seasons. It's not just Knies, who, despite having a great start to the year, is pretty far down the list when it comes to points.
Look at Jason Robertson, for example.
He's having an incredible year, with 24 goals and 48 points through 41 games this season. He, however, wasn't named to the United States' Olympic team. Neither was Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras, Alex DeBrincat, Cutter Gauthier, Troy Terry, nor Nick Schmaltz, all of whom have more points than Knies this season.
What makes Knies a wild-card over everyone else, though, is the type of game he plays. Robertson, Zegras, DeBrincat, Gauthier, Terry, and Schmaltz aren't throwing their body around like Knies would throughout a game.
Matter of fact, not very many of the players named to Team USA would.
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Besides Knies, only Trocheck, J.T. Miller (74), Brady Tkachuk (56), and Tage Thompson (40) are the players named to the USA's Olympic roster who rank within the top-50 Americans for hits in the NHL.
Knies is arguably the second-biggest player on this list, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 232 pounds, only behind Tage Thompson (6-foot-6, 220 pounds). Tkachuk is right there, too, at 6-foot-4, 226 pounds.
But maybe that's not what Team USA is looking for, especially when they face a quick team like Canada.
It's possible that the US feels that Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, Matt Boldy, and Kyle Connor could round out the roster better than Knies. If that's the case, they're not entirely wrong. I wouldn't necessarily say they're right either.
It just shows how razor-thin the margins were to play for the United States at the Olympics.