
Yesterday, Team USA released their invite list to the 2026 Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp which included 44 players. For the Utah Mammoth, their own Logan Cooley and captain Clayton Keller were two of the 44 invited.
However, there was one player that wasn’t invited. It was surprising to see that Nick Schmaltz was left off the invitation list from Team USA.
Of the 44 players invited, there were a handful of players that Schmaltz could have made it over, but for some reason he was left off. Now, it is important to remember that even if you don’t attend the camp, you could still be named to the roster. But if a player wasn’t invited altogether, it makes it a bit more challenging to be considered.
Last season, Schmaltz had 20 goals and 43 assists for 63 points, which was a career-high in assists and points. Some players that Schmaltz could have been invited over are Chris Kreider of the Anaheim Ducks. Although he is a veteran, he only had 22 goals and eight assists for 30 points in 68 games. Frank Nazar of the Chicago Blackhawks, who only has 56 games of NHL experience and has scored 27 points. Lastly, Shane Pinto of the Ottawa Senators had 37 points in 70 games.
There are arguably a few other players that Schmaltz could have beaten out for a spot at the orientation camp. Unfortunately, he wasn’t, and now he should channel that into motivation to show Team USA they made a mistake.
2 Utah Mammoth's Invited To Team USA's Men’s Olympic Camp
Today, Team USA’s Olympic management group released the 44 players invited to the Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp. On that list are two <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/utah" target="_blank">Utah Mammoth</a> forwards: captain Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley.
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