• Powered by Roundtable
    Sammi Silber
    Sammi Silber
    Aug 3, 2025, 20:38
    Updated at: Aug 3, 2025, 20:56
    Mandatory Credit: James Guillory — Imagn Images

    Washington Capitals gaoltender Logan Thompson again saw himself on the outside looking in as he was left off Hockey Canada's roster for its National Teams Orientation Camp. However, there's still a chance he could play in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan come February.

    Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill and Samuel Montembeault are attending the camp in Calgary from Aug. 26-28, while Thompson, who finished fourth in Vezina voting this past season, was not one of the Canadian netminders to earn an invite, nor was Vezina finalist Darcy Kuemper.

    Per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, though the camp is a good firsty step toward Canada establishing its roster for the Winter Games, it's not the end-all, be-all list.

    "Can anyone not on the list be added in season, and I was told the answer to that question is yes, there is a long list of players that includes some of who are not coming to Calgary this summer," Friedman said. "Don't assume that only these players are eligible."

    Whether or not Thompson is on that list remains to be seen, but one has to wonder if he will be snubbed again after having missed out on the 4 Nations Face-Off despite having the second-best save percentage in the league — and the best among Canadian netminders — at the time.

    Thompson is coming off a star-studded season with the Capitals, where he went 31-6-6 with a .910 save percentage to help D.C. finish atop the Eastern Conference. He then overcame an injury at the end of the season to post a .917 save percentage through 10 playoff games.

    There's also speculation that assistants Bruce Cassidy and Pete DeBoer do not have a good working relationship with Thompson while he was in Vegas, which could be the reason for the exclusion, though nothing's been confirmed.

    "I don't think Cassidy and DeBoer were going to have (Thompson at 4 Nations)," analyst Steve Valiquette said on Sportsnet’s Real Kyper & Bourne last year, adding, "I think it was (personalities at the top). They didn't have a great experience with him in Vegas.

    "There were times they wanted him to play and he wasn't available. I know a little bit about what happened there, and I can't get into it," Valiquette added. "It was never going to happen."

    Among Canadian goalies with at least 43 games played this past season, Thompson had the third-best save percentage, outranking all three of Canada’s selections, the second-most wins (behind only Hill) and the least amount of losses.