The Montreal Canadiens will be well represented at the 4 Nations Face-Off but two of the team's leaders were not selected to their country's squads.
Captain Nick Suzuki (Canada) and leading goal-scorer Cole Caufield (United States) were not named to the rosters announced on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Thursday's game against the Nashville Predators, Suzuki said he was surprised Caufield wasn't included on the American team but that both of them can use the decision as motivation for the remainder of the season.
"I thought he had a really good shot at it, especially with the season that he's been having," Suzuki said. "Kinda in the same boat as me, so use it as fuel for us moving forward here."
As a centre, Suzuki was always going to face stiff competition for Team Canada but he is scoring at a point-per-game rate this season, with 26 points in 25 games. Caufield, with 16 goals and 23 points, leads all American players in goals this season, but the U.S. team opted for more experienced wingers to fill out its lineup.
The Canadiens did have three players named to teams: goaltender Sam Montembeault (Canada) and forwards Patrik Laine and Joel Armia (both Finland).
Laine, who returned from a knee injury and made his season debut Tuesday, said the chance to play for his country was a big honour.
"It's always really cool to put on that jersey. It's always a privilege to represent your country," Laine said. "I didn't like our odds on TV, so we'll try to prove some people wrong."
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.