Building Team USA: Guerin on leaving Robertson, other scorers off roster — 'Have to fill roles'
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Michael Russo and Peter Baugh
Olympic GM Bill Guerin called the process of finalizing the U.S. men's hockey roster "exhausting" but thinks he found the right mix.
Team USA’s management team feels it has built an Olympic men’s hockey roster good enough to win Olympic gold in Milan next month, but the most notable thing about Friday’s roster reveal was just how much offense the Americans will be leaving home.
Of the 13 highest-scoring Americans in the NHL this season, seven didn’t make the roster, including Jason Robertson, whose 48 points are the most among U.S.-born players and whose 24 goals are second. Other omissions in the top 13 include Alex DeBrincat, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Trevor Zegras, Cutter Gauthier and Troy Terry.
“Those guys are all great players,” U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said Friday morning in an availability with coach Mike Sullivan two hours after the roster was announced on NBC’s “Today” show. “But we have to make a team. If we’re doing it like that, then you don’t need a general manager. You don’t need a coach. Like, just do it by stats.
“We actually have to build a team. We have to fill roles. We have certain responsibilities that go up and down the lineup that we need players that are elite in those categories.”
So in the end, forwards like Brock Nelson, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck, who are trusted in non-scoring roles by Sullivan and the coaching staff, made the team over goal scorers like Robertson and Caufield. Tage Thompson and Clayton Keller were the new forwards added to the roster, while Seth Jones cracked a deep blue line with Noah Hanifin earning the eighth spot over, awkwardly, former Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, who plays for Sullivan’s Rangers.
These are decisions that will be scrutinized heavily if the Americans don’t medal in Italy. Remember, this is a country that came up a goal short against Canada in the 2014 Olympic semifinals in Sochi before being blanked in the bronze medal game by Finland. This is a country that came up a goal short against Canada in overtime in the gold medal game at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. A country that came up a goal short in overtime against Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
But Guerin and his staff insist this is not an All-Star Team.
Guerin wouldn’t discuss any snubs specifically Friday or reveal the list of players who have agreed to be injury replacements if called up before the opening game of the Olympics, but he did admit he had to make some extremely difficult phone calls Wednesday.
“There are so many guys that are not on this roster that could be on this roster. I understand that,” Guerin said. “And those decisions don’t come lightly. Take my word. Those are not fun phone calls to make. But in the end, we have a job to do, and we’re putting together a team. Not just a group of individuals. It’s a team. And a lot of those players, there is a chance that some of them do get the nod. I mean, we don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s a lot of hockey between now and then.”
The biggest reason is likely what Thompson and Keller showed in last year’s World Championship, helping lead the U.S. to its first gold in the event in 92 years. Thompson scored the Golden Goal, and both proved they can play checking roles while also chipping in offensively.
With Jack Hughes likely to move from wing, where he played at 4 Nations, to center, the team projects to have Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Hughes and Dylan Larkin down the middle. That means Miller, Trocheck and Nelson will likely be wings — and all better-suited for bottom-six, checking roles.
Thompson and Keller proved to management that they can fill those roles, as well.
“Tage, obviously, look, Buffalo fans see him each and every night,” Guerin said. “He’s 6-foot-6 and can skate like the wind. He’s got an incredible shot, scoring ability. He’s got versatility, as well. He can play center, play wing, kill penalties. He’s on the power play. The versatility, size and skill level are a pretty unique package.”
Still, it’s hard for many critics to reconcile not putting Robertson on the team for, say, the Rangers’ Miller and Trocheck, who each had no points in the 4 Nations. Remember, too, some American stars struggled to produce offense in the 4 Nations: Eichel, Matthews, Connor and Hughes all were goalless.
Robertson ranks second among Americans in goals (24), tied for ninth in assists (24), first in points (48), second with nine power-play goals and first with 20 power-play points.
i just checked and i would’ve had USA as the favourite with robertson and fox on the roster. not the case without 🫣
Miller has been out since Dec. 20 with an upper-body injury, but he skated at Thursday’s pre-Winter Classic practice in a non-contact sweater. His first season as Rangers captain has been somewhat underwhelming. With 22 points in 35 games, he has produced at his lowest point-per-game rate since 2018-19. The 32-year-old has come through in clutch situations for the Rangers, though, scoring three overtime winners, assisting on another and also logging a shootout-winning goal.
In five-on-five situations, though, he’s had less of an offensive touch. He has 12 five-on-five points on the season, tied for 197th in the league. New York still has an edge in expected goals with him on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
Sullivan trusts Miller to play against top competition, which likely contributed to the American brass putting him on the roster. Per Hockey Stat Cards’ quality of competition metric, he has taken on harder offensive opponents than anyone on the Rangers and ranks fourth in the league behind only Mike Matheson, Shane Pinto and Team USA teammate Matt Boldy. He’s also one of the Rangers’ primary penalty-killing forwards.
Trocheck checks similar boxes to Miller. He kills penalties and is strong in the faceoff circle. Miller has won 59.9 percent of his draws this season, and Trocheck is at 55.5 percent. Both can play in all situations.
Trocheck missed 14 games earlier this season to injury, but he’s been producing at a respectable, even if not superstar, rate offensively. He has 22 points in 28 games. Though Trocheck’s production rate has been better than Miller’s, his expected goal share is worse (47.01 percent at five-on-five, compared to Miller’s 52.39 percent, per Natural Stat Trick).
Without addressing any of the bubble players specifically, Guerin did confirm Friday that versatility was a big factor.
“The ability to play multiple positions, multiple roles,” he said. “But it’s also the buy-in and being part of the chemistry. The buy-in was really big and will continue to be really big. We need players to assume roles that maybe they don’t normally assume, accept what’s going on and think of the team first. Put winning at the top of their minds. And getting to know the guys at the 4 Nations and over the last couple years, we have those players that think about the team first and not about themselves.”
On the back end, Fox is the most glaring omission. He leads the Rangers in both offensive and defensive rating, per colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model. He was easily the team’s most valuable player before a shoulder injury cost him 14 games. He’s back, though, and had a 2-point game in his return.
Fox has 28 points in 28 games and is known more as a puck-moving offensive defenseman, but he’s also someone Sullivan counts on to play against other teams’ best players. Among Rangers’ defensemen, only Vladislav Gavrikov — his primary partner — has logged tougher defensive minutes.
“Adam and I have had a number of conversations around this, and I will keep that conversation between Adam and (me),” Sullivan said Thursday. “What I will tell you is these teams that are being picked are the best of the best. And there’s so many good players, and there are very, very difficult decisions that have to be made. It is a collaborative effort on everybody’s part. And that’s just the reality of these circumstances.”
Fox had a down year by his standards in 2024-25, but he had more even-strength points that season (40) than he did in 2023-24 (38), a year in which he finished fourth in Norris voting. The Rangers’ power play taking a step back was the difference in his production. He still had strong underlying numbers on the season.
Though 4 Nations was not a good tournament for Fox, he has traditionally played well in the playoffs. He’s played 43 postseason games since 2021-22 and has five goals and 39 points, a 74-point 82-game pace.
For many, though, the memory of Fox’s play on Connor McDavid’s winning goal in overtime in the 4 Nations final has stuck.
Was it a factor in his not making the Olympic team?
“If you think we made a decision on one play, then you must not think we’re very smart,” Guerin said. “Our decision was made, and we’re moving forward.”
A big part of Fox’s snub was the presence of Quinn Hughes, who missed the 4 Nations with injury and should play a huge role in helping the U.S. offensively and on the power play at the Olympics.
“His skating is fantastic. His ability to help us get out of our own zone and to move the puck up the ice as quick as possible (will be big),” Guerin said. “He always seems to be one step ahead, and I know what he’s done for our Wild team, and it’s been incredible, so I think he’s going to be able to bring those same attributes to Team USA.”
As for Jones coming into the lineup, Sullivan cited size, versatility and winning experience after his role in the Florida Panthers’ Cup run last season.
“You saw the impact that he had on the Florida team to win the Stanley Cup,” the coach said. “He’s a big, strong kid that skates extremely well. I think he has the ability to play on both sides of the puck — impact the game on both sides of the puck.
“That gives us that much more depth, with regard to size, mobility, reach and the ability to play on both sides of the puck. He’s not a one-dimensional player, so to speak. He’s a really good defender with his size, his reach, his mobility, his willingness to play a physical game. But he also has the ability to impact the game offensively. When you look at the defense corps that’s constructed, you can probably say that about every guy.”
Again, there were no easy calls, but Guerin is happy with the team he built and ready to stand behind it.
“Honestly, it was exhausting,” Guerin said of calling players to tell them they were in or out. “There were moments of true happiness and joy. And then there were moments of real disappointment, and those calls are not fun to make. But the other ones are definitely part of it — to hear the happiness in guys’ voices when they get the word that they’re gonna be on the Olympic team.”
