On Wednesday, all eight teams participating in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey announced the first 16 members of their clubs. Two Oilers were snubbed, but only one came as a surprise. Taylor Hall, predictably, was left off Team Canada’s roster, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was shockingly left off Team North America’s young stars team.
The snub of Nugent-Hopkins is a bold call that, quite frankly, makes little sense to me. He’s one of the ‘veteran’ players eligible for the squad and on merit he has earned the honor. He’s better than guys like J.T. Miller and Sean Monahan, I don’t think there is much debate to that point at all.
However, might I remind you, that this is the FIRST 16 players, not the full roster. Seven more skaters will be added to Team North America before this tournament begins, and I’d wager that RNH is one of those players. His credentials speak for themselves, he’s certainly good enough on merit to crack the lineup.
I’m not overly worried about this, because I know that smart hockey men are running the show for this team, men that know the value of a player like RNH. Other notable players missed the cut yesterday with little fanfare who are equally deserving of roster spots for their respective teams. Phil Kessel with Team USA stands out to me, as does Corey Perry with Team Canada. Both of those guys will be on those rosters, and you can bet RNH will be on this team too.
One thing that caught my eye that made me laugh? Oilers fans making the connection that because RNH was left off this team that Peter Chiarelli is looking to move him and does not value him. This, my friends, is a laughable point and an almost insane conclusion to draw.
Yes, Chiarelli was part of the decision to leave RNH off the current Team North America roster, but why does this decision need to be tied to the Oilers? Chiarelli isn’t the only man in that room making decisions, he’s one of a group of very smart hockey managers.
Chiarelli also said that it’s silly to make this connection, something I don’t think he would lie about. This is a decision that was made about a completely different hockey team than the Edmonton Oilers. It should have NO barring on what will happen this summer.
Sure, Marty St. Louis pouted his way out of Tampa Bay when he was left off Team Canada two years ago, but RNH doesn’t seem to have that ego to him, he seems like a level headed kid that understands there is still a spot for the taking on that team.
Hey, maybe Chiarelli does undervalue RNH and doesn’t think he’s good enough to make that team. Somehow, though, I doubt that to be the case. Something tells me this was a group decision and that it has absolutely nothing to do with RNH’s future as an Edmonton Oiler.
Chiarelli will make the moves he sees fit this summer. Some talent from up front will be moved for help on the back end, but things like this are not a tell for those moves. Chiarelli has hinted at seeing all three centers together and has essentially said how important he thinks this player is.
This is a non-story and will be put to bed once Nugent-Hopkins is named to the team later this year as part of the final seven skaters.
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