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The 4 Nations Face-Off rosters were announced on Wednesday and Team USA is stacked. For the first time since 2016, best-on-best international hockey is back and the Americans have a chance to win. Their team is full of strong forwards and defensemen in front of the best goalie room in the tournament. But there were some USA snubs, including Tage Thompson. Who else had a case to be on the team?
The Sabres are off to a mediocre start to the season, with 24 points from 25 games. But Thompson has been solid, with 13 goals and seven assists in 20 games. He was hurt for a short period but is back and has already scored since returning. The 6-foot-6 center can score, play on the power play, and kill penalties at a high level. Keeping him off the team was a bet on a veteran forward.
Thompson is 27 and lost his spot to 33-year-old Chris Kreider. The Rangers forward has ten goals and no assists in 21 games for a team that has struggled this season. Kreider's biggest skill is speed and he has visibly lost a step this season. While Thompson is not a fast skater, his skills are still with him. Thompson would have been a better option than Kreider for this tournament and the future of Team USA.
The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off will be a preview of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The NHL is slated to send their players to that tournament so it will be interesting to compare the rosters between the two tournaments. Reality should have hit USA GM Bill Guerin that Thompson had a much better chance to make the 2026 team than Kreider. For a depth spot on the roster, that should be enough of a reason to pick a guy.
Tage Thompson is not the only Team USA snub
Cole Caufield has the most goals of any USA forward this season. There was reporting back when he led the entire league in goals that Caufield would be left off the roster. While that nugget did come to fruition, it is disappointing for Canadiens fans that won't get to see their star forward play in their home arena.
Caufield is another player who could have taken Kreider's spot with eyes on the 2026 Olympics. The other two New York forwards were also on the bubble and Caufield could have taken their spot on Team USA. Vincent Trochek and Brock Nelson are both centers but there are a lot of centers on this team. Caufield has a better scoring touch than Trochek and could have been a key depth forward for this team and a star in 2026. He will almost certainly be in Italy with the Olympic team.
One year ago, Jason Robertson was a shoo-in for this roster. When making a mock team, very few forwards would have ranked ahead of the Stars center. But he is having a rough season, with only five goals in 25 games, and missed the team. That shows how strong USA is up front and how deep they are.
Brock Boeser is in a similar category, as a player who would have been on the team last year. The Canucks star has 14 points in 17 games. Keeping him off for Nelson, who is a center who can win faceoffs and kill penalties, makes sense given their seasons so far. But Boeser not being on a Team USA would have been stunning after his 40-goal 2023-24.
Defense and goalie roster choices
The most glaring defensive snub is John Carlson, who has been excellent for the Washington Capitals. The offensive-defenseman was left off for Noah Hanafin, who dominates in the defensive end. Other than that, Guerin picked a very chalky defensive unit. If this was a true testing ground for 2026, 22-year-old Jake Sanderson would have made the team.
The Senators defender has had a strong start to his career and could be a top-four option for Team USA moving forward. But the Americans have only won one best-on-best tournament ever so winning this one would be huge. Bringing veteran defenders like Jaccob Slavin and Quinn Hughes gives them a better chance this year.
The 4 Nations Face-Off begins on February 12 in Montreal. The roster can change between now and then if there are injuries, so these snubs could still end up representing Team USA this year.
