Team Canada's best-on-best hockey roster for the Olympics is one of the most formidable lineups to crack in all of sports. The leading hockey nation is never short on depth, and there are countless times when superstars are left off the roster in favor of players who fill different roles. Team Canada has also been reluctant to take youth, which could change this year with players like Matthew Schaefer, Connor Bedard, and Macklin Celebrini.
To make matters worse for players looking to crack the roster, Canada won a historic 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last year, and it'll be challenging not to have the Olympics roster look similar to that one. However, four forwards who didn't make that roster are still in the running, according to TSN insider Pierre Lebrun, via Insider Trading.
“Up front, these are the four forwards that I believe are highest among the list of guys that were not at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year: Macklin Celebrini, Tom Wilson, Bo Horvat, and Nick Suzuki,” Lebrun stated. “I think Celebrini and Wilson are as close to locks as there are, and then it's a question of: Can you take Horvat or Suzuki, or is there room for both? I'm not sure. I think there will be two to three changes, at most, up front from the 4 Nations.”
Wilson is one of the most polarizing players who could make the roster. LeBrun believes he is a lock, but fans have some concerns that the International Ice Hockey Federation's less lenient rulebook doesn't do well for players like Wilson, who play on the edge. Nevertheless, with NHL referees making the trip to Milan, Team Canada's staff believes that Wilson will help them more than hurt them.
