USA Hockey's All-Snub Team
Craig Custance - SportingNews.com
Jan 04, 2010
Having named its roster for the 2010 Olympics, Team USA heads to Vancouver with a young, inexperienced international team. A case could be made for these six players to be on the roster:
Scott Gomez, F, Canadiens
It likely came down to Pavelski or Gomez, and Pavelski's versatility won out. "Pavelski is a Swiss army knife as a hockey player," Burke said. "He's an over 60 percent faceoff man this year, works hard and has a high hockey IQ."
Bill Guerin, F, Penguins
It looks like the brain trust wanted to make a clean break from the old Americans, but Guerin is still producing at 39 years old. He has 12 goals this season and would provide valuable leadership.
Kyle Okposo, F, Islanders
He has a big future with USA Hockey, but now is not his time. He suffered through an 18-game goal-scoring drought, which didn't help his cause. Burke said Okposo was seriously considered but he just isn't ready.
Rob Scuderi, D, Kings
Burke opted to go with the younger, more inexperienced Kings defenseman in Jack Johnson, who is more talented than Scuderi. But Scuderi performed well in the playoffs last year and has big-game experience that Johnson doesn't.
Ron Hainsey, D, Thrashers
Hainsey would have been a serious candidate for an eighth spot on defense, but Burke and the other general managers opted to keep only seven defensemen. They may miss the offense Hainsey provides from the blue line.
Craig Anderson, G, Avs
This wasn't an easy one. Anderson carried the Avalanche earlier in the season but couldn't steal Jonathan Quick's spot as the No. 3 goalie. "The age difference is probably the determining factor," Burke said. "That (No. 3) goaltender is not expected to see a lot of action. We probably made the choice on the side of the program. No slight to Craig because he's had a good year."
Staff writer Craig Custance covers the NHL for Sporting News. E-mail him at ccustance@sportingnews.com.
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