With the Olympic Games starting to catch some traction, the projeted final rosters for the nations represented are also starting to make their waves around the internet.
ESPN's Ryan S. Clark took a stab at his projected final rosters for Team USA, Team Canada, and the rest of the tournament teams. There were two St. Louis Blues listed for Team Canada, but one or two more might have been left off of it.
Let's talk about it.
Who should make the team?
Clark has both Jordan Binnington and Colton Parayko on the roster for Team Canada. That was the case last year with the 4 Nations Face-off, which was likely a preview of the upcoming Olympic competition. Both players deserve it, although this season has not been all that great for either of them.
Binnington and Parayko, as well as many of the NHLers on these teams, have never had a chance to represent their country at the Olympics. It has been prospect-only for a long time, since 2014 in fact.
Who got snubbed?
There is only one player on the current Blues roster that really got snubbed off this list of players, and that is Robert Thoms for Team Canada. The projected centers are stacked with Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard, Brayden Point, and Nick Suzuki, but a case can be made to move Thomas onto the wing.
There is one more Blues player who got snubbed, kind of, and this case can be made for every NHL player born in Russia. With the Olympic committee banning Russia from the games, Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Igor Shesterkin, and Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich have to sit out the games. At this point, the committee should come together to give these athletes a chance to perform under a separate flag. There is too much talent wasted for a good reason, but not the right reason.