Ryan McDonagh and Jake Guentzel invited to Team USA Orientation Camp
Even with their two best players not allowed to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympic games, the Tampa Bay Lightning will still be well represented. With Russia still banned from international play, Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy will have a nice long break in February, but several of their teammates will be heading to Italy for the XXV Winter Olympic Games. On Tuesday, Team USA released their 44-player roster for the upcoming Olympic Orientation Camp. It’s no surprise that Jake Guentzel made the initial cut. However, seeing Ryan McDonagh’s name on the list was a bit of a surprise.
That’s not a knock on McDonagh, who returned to the Lightning last season and was one of the best defenders not only on the team, but in the league. Rather, it’s an acknowledgement of how deep the United States roster is, especially on defense. For the 36-year-old to be on a list with Brock Faber, Quinn Hughes, Noah Hanifin, Jaccob Slavin, Zach Werenski, and Jake Sanderson is pretty impressive. Now, it is important to note, that just because McDonagh was invited to the orientation camp, it doesn’t mean he’s a lock to make the final roster. The team will be crafted out of the 44 players, but only 23 can actually go to Milan.
However, it could be hard for general manager Bill Guerin to leave McDonagh off of the roster, especially if his play early in the season matches what he did last year. For one thing, unlike the majority of the players invited, McDonagh has Olympic experience as he was part of the 2014 Team USA squad. Only four other players on the invitee list can claim that, and only Patrick Kane can say that he played in an Olympics that featured other NHL players. Matthew Knies, Jake Sanderson, and Faber were at the 2022 Games that didn’t feature current NHLers.
While the impulse for building these temporary teams is to go for the youngest, most athletic, highest-scoring players, there is a place for veteran leadership and strong defensive play. Having a player that has a long history of shutting down some of the best offensive players in the game would be a boon, especially in the medal round when things tend to get a little more conservative. McDonagh’s been-there-done-that-lifted-that-trophy voice would carry a tremendous weight in the American’s locker room.
At this point, he’s probably 50-50 to make the roster, but injuries and other factors have their way of creeping in when the executives have to make their final decisions.
In the case of Jake Guentzel, barring an injury, he’s making this roster. In the three full seasons since the last Olympic games, Guentzel has scored 107 goals, which ranks him fourth among US-born players in the NHL. His 230 points is ninth over the same time span. Not only can he score, he’s a solid defensive player as well that can also kill penalties. Chances are he won’t be on the top two lines, but having a 40-goal scorer on the third line is pretty impressive, especially for Team USA.
While it would be nice for the entire roster to have a long break prior to the playoff push, it will also be fun to watch them play in a best-on-best (minus one best team) tournament. The players love representing their countries on these types of stages, so expect the best from them.
