Florida coach Paul Maurice was just as blunt.
“He’s won two Stanley Cups, he was part of the 4 Nations, he won the Conn Smythe and, in my opinion, in the last 27 games, has been playing the best hockey of his career,” Maurice said. “Team Canada has got a hell of a team.”
The exclusion from a lifelong dream is cruel but comes with the territory of being an elite-level hockey player. It’s about dreaming big and accepting the disappointment that is part and parcel of such lofty aspirations.
Several players involved in the Winter Classic are awaiting calls from their national federations to learn their fates for this Olympic cycle.
Panthers defenseman Seth Jones is hoping for good news from U.S. general manager Billy Guerin before the roster is revealed Friday on the Today Show on NBC. Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said after practice Thursday he received a call from Guerin that he did not make the cut.
New York forwards Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller are also in contention for Team USA. For Team Sweden, it is Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling and Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad. For Finland, it’s Panthers forwards Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, and defenseman Niko Mikkola.
Florida center Aleksander Barkov was named to Team Finland’s roster in June but will miss the tournament after undergoing knee surgery in September. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who is close to making his season debut after offseason core surgery, was among the first six announced by the U.S. He wore a noncontact jersey at practice Thursday and will not play in the Winter Classic.
But for Marchand, who leads Florida this season with 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists) in 38 games, the call from Team Canada has made this week extra special.
The 37-year-old has been dreaming of being on this stage for more than a decade. He was invited to Canada’s camp ahead of the 2014 Sochi Olympics but didn’t make the cut, then watched helplessly after the NHL did not send players to either of the next two Games.
Now, finally, he gets the opportunity to do what he has thought about since he was a boy growing up in Nova Scotia. He gets to wear the maple leaf in an Olympic tournament, follow in the footsteps of his childhood idols, as well as players he called teammates and opponents throughout his career.
“There’s some incredible tournaments that have been put together — the World Cup and the 4 Nations — but trying to replicate the Olympics, that will never happen because of the history and what that means to individuals in the country,” Marchand said.
“You can tell the excitement that has been around it ever since they announced we are going to be able to go back. There is just such a tremendous amount of pride to be a part of that. It’s a pretty incredible feeling.”
