As we’re just weeks away from the puck dropping on the men’s ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics, many are questioning Hockey Canada’s decision on who should be manning the blue line in Italy.
Following a stunning six-point performance against the Washington Capitals, including a hat trick, this past Saturday, Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, many wonder why Canada general manager Doug Armstrong should’ve given the talented offensive defenseman a shot on the big stage.
Instead, the team elected to go with aging rearguards Drew Doughty and Colton Parayko. Since the roster was announced last month, Bouchard has 18 points in 12 games, while Doughty and Parayko have both struggled with their respective teams.
On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Steve Peters discuss why Bouchard might’ve been the biggest miss on Canada’s Olympic roster.
Steve Peters: One of the things, and we’ve talked about Bouchard for years now, [he’s] a risk-reward player. We know what he is, and we know what he brings offensively to this Edmonton Oilers team. When you talk about what he could have done for Team Canada, you look through the roster…when you have a short tournament like this, you want a player that brings something different. … I think Evan Bouchard does that.
Is he a defensive liability? Potentially so in some games, but he’s a guy that can bring offense. … Bouchard has something that other guys don’t have other than Makar. He’s a guy, now that you don’t have…you can’t go to him when you need a goal in a game. I’m kind of surprised because he does have that different skill set. Now, you don’t put him out where you need to protect a lead. Obviously, he might not be the guy. But when you’re chasing a game. I’d like to be able to lift on the bench and see No. 2. So, yeah, I do think that it’s one of those things when you’re putting a team together, you’ve got to have guys with different skill sets.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I think too many people just focus on what he doesn’t do, instead of focusing on just how elite he is at what he does do well. To be a defenseman who’s over a point per game is very rare in today’s NHL. … There is a scenario in these Olympics where you are going to be going up against the best goalies in the world, it’s not just the best on best skaters. The odds of you needing a goal late in the game are very high.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…
