Team USA announced a group of 44 players who were invited to the upcoming Olympics Orientation Camp, and there are some glaring omissions from the list -- but that doesn't mean these players have zero chance at representing the stars and stripes at the Winter Olympics in Italy next February.
The name that's causing the most buzz after being left off of the list is Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson. The reigning Calder Trophy winner had a breakout rookie performance with 66 points in 82 games, following that up with five helpers in the Habs' first-round exit. He immediately stepped into a huge role on the blue line, playing 22:44 per game, and even garnered some top five votes for the Norris Trophy.
Hutson plays a dynamic game marked by elite puck movement and playmaking -- in fact, he tied the NHL record for most assists by a rookie defenseman in one season. It's simply a head-scratcher that the 21-year-old was snubbed from an invitation to Team USA's first official event in preparation for the Olympics.
Sixteen other defensemen were invited to the Orientation Camp, which is set to take place on Aug. 26 and 27. The team-building event will not include any on-ice training, but is simply a gathering to gauge the best fits for the Team USA roster.
There's always a chance that Hutson could be a last-minute addition to the team -- after all, only the first six players have been officially confirmed for the Olympics. But along with the rising young star, there are several other key names whose invitations got lost in the mail.
Who else is missing from the Orientation Camp list?
Hutson isn't the only player who got snubbed from the preliminary group of players. There were 24 forwards invited to participate, and Detroit Red Wings winger Alex Debrincat was surprisingly not one of them.
Debrincat scored 39 goals and 70 points in 82 games last season, finishing just one goal shy of reaching his third 40-goal campaign in eight seasons. The 27-year-old led the Wings in scoring and is poised to do so again this season.
Especially looking at some of the other forwards in the group, there's little logic in leaving Debrincat off yet including guys like an aging and injury-stricken Chris Kreider or even someone like Frank Nazar, who had 23 points in 56 games his rookie year.
Meanwhile, there are two clear-cut choices for starting goaltenders in Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Oettinger. However, the decision to include Joey Daccord and Jeremy Swayman instead of Thatcher Demko on the shortlist of goalies is confounding to some.
It's worth considering that Demko has been limited by injuries at times over the past few seasons. But when taking the performance of the other two goalies into account, Demko pulls ahead in the conversation. Daccord has played consistent hockey in his two years as the starter for the Seattle Kraken, but has a career record under .500 and is not battle-tested at a competitive, do-or-die level having never played in the NHL postseason. Swayman, meanwhile, is coming off of a season where he regressed significantly (although he put up a stellar performance en route to World Championship gold in May).
Demko has proven what he's capable of by carrying the Canucks to victory in the 2023-24 season, when he posted a 35-14-2 record along with a .918 SV%, 2.45 GAA, and five shutouts, earning him a second-place finish for the Vezina Trophy. This past season was similar to Swayman's in that Demko took a step back, but his track record speaks for itself more than it does for Swayman or Daccord.
If Oettinger or Hellebuyck were to get injured, it's crucial to have another reliable option to turn to, and Demko would be a more consistent option in net come Olympics.
Any of these three players could easily skate their way onto the roster with a strong enough performance in the regular season, so the chance is theirs for the taking as we approach the start of the 2025-26 NHL campaign.