Phil Kessel the biggest surprise omission from first 16
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But it is a reflection of American depth on the wings and of Kessel's declining stature that the Pittsburgh Penguins winger was not among the first 16 players named to Team USA Wednesday afternoon.
What makes Kessel's absence so eyebrow raising is that of the 13 skaters named Wednesday, 11 were members of the U.S. Olympic team in Sochi in 2014.
Kessel was a member of both the Sochi Olympic team and the 2010 Olympic team that lost to Canada in the gold-medal game in Vancouver.
But in spite of being traded by the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs to the Penguins last summer, Kessel has failed to find a consistent scoring groove. While many believed he was primed for a run at the Rocket Richard Trophy playing with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin (both named to their respective World Cup of Hockey rosters on Wednesday, by the way) Kessel finds himself tied for 51st in the NHL in goals with 19 and the Penguins are in a dogfight to hold onto a postseason berth.
One has to imagine that a strong finish to the end of the regular season and a good playoff showing for the Penguins, if the Pens end up qualifying for the postseason, will see Kessel among the final four forwards named on June 1. But it's far from a lock. The problem facing Kessel, a right-handed shot, is that the U.S. has a plethora of quality wingers hoping for a spot on this team and many of them are also right-handed shots, such as Kyle Okposo of the New York Islanders and Bobby Ryan of the Ottawa Senators who were not among the first 16, either. Among the forwards already named Blake Wheeler, T.J. Oshie and the league's leading scorer Patrick Kane are right-hand shots.
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