#usa-hockey

#usa-hockey

Burned in Zach Werenski's memory is the first U.S. practice at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. You look around and see the skill, Werenski said. I was like, This is fast.' It's wave after wave, player after player. He and his countrymen fell short at that tournament, which was designed to be an appetizer of sorts for the return of NHL players to the Olympics.

Bednarik, held to one assist through four games, had been playing as the USA's 13th forward, but was promoted to fourth-line center. He'd earn the primary assist on the opening goal of the game, finding his BU teammate Cole Hutson trailing the play and giving the US a 1-0 lead. After Finland knotted the game up one, Eiserman did what he does best - excel on the power play. Hutson found Eiserman in his office near the right circle, firing a one-timer past the Finnish netminder to restore the one-goal lead.

USA Hockey Leaks over the past couple of days have prepared us for this, so there are no true surprises in this morning's announcement. That still doesn't make some of GM Bill Guerin's decisions any sounder. The most blatant is the omission of Dallas's Jason Robertson, who leads all Americans in NHL scoring with 48 points (24 goals). Robertson, like other top forward snubs including Cole Caufield, and to a lesser extent Matthew Knies and Alex DeBrincat, is a little one-dimensional.