Mike Sullivan does his best to sell Team USA's pick of Miller and Trocheck while several stars are snubbed
Photo credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Team USA Olympics talk just turned personal for the New York Rangers, as J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck made it, while several stars, including Adam Fox, did not.
USA Hockey made it official Friday morning, revealing the full 25 man men's roster on NBC's TODAY Show. The Rangers land two forwards, and Mike Sullivan is wearing both hats as New York's coach and Team USA's bench boss.
The way Sullivan talks about J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck, it's not about flash, it's about fit. He wants guys who can play either special team, take hard minutes, and keep a line connected when the game gets messy.
The sting is obvious because Adam Fox is not on that list, along with several other star forwards such as Jason Robertson. USA Hockey GM Bill Guerin has pushed back on the idea that one past moment defines the decision, but it's still a shocking snub for a defenseman with Fox's résumé.
Mike Sullivan backs J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck Team USA selection
Miller, 32, sits at 10 goals and 22 points in 35 games, and he's the kind of left shot who can slide up and down a lineup. Trocheck, also 32, has 24 points in 29 games and plays like every shift is a faceoff in May.
Sullivan basically said the quiet part out loud, chemistry and accepting a different role mattered, and he loved the buy-in at the 4 Nations group. That's the argument for «glue» players over pure stat chasers, even when it hurts.
«We just think they're glue guys. I think they have the ability to impact the game on both sides of the puck. They're good offensive players, but they're hard to play against defensively. They're team guys, they're glue guys, they're hard to play against, and they were a big part of the team chemistry that was developed with that 4 Nations team that we were so proud of. We believe that the chemistry that was developed through that tournament with our respective group was something that was unique. And all of us felt it that were part of it and we felt JT and Trocheck were a big part of it. The type of people they are. They're fierce competitors, first and foremostThere isn't anything that any aspect of the game that they can't participate in and help us win. I think that for all those reasons they were guys that were strongly considered throughout this process.»
Now the next milestone is simple, keep the Rangers rolling, and let the Olympics, starting Feb. 12, be the stage where Miller and Trocheck prove this was the right kind of boring.
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Previously on NY Hockey Insider
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 3 | 114 ANSWERS Mike Sullivan does his best to sell Team USA's pick of Miller and Trocheck while several stars are snubbed Did Team USA get it right with J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck while leaving Adam Fox home? | ||
| Yes | 34 | 29.8 % |
| No | 67 | 58.8 % |
| Swap someone | 7 | 6.1 % |
| Trust the process | 6 | 5.3 % |
| List of polls | ||