Since the end of Canada’s massive 10-2 victory on Sunday against France, there has been talk online about how Canada should scratch Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki in favour of Brad Marchand for their quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday; the underlying numbers show that Suzuki’s play on Team Canada has been rather underrated by many. A lot of the criticism is that Suzuki held back superstar Nathan MacKinnon from producing at even strength during Sunday’s game. While that may be the case, MacKinnon’s style of play also holds Suzuki back in his own way at times.
Avec le retour de Brad Marchand dans l’alignement, est-ce que Nick Suzuki pourrait être celui laissé de côté?😬🇨🇦#lesickpodcast @erichoziel @belly2020 @alavoiemartel @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/cQkyImlTGN
— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) February 16, 2026
Before explaining why he is going underrated at the Olympics, we must discuss the criticisms that Suzuki has been facing during the Olympics. It’s clear that Suzuki does not have the skill level or speed that MacKinnon has, but what he does have is a great hockey brain that can slow down the game in his favour to create offence. Unfortunately, when playing with a speedster like MacKinnon, that style of offence doesn’t work alongside the Colorado Avalanche superstar. It should be noted that Suzuki’s only goal came in tight when the game slowed down in the offensive zone on a feed from Connor McDavid.
With that being said, Suzuki should be placed with guys who play a bit of a slower pace if Jon Cooper and the rest of Canada’s coaching staff want to get the best version of Nick Suzuki.
🇨🇦🇫🇷 Forward Scoring Chance Contributions
🇨🇦 McDavid once again creates a ton, Horvat had seven individual chances. Almost every Canadian pitched in plenty.
🇫🇷 Tough evening.
Data from @DimFilipovic pic.twitter.com/wc9C6jQHzK
— JFresh 🇨🇦 (@JFreshHockey) February 15, 2026
This could mean placing Suzuki alongside Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart, who could potentially be a good fit as a bottom-six line for Canada. It can bring a good mix of playmaking, defence, and goal-scoring. Not to mention, Marchand would be a good board battler for that line despite being on the smaller side, which could create good chances in front of the net. Suzuki can set up Reinhart for good scoring chances, while Marchand gets into the dirty areas.
While Suzuki is good at producing his offence on the rush as well, it’s just that he isn’t able to control the overall pace of the line as a winger, which results in him trailing behind MacKinnon all the time. Playing on the wing for the first time in 6+ years is also a tough challenge for Suzuki, who thrives on being a play driver that can slow down the pace of the game when he’s on the ice. This explains why there has been a challenge in terms of the eye test for Suzuki, who isn’t known for his speed game.
A disproportionate amount of discourse on Suzuki I think. He’s been good; not as noticeable as he often is in Montreal as the primary puck handler but he’s created a lot of opportunities and held up his end defensively. https://t.co/srKQtya5q9 pic.twitter.com/kM1lV4kpYD
— JFresh 🇨🇦 (@JFreshHockey) February 16, 2026
Nonetheless, Suzuki has been better at creating chances than many people say, according to analytical charts. He currently ranks 6th among Canadians in offensive chances created during the Olympics. Of course that really good 1st game played a factor, but even on Sunday against France, he had a good number of chances.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that Suzuki wasn’t brought onto Team Canada for his offensive abilities but more so for playing a shutdown role, which he has shown to be very good at on the penalty kill as a whole. Suzuki was expected to play a strong 2-way game, which is exactly what he brought, knocking plenty of pucks out of harm’s way and being a solid penalty killer.
Nick Suzuki has been a menace on the forecheck for Canada thus far.
Be it defensively or offensively, giving the opposition no time to think.
— Marco D’Amico (@mndamico) February 12, 2026
It’s just that both his and MacKinnon’s styles of play don’t mesh, and the possibility of playing Suzuki on a lower, defensively focused line may be better for the Habs captain to succeed so nobody can criticize the lack of production that he has with MacKinnon. Sure, Suzuki hasn’t shown his full potential during these Olympic Games, but he’s been far from bad while being given a role he isn’t used to on the wing, which also puts him in a situation that isn’t ideal for his skillset.
With that being said, Suzuki shouldn’t be the player who comes out for Brad Marchand; he should be placed on a line with him playing centre.