What many thought could be true for months came to fruition Friday morning when Jason Robertson, who leads all Americans in points this NHL season, was left off the Team U.S. Olympic men’s hockey roster.
Team USA announced its picks Friday morning ahead of the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The tournament runs from Feb. 11-22, and the Dallas Stars will be well-represented, with goalie Jake Oettinger (USA), defensemen Thomas Harley (Canada), Esa Lindell (Finland), Miro Heiskanen (Finland) and forwards Mikko Rantanen (Finland) and Roope Hintz (Finland) all selected to represent their countries.
But the decision to leave Robertson at home is a puzzling one that has enraged both Stars fans and hockey fans across the country.
Robertson scored more goals (49) and points (98) in the 2025 calendar year than any other American.
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This season, he also leads all Americans with 48 points and ranks second with 24 goals, trailing only Minnesota’s Matt Boldy. He leads the league in goals since Nov. 11.
Robertson certainly earned a spot on Team USA’s roster with his play. But in recent days, it became clear that Team USA (and Minnesota Wild) GM Bill Guerin might have different priorities.
In November, Guerin told The Athletic, “If you can’t check, it’s probably not the tournament for you.”
The 4 Nations Face-Off showed how physical best-on-best hockey can be — more so than any other sport’s best-on-best tournament. Those in the anti-Robertson camp, including Guerin, worried whether his game was too one-dimensional and whether he was a one-trick pony.
But the thing is, his one trick is a pretty good one. Robertson has shown his ability to be a relentless goal scorer against the world’s best. It’s hard to fathom Team USA not wanting that skill, especially in a tournament with no salary cap where the only requirement is to build the best roster possible.
But Team USA hockey has embodied the underdog mentality since the Miracle on Ice in 1980 when the U.S. beat four-time defending gold medalist, the Soviet Union, before going on to win gold.
However, the Americans haven’t won gold since.
Granted, NHL players haven’t played in an Olympics since 2014. But it’s not just the United States that has its pick of the best players. Team Canada, Team Finland and others will be more competitive than ever.
As Guerin hopes the team he selected proves him right, Robertson will get an extra few weeks of rest and time to prepare for the playoffs — where he’ll likely have the chance to exact revenge if the Stars face the Wild. The two teams are currently slated to clash in the first round.
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