{"id":450889,"date":"2026-02-08T02:41:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T02:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/450889\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T02:41:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T02:41:13","slug":"nick-suzukis-olympic-role-with-team-canada-takes-unexpected-turn-after-brayden-point-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/450889\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Suzuki\u2019s Olympic role with Team Canada takes unexpected turn after Brayden Point injury"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t \"Dec <\/p>\n

Photo credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It\u2019s devastating news for one of Canada\u2019s top forwards, but it could be a game-changer for the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n

The worst-case scenario has been confirmed for Brayden Point: the injury he suffered last week will officially prevent him from taking part in the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois confirmed to insider Pierre LeBrun that the player is crushed by the turn of events.<\/p>\n

To replace him in the Canadian lineup, young forward Seth Jarvis received the call.<\/p>\n

However, the impact of this change could be felt directly in how Nick Suzuki is used in Milan.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, Brayden Point was expected to play a crucial role at center, thanks to his strong 200-foot game and offensive production.<\/p>\n

That exact mandate now risks landing on the shoulders of the Canadiens\u2019 number 14.<\/p>\n

With Point sidelined, and Anthony Cirelli also out (replaced by Sam Bennett), Canada loses two of its best defensive centers.<\/p>\n

A golden opportunity for the Montreal Canadiens captain, Nick Suzuki<\/p>\n

Nick Suzuki has the ideal profile to fill this sudden void.<\/p>\n

“Seth Jarvis added to the Canadian Olympic squad, but Nick Suzuki feels like the most suitable replacement for what Brayden Point could bring. I think the door just opened for the Canadiens\u2019 captain to fill a bigger role than he might\u2019ve initially been designated.<\/p>\n

That said, feel bad for Point and Anthony Cirelli. Terrible to have lifelong dreams dissolve on the precipice of them coming true.”<\/p>\n

-Eric Engels<\/p>\n

He may not end up on the top line, but his responsibilities on the penalty kill and in defensive assignments have likely just skyrocketed (along with his expected ice time).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to say there is now a realistic scenario where Suzuki even earns power-play time, a spot that seemed out of reach just a few days ago.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens center\u2019s reliability is becoming a rare and valuable commodity for Team Canada\u2019s coaching staff.<\/p>\n

The tournament is fast approaching: Canada will hit the ice in exactly one week, on Thursday, February 12 at 10:40 a.m., to face Czechia.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a depth test for the Canadian roster, but a golden opportunity for Suzuki to prove his value on the biggest international stage.<\/p>\n

Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

2 HOURS AGO|86 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Nick Suzuki\u2019s Olympic role with Team Canada takes unexpected turn after Brayden Point injury<\/p>\n

Will Nick Suzuki finish the tournament among Canada\u2019s top five scorers?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images It\u2019s devastating news for one of Canada\u2019s top forwards, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5103],"tags":[1332,265,5,402,4048,264,21,5147,4,975,1177,3037],"class_list":{"0":"post-450889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-montreal-canadiens","8":"tag-brayden-point","9":"tag-canadiens","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-injury","12":"tag-julien-brisebois","13":"tag-montreal","14":"tag-montreal-canadiens","15":"tag-montrealcanadiens","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-nick-suzuki","18":"tag-seth-jarvis","19":"tag-team-canada"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116032705936324761","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}