{"id":455872,"date":"2026-02-12T17:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/455872\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T17:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:58:17","slug":"nick-suzuki-gets-promotion-as-team-canada-reveals-lineup-ahead-of-czechia-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/455872\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Suzuki gets promotion as Team Canada reveals lineup ahead of Czechia opener"},"content":{"rendered":"


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

Photo credit: Screenshot<\/p>\n

The waiting is over, and Jon Cooper has finally shown his hand ahead of Team Canada\u2019s opening matchup against Czechia. And honestly, it\u2019s not just a lineup reveal, it\u2019s a statement.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s address the biggest ripple on the Czech side: Karel Vejmelka won\u2019t dress. Let\u2019s be honest, his absence is a tough blow for the Czechs.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a goalie who can steal a game all by himself, the kind of presence that gives an underdog real belief. Without him, there\u2019s one less safety net behind a team that\u2019s about to face waves of world-class shooters.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re staring down names like Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid, losing a game-breaker in net changes everything.<\/p>\n

But the headline that really has people talking is on Canada\u2019s side, and it involves the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n

Forget the earlier chatter about a conservative, defense-first assignment. Nick Suzuki didn\u2019t get a \u201csafe\u201d role. He got a promotion. And not a small one either.<\/p>\n

Suzuki is set to line up on the right wing of the first line, alongside MacKinnon and Brandon Hagel. For Suzuki, the scenario is straight out of a movie: he goes from a potential supporting role to a prime seat next to the most explosive player on the planet.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s call it like it is: Cooper is sending a clear message by putting Suzuki there. He wants intelligence, poise, and defensive responsibility to balance MacKinnon\u2019s firepower and pace. Suzuki\u2019s detail and two-way reliability give that top unit structure \u2014 the kind that keeps a line dangerous even when it\u2019s not scoring.<\/p>\n

Jordan Binnington gets the start against Czechia <\/p>\n

Now to the other critical decision: Team Canada\u2019s starter in goal. After Cooper stayed quiet as long as he could, the confirmation is out, Jordan Binnington gets the net for Game 1.<\/p>\n

The choice is logical, Binnington is a Stanley Cup winner who doesn\u2019t shy away from pressure, he feeds off it.<\/p>\n

With Darcy Kuemper left aside this morning, the spotlight narrowed quickly, and now Binnington carries the responsibility of setting the tone immediately.<\/p>\n

In a short tournament, there\u2019s no room for passengers and no room for mistakes. But now Canada has a goalie, Canada has a lineup \u2014 and the real hockey can finally begin.<\/p>\n

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

POLL<\/p>\n

2 HOURS AGO|78 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Nick Suzuki gets promotion as Team Canada reveals lineup ahead of Czechia opener<\/p>\n

Do you trust Jordan Binnington to lead Canada to victory?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: Screenshot The waiting is over, and Jon Cooper has finally shown his hand…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2551,5,2086,1268,40,4,37667,3037],"class_list":{"0":"post-455872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-czechia","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-jon-cooper","11":"tag-jordan-binnington","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-radio-canada","15":"tag-team-canada"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116058961940691767","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455872","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=455872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}