We are barreling toward the single best tournament in sports.
No, it isn’t the NFL playoffs or the College Football Playoff. It’s not this summer’s World Cup, either.
And it’s certainly not the World Baseball Classic or even March Madness.
I’m talking, of course, about the Men’s Olympic hockey tournament.
From Feb. 11-22, in a not-quite-finished, not-quite-to-spec arena in Milan, Italy, the top hockey-playing nations (minus the bad one) will face off for true world supremacy.
And with all due respect to the fine people of Finland, Sweden, and Czechia, let’s be honest about what this tournament is all about:
USA. Canada. Round 3.
Last February’s Four Nations Face-Off was just the appetizer. This is the main course, and revenge is on the menu for the Americans.
Not just for last winter, but for the heartbreak of the 2010 Olympics, too. (I’m still not over it.)
The United States is better equipped than ever to capture its first gold medal in men’s hockey since the Miracle on Ice team in 1980. Canada, as you would expect, is super-duper loaded.
Folks, it is on.
Our friendly, hockey-loving, yet-unannexed neighbors to the north are already gearing up. I say it’s time we do the same.
Because while the Canadians are busy wringing their hands over whether San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini — currently sitting second in the NHL in points at just 19 years old — should crack their Olympic roster, I am hearing almost no such debate about his exceptional 20-year-old Sharks linemate.
A linemate who is having an All-Star-caliber season himself.
A linemate who just so happens to be American.
Let’s talk about Will Smith.
The Massachusetts native has 27 points in 27 games this season, fresh off a two-goal, one-assist performance Monday against Utah.
He’s taken his game to a new level. It’s time for him to be in the conversation for playing at the highest level, in Milan.
It’s a long shot, I know, but so was Smith being this good this season. After his critical contributions to the gold medal effort for the USA at this summer’s World Championships, Smith was left off the Olympic team’s orientation camp roster in August.
That is looking like a big mistake.
While the U.S. team arguably has the best forward group in the tournament, Smith has quietly elevated his game to borderline superstar status.
Monday’s game was certainly a superstar performance. Not only did he have a hustle assist — winning the puck on the end boards following an offensive zone face-off win — but his first goal will be on the highlight reel for years to come.
Coming down the right boards with Celebrini, Smith took a drop pass from his center, casually put the puck between Utah defenseman Nate Schmidt’s legs, and cut toward the middle of the ice. Then he deked Brandon Tanev, twisting him like a wet rag and sending him into the ice, and fired a laser of a wrist shot that snuck five-hole from the edge of the right-wing circle.
“The kids are all right,” the great Drew Remenda proclaimed on the Sharks’ broadcast.
This kid sure is. He might be the most underrated player in the NHL right now.
Smith will likely always be overshadowed by Celebrini. The American winger is a star; Celebrini is a truly generational talent. But don’t let anyone tell you that Smith is merely a passenger on the Celebrini express. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Smith is the kind of player that any other rebuilding team would consider a singular centerpiece, their foundational talent.
And he is more than breaking out. Smith’s second-half push last year—30 points in his final 34 games—hinted at what was to come. This year has exceeded even lofty expectations. Not only is he scoring goals and dishing assists, but his off-the-puck work has shown significant improvement, too.
Don’t get me wrong, he can still get too cute at times. He sometimes tries to carry the puck out of the defensive zone rather than chipping it out. He uses his stick in puck battles when a little contact is called for.
But aren’t your college years for figuring things out like that?
Perhaps that stuff will keep him off the Olympic radar.
Perhaps a goal like Monday’s will get Team USA general manager Bill Guerin to wake up and give him a closer look.
It’s warranted.
As I see it, there are 10 forward locks for the Americans right now, presuming both the Tkachuks and Jack Hughes are back from injury by January. Every team will take 14 forwards. That means the U.S. has four spots up for grabs, with two likely to be wings.
Sure, Guerin can go safe. He can grab some power forwards for the fourth line and bench depth. I fear he’ll go with the loafing J.T. Miller or Vincent Trochek — two old-guard guys on a last-place team because of “character” or some nonsense like that.
And so we want Sabres energy on the American roster? Are Tage Thompson or Alex Tuch really going to prove to be the difference in the third period against Canada?
Seriously, are we playing to win or not to lose?
There’s a gold medal to win; now’s no time to be conservative. Let the Canadians outsmart themselves with their roster.
My love of the 2010s Chicago Blackhawks is well documented, but you cannot waste a roster spot on Patrick Kane, either. We aren’t doing lifetime achievement awards here.
No, the U.S. needs to look toward the young guns — Cole Caufield, Frank Nazar, Shane Pinto, Matthew Knies, Cutter Gauthier, Logan Cooley, and, last but hardly least, Smith — to fill out the bottom of this roster.
Yes, the goal is to win in 2026. Of course. But you can do that while setting up this team for 2030 and beyond, too.
Why take the old Kane when you can have the new one in Smith? One that’s playing at an elite level right now, to boot. One that has shown that his talent is not just game-changing, but team-changing.
Ultimately, the decision on the American roster doesn’t have to be made today.
But as an American who wants to see my country win gold in a 5 a.m. game come Feb. 22, my petition is clear:
The way Smith is playing, when the time comes for a roster decision, he needs to be in the conversation.