For Matt Knies to even get asked is an incredible honour. Yes, this isn’t the “best-on-best” we want to see, but it’s still the Olympics, and it’s Team USA. I hope he makes it, and I hope he chooses to go.

On a recent 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek kicked around the question of NCAA players and their desire to not leave their teams. They were talking Owen Power, who is a lock to be on Team Canada if he says yes. It’s an interesting question because team loyalty is a big part of hockey, but Knies’ star is rising, and he really should ride it as far as it will take him.

You’ll notice some other familiar names on that list that might surprise you. Kenny Agostino couldn’t quite make the NHL, but he’s nearly a point per game in the KHL, and is a no-brainer pick. David Warsofsky, who was on the Marlies for a short time, is one of a fairly short list of American defenders available. They will struggle to find goalies however.

With teams restricted to players who are not under contract in the NHL (even if they play in the AHL), the pool is limited, and USA will have to lean heavily on the NCAA.