Is Cole Caufield going to represent Team USA at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off?

Cole Caufield is enjoying a quality season this year, his fifth in the NHL. He's recorded 49 points in 56 games played for the Montreal Canadiens. Was that enough to get him on the American team for the 4 Nations Face-Off?

Unfortunately, with a nation as full of hockey talent as the United States, there are going to be snubs. Caufield is one of them, as he was left off the final roster as competition begins today.

The United States team is deep, and not everyone is going to get a ton of time on the ice as it is. There are only so many roster spots, and they can only get so many minutes during competition.

Team USA coach Mike Sullivan, who ordinarily coaches the Pittsburgh Penguins, addressed the sheer lack of playing time which partly led to the snubbing of Caufield and others, via NHL:

“All of these guys are the go-to guys on their respective NHL teams. Not everybody can play on the first power play. Not everybody can play on a power play. ... We’re going to have to manage minutes and define roles for everyone so that we can come together as a team."

That team won't include Caufield, Clayton Keller, Jason Robertson, and others who might've ordinarily earned a spot.

---

NHL insider discusses Cole Caufield's shocking 4 Nations snub

Cole Caufield is currently ninth in all of hockey with 26 goals, yet he wasn't good enough to be one of the 13 forwards added to Team USA's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. It's an unfortunate situation, but there's a reason for it.

Cole Caufield was left off the USA roster (Imagn)

Sporting News' Bryan Murphy said:

"The reason for Caufield's omission also applies to the next four forwards on the list — the United States chose players such as Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider who can play bottom-six and special teams roles over the offensive talent of Caufield.

"Sure Caufield can shoot the puck like the rest, but the United States felt as though they had the offense and needed help on defense."

While Caufield is an excellent offensive talent, he doesn't do enough otherwise to earn a spot. He can score, but the USA already has plenty of that. They needed other things, and other players provided those things more than Caufield could.