NHL analyst points out "biggest error" in Team Canada's roster selection hindering Connor McDavid's production

Connor McDavid scored the solitary goal in Team Canada's 3-1 loss to Team USA in their second fixture of the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, the Edmonton Oilers captain was kept quiet for most of the game with a strong defensive effort from the Americans in Montreal.

During the game head coach Jon Cooper tried a number of combinations alongside McDavid. Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner was the primary playmaker alongside McDavid in the first game against Sweden and in the first few minutes of the game against Team USA. Cooper tried Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby alongside Connor against USA but nothing seemed to work for the Canadians.

The Canadians' play has brought forward the argument that they made a mistake by not picking Zach Hyman, McDavid's teammate in Edmonton and his primary playmaker. On TSN, analyst and former NHL player Frankie Corrado stated what he felt was missing from the Canadian offense. He pointed out the absence of Hyman.

"I think the biggest error is not having Zach Hyman on the team," Corrado said. "Think about, like you need Connor McDavid to be the best player in the world to play like he plays on the Edmonton Oilers. And you have his wingman who has it figured out like the guy knows it. You don't have to have this feeling-out process."

The hockey analyst spoke about how McDavid didn't have someone who he has on-court chemistry with and said:

"He (McDavid) doesn't have someone to work off of as easily. Like we've seen Marner, we've seen Reinhart, we've seen Jon Cooper go to a line with MacKinnon, Crosby, McDavid, like we've seen a few different combinations now, but you had the guy (Hyman) ready-made.

"I understand at the start of the season, he wasn't scoring, shooting percentage, all that kind of stuff, guess what? Not necessarily a goal scorer, but he knows how to play with McDavid," Cooper added.

Zach Hyman's slow start to season possibly kept him off 4 Nations Face-Off team

When the Team Canada roster was announced, Hyman was having a rough patch. Through 20 games this season, he had scored just thrice with a total of eight points. This was in contrast to his superlative 54-goal season last year that helped the Oilers to a Stanley Cup Final appearance.

But since then he has rejuvenated himself scoring 24 points and 16 goals in 30 games. Alongisde McDavid he has a +8 rating (+/-) with 15 goals and 11 assists in 44 games this season. Hyman's inclusion in Team Canada could have given them a better shot at performing well in the tournament.