No Thrashers on U.S. Olympic Team

Can't really say I'm surprised. Craig Custance lists six Americans for an all-snub team, and Hainsey is on that list. While I like the respect for the Thrashers and their talent that Custance expresses by putting Hainsey on that list, I tend to disagree with calling Hainsey a "snubbed player" from the long list of those who didn't make the U.S. Olympic roster. He seems to have been struggling most of the season, with point totals on pace to be well below his totals last season. Bogosian is on pace for a pretty solid sophomore season points-wise (around 35 points by quick estimation), but there have been times when he seems to have been pulling an Exelby and passing to his D-partner or going for the big hit at the expense of sound defensive positioning, thus making him something of a liability, which is something that Brian Burke likely would not accept on his Olympic team. That they weren't selected doesn't surprise me at all, though I must say I am somewhat disappointed. Marty Reasoner could play a defensive and leadership role on the U.S. team, but I'm not entirely sure he would beat out someone like Langenbrunner or Drury for those roles at forward, especially since they tend to bring more offense to the table than does Reasoner. Jim Slater is the only other American-born Thrasher. I like Slates' hard work, but an Olympian he is not.

As an American myself, it would have been nice to have a player or two from my favorite NHL team to make the U.S. Olympic roster. Next time, though. By then I feel pretty sure that Bogosian will be a player they won't be able to dismiss, and there may well be another American-born Thrasher who makes the U.S. Olympic roster.