All-around play places Suzuki on good footing to win spot with Team Canada

BROSSARD, Que. — Doug Armstrong couldn’t have missed it. 

With seconds left in time beyond regulation of a sport on Nov. 4 on the Bell Centre, he had a fowl’s eye view of 1 potential Team Canada member robbing one other of a game-winning alternative, and it needed to have made a robust impression on him.

Surely the architect of Canada’s Olympic crew famous the entire sequence, which began with Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki profitable a defensive-zone draw again clear proper earlier than bailing his crew out for not recovering the puck. 

But when the Philadelphia Flyers snapped it round earlier than it arrived on Travis Konecny’s stick for a one-timer, seeing Suzuki flash out, drop to a knee and block Konecny’s shot to ship the sport to a shootout needed to have been eye-popping to Armstrong. 

Had it been Konecny on Suzuki, it wouldn’t have stood out as a lot to him. Konecny’s penchant for placing his physique on the road to win a sport is a giant a part of what earned him his function on Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off final February, so watching him step out of the lane on a Suzuki shot to beat his Flyers would’ve been watching him do one thing fully out of character.

But Suzuki displaying that doing this sort of factor is a characteristic of his character—in his 22^nd minute of motion in a sport he’d already contributed a objective to—must weigh within the steadiness of the Olympic determination, which have to be rendered by Dec. 31.

Since Nov. 5, it’s solely gotten extra advanced for Armstrong and the others concerned in selecting the roster.

Suzuki and Konecny have every recorded 9 factors and plus-5 rankings by means of their final 11 video games, although the previous did it whereas concurrently nursing his means again to full well being after blocking the latter’s shot. Meanwhile, different gamers in rivalry for coveted spots have exploded offensively.

One of them is Connor Bedard, who’s put up 21 factors in 12 video games since Nov. 5, inserting him solely behind one different Canadian—Nathan MacKinnon, who has 24 factors and a plus-21 ranking over his final 11 video games and is already locked into the roster.

Armstrong is definitely not the one one who’s seen what Bedard’s been doing.

“I watched the Hawks (Sunday) night and they were down 3-0 early, and he kind of brought them back pretty quick,” stated Suzuki’s linemate, Cole Caufield. “So…four points…”

Macklin Celebrini had only one on Saturday, however he nonetheless produced 18 over the 12 previous to that, making him the third-most productive Canadian participant since Suzuki blocked that Konecny shot in entrance of Armstrong on the Bell Centre.

The 19-year-old, who was taken first total by the San Jose Sharks in 2024, has 13 objectives and 37 factors by means of 26 video games to date. And 20-year-old Bedard, who was taken first by the Blackhawks in 2023, has 16 objectives, 37 factors by means of 25 video games.

They each have produced greater than every other participant not named MacKinnon, and every of them have posted 9 extra factors than Suzuki, who’s solely performed 24 video games to date.

Where Bedard and Celebrini fall behind the Canadiens’ captain is in big-game expertise, which is extra a perform of their ages than anything. As is the extent of element of their sport when in comparison with Suzuki’s.

Martin St. Louis, who coaches Suzuki and performed for Team Canada on the 2014 Olympics, stated that final half is what issues most to Team Canada.

We didn’t should ask him if he believes Suzuki ought to make it based mostly on his consideration to element. We know he does.

But listening to St. Louis say, “If you lack little details, you have to be a top-10 player in the world,” solely highlighted how tempted Armstrong and the Canadian brass could also be in having each Bedard and Celebrini on the Olympics.

Bedard being plus-10 on his season whereas averaging 21:15 per sport suggests his particulars have come a great distance.

And Celebrini confirmed those that had been watching him—and those that had been enjoying with him—on the 2025 world championship that he’s received much more element to his sport than most gamers his age.

“I think that’s what makes him really special, is he’s not a one-trick pony,” stated Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson, who performed for Team Canada alongside Celebrini final summer season. “He doesn’t just get it done on one side of the ice. He’s very committed to both sides and he already has a very responsible game for a guy who’s putting up very good numbers. So, obviously a guy that you could envision being up and down the lineup on a team like that.”

Matheson is aware of the identical is true of Suzuki.

He’s performed with the London, Ont., native since 2022 and watched him blossom into one of the full gamers within the league. It’s left the 31-year-old in awe of the expansion in his teammate’s sport.

“I think it’s just getting more and more complete every season, every game,” stated Matheson. “He’s so consistent in the way he plays. He just kind of keeps adding to it, which is really impressive from where it was at the beginning of my time here.”

Konecny was sturdy over the identical interval, with back-to-back 30-goal seasons main right into a 24-goal, career-high 76-point 2024-25 marketing campaign.

Konecny simply hasn’t been as productive to start out this season, making it tougher to check him filling a task additional up Canada’s roster.

He had a tough time filling a task additional down the lineup on the 4 Nations. He was out and in of their lineup on account of sickness and damage, which solely ratcheted up the strain on him to observe up a robust end to final season with an explosive begin to this one. 

Five objectives and 19 factors by means of 24 video games wouldn’t be thought-about explosive by any measure. 

But even when objectives and factors aren’t the one measures of what makes Konecny efficient, his totals are underwhelming in comparison with these of different Canadians who might fill the kind of function he’d occupy on the Olympics.

Both he and Anthony Cirelli should be trying over their shoulders at Suzuki and six-foot-four winger Tom Wilson, who’s recorded 15 objectives and 29 factors by means of Washington’s first 26 video games. 

Like Konecny, Cirelli’s numbers are removed from distinctive. 

But they’re respectable, as he has 9 objectives and 17 factors in 21 video games to date this season. And even when Suzuki and Wilson produce extra and can even kill penalties, Cirelli is probably the most reliable penalty killer for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who presently have the NHL’s only penalty kill.

Jon Cooper, who coaches the Lightning and Team Canada, can have an enormous say within the Olympic determination, and also you higher imagine he’ll be pushing to have Cirelli subsequent to fellow Lightning and 4 Nations winger Brandon Hagel for the match.

With 11 objectives and 18 factors in 11 video games since Nov. 5, Hagel’s one other participant who’s outproduced Suzuki of late.

But Suzuki displaying initially of November that he’s about extra than simply manufacturing in entrance of Canada’s lead determination maker was extra essential for his case than anything that’s occurred since. Because Armstrong noticed Suzuki lead all NHLers with 56 factors from the primary sport after 4 Nations by means of the one on Nov. 4 and already knew he had the top-end manufacturing to play up Team Canada’s lineup.

Seeing Suzuki reinforce his league-leading plus-25 by means of that stretch with a sacrifice to maintain the Canadiens alive in that sport towards the Flyers confirmed he can play in any function.

It places Suzuki on sturdy footing within the tightening race for spots to finish Canada’s ahead group.

Now he should dash in the direction of the end line whereas persevering with to point out he’s keen to do anything it takes to get the job accomplished.