The Men's Hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics begins tomorrow, and Dallas Stars fans will be able to watch the Finnish Mafia play in one of the first games. It's so awesome getting to watch our favorite players represent their countries on the biggest stages. The Stars have repeatedly told the media that it's been a childhood dream to don their country's colors and suit up for the Olympics. However, another untold story is the players who get snubbed.
We see it all the time with the All-Star Game across all the sports in America. Tons of baseball players do so well during the first half of the season and don't end up making the All-Star roster because they aren't a favorite player league-wide. I remember watching the Texas Rangers when I was little, seeing some of the players do so well in the first half of the season, yet not make the All-Star Game. It just makes you wonder sometimes if people are paying attention.
Now, back to Dallas Stars hockey: they have two players who have worked their butts off this season and aren't representing their teams at the Olympics. Jason Robertson is one of the players who should be in the Olympics right now. I don't know if Bill Guerin holds a grudge against the Stars for how his tenure ended, but leaving Robertson off the USA roster is the equivalent of committing treason. I know he wants to keep the team that played at the 4-Nations Faceoff together, but leaving out Robertson and Cole Caufield feels wrong.
Team Canada is also in the doghouse a little bit for not adding Wyatt Johnston. I know he's a young player and will get his shot in the future to represent Canada with Thomas Harley, but with how he's been on the power play for Dallas this season, you would think he would have made the roster. Canada is loaded with talent, and I'm not surprised that Johnston didn't make the roster with how many talented forwards they had. It's just disappointing they didn't add him on when there were a couple of injuries to forwards on their Olympic roster.
Now it's not the end of the road for Robertson and Johnston to compete on the national stage. Both are extremely gifted young players who will get their shot when players retire and roster spots open up. I'm sure a lot of Dallas Stars fans are happy at the moment right now that two of our top players are resting up for the final quarter of the season after the Olympic break. Unless Johnston decides to go wild and get injured in a metal mosh pit, both will be healthy when the season resumes.
To conclude this article, Stars fans are extremely disappointed but happy their top two players are back in Dallas. While the fanbase would like to see both players participate in the Winter Olympics, they will get their shot at the 2030 Games in France. For now, let's allow Robertson and Johnston to get some rest because the Stars have a rough last quarter of the season going up against the Colorado Avalanche three more times. I would rather them be healthy than injured for those games.