In last night’s World Cup action, Team USA was officially eliminated from medal contention after another lackluster performance – this time against Team Canada. The loss was their second straight where they were outplayed and looked unmotivated. The team was in dire need of some additional scoring, rather than the grittiness the team was assembled with.
Moments after the games conclusion, Phil Kessel took to Twitter in order to summarize his feelings:
Just sitting around the house tonight w my dog. Felt like I should be doing something important, but couldn't put my finger on it.
— Phil Kessel (@PKessel81) September 21, 2016
Mic drop.
Kessel has every right to be sour after being snubbed from Team USA. He had an impressive season last year with the Penguins, scoring 26 goals, and then capped it off with a Conn-Smythe worthy playoff performance in which he netted 10 goals and 12 assists in only 24 games. Those are the kind of numbers you want on your team, especially when you consider that every World Cup game should be playoff level hockey. Unfortunately for Team USA, Dean Lombardi and his assistants all felt different.
After an embarrassing showing in the World Cup, we’ll see how Team USA rebounds and prepares for the 2018 Winter Olympics and the next World Cup tournament. There’s still a debate as to whether or not NHL players will be allowed to compete in the next Olympics, so a snubbed player like Kessel might be waiting a while to further prove he should not have been left off of this team.
