The one snub that affects Connor McDavid has an insider furious at Team Canada’s roster logic
|
Daniel Lucente
Feb 6, 2026 (10:14)
|
|
Photo credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
Zach Hyman getting left off Team Canada while Connor McDavid’s best fit watches is driving one insider into full-on snub rage.
David Staples called it out bluntly: meshing with McDavid is hard, and Hyman is the rare guy who actually nailed it.
That’s the heart of the complaint, chemistry is not theoretical, it’s a real weapon in a short event.
When Canada unveiled its Olympic roster, the omission that kept getting repeated was Hyman.
Instead, when Brayden Point went down with an injury, the debate quickly swung to Seth Jarvis as the “picked over him” name, and that’s where the anger spikes.
To be clear, Jarvis is a legit player, 25-18-43 this season, and he was a 2020 first-rounder, 13th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes.
But Staples is basically saying Team Canada overthought the puzzle and ignored the one winger who already solved McDavid.
Hyman’s case is pretty simple too, he has 22-14-36 in 2025-26, and he lives in the greasy areas where international games swing.
Zach Hyman gives Team Canada the easy McDavid answer
Oilers fans are shaking their heads because this feels like hockey people trying to look smarter than the obvious.
Frank Seravalli even framed it as recency bias and pointed straight at the McDavid connection as a shortcut you actually want in a short tournament.
That’s the part Staples can’t get past, you don’t get many ready-made duos at this level.
Jarvis can drive his own line, sure, but Canada isn’t starving for “pretty good” players.
Canada is trying to win fast, and Hyman’s forecheck and net-front habits plug into McDavid’s game instantly.
If this roster stumbles early, the Hyman question is going to get louder, not quieter.
Also read on HockeyLatest :
Winnipeg Jets send two players down to the AHL, and it's telling
Winnipeg Jets send two players down to the AHL, and it's telling
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 6|177 ANSWERS The one snub that affects Connor McDavid has an insider furious at Team Canada’s roster logic Should Team Canada have picked Zach Hyman over Seth Jarvis? | ||
| Yes | 129 | 72.9 % |
| No | 48 | 27.1 % |
| List of polls | ||