One look at the USA 2026 Olympic roster raises a major head scratcher pertaining to the mysterious absence of Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson.
Team USA Management Made Mistake By Not Picking Jason Robertson for 2026 Olympic Roster
Robertson, arguably the most underrated player, has over his first five NHL seasons with Dallas scored more than 40 goals on two occasions and has produced 168 goals along with 394 points and only 98 PIMs in his first 374 games.
Originally drafted in 2017, 39th overall by the Stars, this 26 year-old from Arcadia, California, stands as of January 7th, second among American-born players and fifth in the league with 24 goals, while leading all American-born players and sitting eighth overall with 52 points this season.
This was not the first time Robertson was turned away by Team USA management. Last year, in a season which saw him score 80 points (35 goals, 45 assists) an a +10, Robertson didn’t make 4 Nations Face-Off.
After putting together a solid first half, Robertson thought he had a great chance of making the team and admitted to being extremely disappointed at not being on the roster to compete next month at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milano Corina, Italy.
“Obviously it hurts your ego,” Robertson said. “But I’m not going to change the way I play and (am) happy to keep doing what I’m doing. I think I just strive to be the best whenever I can be, and it so happened this year was the Olympic year. I mean, that’s not going to stop me from doing that the rest of the season.”
One would think that if a forward from the roster is injured before the games, that Robertson would be the first to get a call. However, he did admit that as of now, no one from USA management had notified Robertson that he was on standby.
If the Americans don’t strike Olympic gold, this decision to not include Robertson could come back to haunt them for years to come.
No matter how one looks at it, leading all American born players with 52 points while sitting second behind the Wild’s Matt Boldy for goals among a USA born player in a season, equals a chance to represent your country at the Olympics.
Robertson Had Breakout 2022-23 Season
Following Robertson’s first two seasons with Dallas which saw him produce 45 and 79 points, the 6’3″ 204 pound left winger emerged as a superstar following a breakout 46 goal, 109 point campaign which placed him sixth in NHL scoring. That magical season, which saw Robertson enjoy an 18 game point streak, would also see him proudly represent Dallas at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game held at Amerant Bank Arena in Florida.
Robertson would with his 109 point season put his name in the franchise record book as he set a new record for most points in a season after the team moved from Minnesota to Dallas. If you include when the franchise played in Minnesota, the record belongs to forward Bobby Smith who back in 1981-82 scored 114 points in a season with the Minnesota North Stars.
During Robertson’s first three years in the NHL his points production dramatically increased from 45 as a rookie followed by a solid 79 point season and finally that breakthrough 109 point season. For the past two seasons he has scored a very respectable 80 points. Meanwhile, for Robertson’s first three years, his goal output has gone from 17 as a rookie followed by 41 and 46. Last year he scored 35 goals and currently Robertson has 25 which puts him on pace for roughly a 50 goal season.
Lots of Deserving Talent Didn’t Make It On Team USA’s Olympic Roster
Every single Olympic Team has tough decisions to make when figuring out the roster.
Team Canada for example left a lot of highly talented players off their roster and so did the USA.
Besides Robertson, convincing debates can be made for such players as New York Rangers defenceman Adam Fox who in 30 games played, has 4 goals along with 28 points, 12 PIM’s and a plus/minus of +4. Other notable names not included on the USA Olympic Team playing roster are Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies who has 12 goals along with 38 points and a plus/minus of -2, Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield who has 20 goals along with 40 points and a plus/minus of +9 and Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson who in his sophomore season has produced 7 goals along with 42 points and a plus/minus of +13.
These are just a few of the handful of talented players left off the USA Olympic Roster.
You can bet that whoever doesn’t make the USA roster, will be watching every game and cheering their country to a gold medal.
Main Image: James Guillory-Imagn Images
