Biggest national team snubs ever?

[Pilky01]

Rob Zamuner is still my all time biggest WTF ever in hockey.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Letting Bourque take a chance in the shootout while Gretzky sat on the bench in Nagano 98 still bafffles me.

Why? Gretzky was notoriously average at breakaways.

 

[Jablkon]

Jiri Hudler through his entire career

 

[GreatSaveEssensa]

Why? Gretzky was notoriously average at breakaways.[/QUOTE
And Bourque was good? You dont leave the best hockey player ever sitting on the bench in favour of a D man. Gretzky had an uncanny ability of coming up huge when needed through out his career....may e he had one more bit of magic up his sleeve, but we will never know.

 

[Eye of Ra]

MATHIAS JOHANSSON (!!!!) and Jörgen Jönsson over Fredrik Modin/Marcus Nilson/Kristian Huselius in Olympics 2002.

Tärnström/Bäckman over Kenny Jönsson in World Cup 2004.

Mika Hannula/Jörgen Jönsson over Marcus Nilson and Nils Ekman in Olympics 2006.

Modin, Weinhandl, Magnus Johansson over Alexander Steen, Mikael Samuelsson and Anton Strålman in Olympics 2010.

Also, its a shame that Magnus Wernblom and Thomas Berglund never got the chance in World Championship. Both of them should have been locks for many years in Tre Kronor. They where exactly what we needed, those 2 on the 4th line would forecheck the crap out of other teams. Both of them where very skilled aswell, Wernblom the best swedish powerforward ever after Sandström and Renberg and Thomas Berglund was one of the best SHL centers for many years while being gritty and physical as hell. Its a shame that team sweden coaches always prefered non-physical 4th liners.

 

[Nick Hansen]

Also, its a shame that Magnus Wernblom and Thomas Berglund never got the chance in World Championship. Both of them should have been locks for many years in Tre Kronor. They where exactly what we needed, those 2 on the 4th line would forecheck the crap out of other teams. Both of them where very skilled aswell, Wernblom the best swedish powerforward ever after Sandström and Renberg and Thomas Berglund was one of the best SHL centers for many years while being gritty and physical as hell. Its a shame that team sweden coaches always prefered non-physical 4th liners.

Baffling that Wernblom didn't ever play a World Championship for us while crap like Niklas Persson continued to get a pass every goddamn year.

 

[Uncle Rotter]

I don't remember John Madden ever being in the running for a spot on the 2002 team that won the gold, and he was as good a defensive forward as there was back then.

Wasn't that Peca's role?

 

[VMBM]

I don't know if it fully meets the criterion, but Mikhailov, Petrov, Yakushev, Shadrin and Tsygankov being left off the Soviet national team for the Canada Cup 1976 (Kharlamov too, but he had been badly injured and was in a hospital) was an unfortunate (political) decision.

Not sure that the end result would have been any different in the tournament, but at least it would have made the games with USSR much more colorful and exciting. 1991 CC was the same too, but by then the Soviets had lost their luster a bit anyway...

 

[Elvs]

For Sweden I recall...

Mika Hannula over Tomas Holmstrom (though Holmstron still ended up getting an invite due to injuries).

Fredrik Modin over Mikael Samuelsson.

Henrik Tallinder over Victor Hedman.

 

[bobholly39]

Kunitz, didn't they leave way better players at home?

They left Giroux off of that team which is questionable, but I understand why they did it.

Yeah. No offense but Giroux making the team or not is almost a "bleh, who cares" question. Don't even dislike him, but Canada had so many talented centers up front that 1 more/less wasn't a big deal. Adding Kunitz for chemistry with Crosby isn't the end of the world.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Baffling that Wernblom didn't ever play a World Championship for us while crap like Niklas Persson continued to get a pass every goddamn year.

Niklas Persson was fine....but Emvall, Warg, Wallin....my god.

 

[NJGoalie]

Yeah. No offense but Giroux making the team or not is almost a "bleh, who cares" question. Don't even dislike him, but Canada had so many talented centers up front that 1 more/less wasn't a big deal. Adding Kunitz for chemistry with Crosby isn't the end of the world.

That's basically why I said I understood it, but Giroux even then was a MUCH better winger than Chris Kunitz so I think it would count as a snub. The fact that he had known chemistry with Sid was the only reason he went over G. Whether that is a good reason or not is irrelevant at this point as they won gold, so I won't be putting up any arguments from my end based on the results, but the talent speaks for itself.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

Wasn't that Peca's role?

At his peak, Peca was a better offensive player than Draper and Madden by a fair margin, while also being a strong defensive forward.

 

[Hasbro]

Roy, Belfour, or Broduer not getting the starting nod over CuJo in '02

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

You're all wrong.

It's Josh Ho-Sang. An indefensible omission that could only be explained by systematic prejudice.

Am I joking?

 

[Zenos]

Roy, Belfour, or Broduer not getting the starting nod over CuJo in '02

It wasn't the biggest snub ever, but it was certainly a head scratcher. Of course, Roy famously pulled himself out of the discussion.
Looking back with hindsight it's crazy that one of the best goalies of all time (Roy) only suited up for Canada once in his entire career. Although you can't argue with the results in 91 (Ranford) or 2002 (Brodeur), one has to wonder if he could have been the difference in 96 (Cujo was good, but not great in that final series vs USA).

But to answer the original question, for Canada at least it has to be Yzerman in 91 and Crosby in 2006.

 

[Hasbro]

It wasn't the biggest snub ever, but it was certainly a head scratcher. Of course, Roy famously pulled himself out of the discussion.

Which I'm sure he did because it was obvious Gretzky and Pat Quinn were going with CuJo.

 

[McDonald19]

Bobby Ryan left off team USA back when he was a 30 goal scorer.

 

[Elias Pettersson]

Lol Sweden did not take the best player in the SHL and one of the top 3 players outside of the NHL to the olympics.. in a year where there were no NHL players. Shame

 

[vcanuck]

Elias Petersson not making team Sweden in the Olympics despite leading the damn league in scoring as a 19 yr old and chemistry with Dahlin was a head scratcher...

they didn't even get a medal........ just saiyannn

 

[ulvvf]

For sweden i would say,

2018: Olympics: Pettersson
2016 world cup: Klingberg (Instead, Kronwall, Hjalmarsson)
2014: Olympics: Hedman (Instead, Murray, Tallinder etc)
2006: Olympics: M Nylander (Instead, Hannula etc)

 

[Big Phil]

Kunitz, didn't they leave way better players at home?

Yes they did. Martin St. Louis only got invited after Stamkos was hurt. A reigning Art Ross Trophy winner only got an invite because of that, and Chris Kunitz went himself. Claude Giroux was left off the team too. I am sure Crosby may have had some influence but this is what happens when the team is picked by the media. Whether it is Zamuner in 1998 or guys like Andreychuk or Nieuwendyk getting in the HHOF there is always the same pattern that starts with the media. This is how the Kunitz thing went:

Media - "Kunitz should make it"
Me - "Haha, yeah, that's kind of funny"
Media - "No seriously, who has better chemistry with Crosby than him?"
Me - "Well yeah but would Rob Brown have been invited just because he and Mario........"
Media - "Besides, he is having a good year."
Me - "Oh wow, they are serious. Yeah but the fans won't like this.................oh wait, lots of them do. Yeah but Yzerman knows how to pick a team, and Babcock..............oh wow, he made the team. I mean he REALLY made the team, no joke."

Canada had high tempo play in 2014 and lots of scoring chances but surprisingly only scored 18 goals in 6 games. If you want to know part of the reason why, and why Crosby only had three points, look no further than the times Kunitz literally blew scoring chance after scoring chance that he was spoonfed. Yeah, in Canada we get mad even when we WIN!

 

[Big Phil]

Yzerman in 1991, how that is possible to this day is staggering

Roy in 1996. I honestly believe this is one of those rare moments the Canadian government should have stepped in (I'm sort of kidding).

Bobby Hull in 1972. Same thing for Hull that is for Roy. This one might be every bit as bad, if not worse, than Yzerman in 1991. Even though he bolted to the WHA you don't pass up Bobby Hull who had just scored 50 goals.

Yet we won two out of those three tournaments.

Other ones that were strange, and cost us if we lost but in my opinion still didn't help even if we won:

1981 - I get they were getting the old guard out but there were a lot of (still young enough) players they either cut or didn't invite who were still good: Sittler, McDonald, Barber, Clarke, Shutt

1984 - Alright, Sather had his own ideas, and in the end it worked, but we won a narrow overtime game vs. the Soviets. These guys were not on the team: Savard, Hawerchuk, Trottier, Ciccarelli, Dionne

1987 - Keenan took some gambles. He left off these defensemen: Stevens, MacInnis, Robinson, Potvin, Lowe, Wilson. Not to mention these forwards: Neely, Yzerman, Savard. It is true not all of them were snubbed, some had other reasons for not being there.

 

[ScottishCanuck]

Surprised nobody has mentioned Samuelsson in 2010, when he was left off the team and told Sweden that they could "go **** themselves". Then he went on a massive tear to end the season scoring 20 goals in 30 games and leading the team in the playoffs.

EDIT: Someone did mention it

 

[Uncle Rotter]

1984 - Alright, Sather had his own ideas, and in the end it worked, but we won a narrow overtime game vs. the Soviets. These guys were not on the team: Savard, Hawerchuk, Trottier, Ciccarelli, Dionne

1987 - Keenan took some gambles. He left off these defensemen: Stevens, MacInnis, Robinson, Potvin, Lowe, Wilson. Not to mention these forwards: Neely, Yzerman, Savard. It is true not all of them were snubbed, some had other reasons for not being there.

Trottier-wanted to play for US. Robinson-broke his leg playing polo. Potvin-declined (as in 1984 as well). Lowe-declined.