2026 Olympics: listening to Bill Guerin talk, Caufield and Hutson must not like their chances

Caufield and Hutson, as talented as they are, aren’t exactly physical guys. Both are smaller players who are best known for their ability to blacken the score sheet… but not in the checking column.

Guerin notes, however, that he knows he won’t face the Canadiens every game, and that he needs versatility to play many different types of hockey, but we agree that the goal south of the border is to beat the Canadiens.

You know, the one who beat him in the grand final of the 4 Nations Confrontation.

Obviously, the U.S. will be more interested in players who can shuffle. A guy like Tage Thompson, for example, earned points with a big performance at Worlds and might be hard to ignore.

And the fact that Caufield and Hutson decided not to go to Worlds is also something that could work against them. They didn’t get a chance to showcase their skills while the country was winning the gold medal… but above all, we know how much the fact of appearing at other competitions weighs in Team USA’s decision-making balance.

The first six players to represent the USA at the Olympics will be announced on Monday afternoon. We shouldn’t expect Caufield or Hutson to be among them… and we can even assume that they won’t be part of the team’s final line-up.

Maybe they’ll need injuries to some players to have a chance (Hutson would have a better chance if a guy like Quinn Hughes were sidelined, say), but as things stand, Guerin doesn’t sound like someone who wants to invite Caufield and Hutson to the Olympics.

Overtime

– Interesting.

– Still!

– The Red Sox need him.