These superstars were not selected for the Olympics - one team made an incomprehensible decision

The men’s ice hockey tournament of the Milano-Cortina Olympics will kick off on February 11.

Especially the United States and Canada made some tough decisions regarding their teams, as due to the large player pools in these countries, they had to leave NHL superstars out of the competition.

In particular, the decisions of the U.S. team management have raised questions, as the country’s three top NHL scorers this season – Cole Caufield, Jason Robertson, and Alex DeBrincat – were coldly left out of the tournament.

Also on the defensive side, the Americans made questionable decisions, leaving out, among others, Montreal Canadiens’ superstar defenseman Lane Hutson and Adam Fox, who was once named the NHL’s best defenseman.

Canada, heading into the tournament as an even bigger favorite than the United States, also had to make drastic cuts to its team. Notable absences include two recent first overall picks, the sensational Connor Bedard, and the rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who turned the direction of the New York Islanders.

Also, the third place in the NHL scoring race, Morgan Geekie, was left out of the tournament team along with trusted forward Sam Bennett and Mark Scheifele. Seth Jarvis and Evan Bouchard will also be watching the tournament from home.

From the vast NHL pool of Swedish players, the most notable absentees from the tournament team are Mattias Ekholm, William Eklund, Emil Heineman, and goaltender Linus Ullmark.

There were no shocking selections – or omissions – from the Finnish team, although some might have expected to see Matias Maccelli or Patrik Laine on the roster. The names Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Kasperi Kapanen are also missing from the list.