Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki was one of the more notable snubs from Team Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster last February.
While it's hard to argue with it now, given their success at the tournament, changes are bound to be made ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and Suzuki wants to be one of them.
The London, Ontario, native has spoken about his desire to make the Olympic team, and it appears as if he's made a tremendous impression on the head coach both on and off the ice so far.
Jon Cooper had very high praise for Suzuki when asked about him following last week's orientation camp. Eric Engels shared his comments in an article for Sportsnet.
"To be honest, I've seen immense growth from him. The one thing I didn't know about him was his personality. I made a point to spend time with him in Calgary, and I learned he's a phenomenal kid. He's fairly quiet, reads the room, but very engaging when you sit with him one-on-one. I had a great time with him, so that's just another box check in the cosmic trajectory of Nick Suzuki," Cooper said.
There may be more compelling storylines about the Canadiens heading into 2025-26, but there was no choice but to broach the topic of cap compliance with Kent Hughes.
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 3, 2025
Montreal's GM discussed his team's cap situation and more on Tuesday. (@EricEngels) https://t.co/EkVECYEPpi
The 26-year-old had an amazing 2024-25 season, tallying a career-high 89 points (30 goals, 59 assists) in 82 games while leading Montreal to the playoffs for the first time since 2020-21.
Suzuki should absolutely make Team Canada
Unless something unforeseen happens in the first half of 2025-26, Nick Suzuki should be a key part of Team Canada's 2026 Winter Olympic team.
Suzuki has shown statistical improvements in all six of his NHL seasons, on top of being reliable defensively and in the faceoff circle.
Now factor in his development as a leader, which Cooper praised him for, and it's impossible not to make a case for him to play a bottom-six role as a shutdown two-way forward for Canada in February.
He's represented his country before, so Nick Suzuki understands how much it means to wear the red and white on the biggest stage.