Team USA announced their 25-man roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi, Russia and not surprisingly there were several notable omissions. The one nearest and dearest to our hearts was that of Jack Johnson. Johnson has represented his country on numerous occasions, including during the 2010 Winter Olympics, and was considered a lock at the outset of the selection process along with fellow defensemen Ryan Suter and Ryan McDonagh.
It's never easy to choose a roster for an event of this nature. There are only so many spots available and there are going to be tough decisions that need to be made. Evidently Johnson came out on the short side of one decision as the selection committee elected to take first-timers Cam Fowler, Justin Faulk and John Carlson along with vet Brooks Orpik over Johnson.
Johnson had his support, with Kings GM Dean Lombardi and Calgary president of hockey operations Brian Burke at the forefront. Lombardi, who acquired Johnson from Carolina and then dealt him to Columbus in the Jeff Carter deal, said, "This kid's (Johnson) is a damn good player," and, "It's not even close for me on whether this kid should be in our top five. No question."
Burke meanwhile referred to Johnson as a "no-maintenance" player, meaning as he explained, "You don't have to take them aside and read them the riot act or pump them up at this level."
The Team's GM, David Poile, also had a hard time leaving Johnson's name off the list, saying at one point in the process, "Twelve days. Jack will not let us down for 12 days. It's a gut feeling for Jack. It's not how he's playing. It's what he's done in the past. It's history versus the present."
I'm sure it hurts Johnson not to be part of Team USA but hopefully he'll use it as motivation and ramp up his play the rest of the way.
Horton
The long-awaited debut of Nathan Horton in a Columbus sweater may be over. The Jackets activate Horton, along with netminder Sergei Bobrovsky and D Dalton Prout off injured reserve and chances are good at this point that Horton suits up.
Horton, himself a big guy, had a lot of success in Boston playing on the opposite side of hulking winger Milan Lucic. The Jackets don't have a player of Lucic's caliber in the lineup but Horton could mesh well on a line with either Ryan Johansen or Brandon Dubinsky. Both Johansen and Dubinsky have good size and are good on the forecheck. I think a trio of Cam Atkinson on the left, Dubinsky in the middle with Horton on the right would work well.