Rust Left Off Team USA, No New Penguins Names on Team Canada

The Pittsburgh Penguins got shut out when the United States roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament was announced Wednesday. There had been at least some popular push for winger Bryan Rust to make the squad.

Rust, who plays on the Penguins’ top line centered by Sidney Crosby and has been a fixture in the top six for several seasons, is tied with Crosby for second on the team with eight goals. He has 13 points in 20 games. He missed seven games early this season because of a lower-body injury.

The general manager for Team USA is Minnesota Wild GM and former Penguins player and executive Bill Guerin. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is coaching Team USA. Those connections were not enough to get Rust onto the roster.

One of the wingers on the American team is former Penguins star Jake Guentzel.

The NHL will shut down for the tournament, which will feature the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston. Team USA is a +175 win, according to the books on ohbetting.com

Six players for each team were previously announced, including two Penguins, Crosby for Canada and defenseman Erik Karlsson for Sweden. The full rosters for Sweden and Finland were announced earlier Wednesday.

No players other than Crosby were named to Team Canada. Barring injury replacements between now and the tournament, no Penguins other than Crosby and Karlsson are pegged to participate in the 4 Nations.

Crosby figures to be part of a dynamic line, perhaps with the likes of Edmonton’s Connor McDavid or Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.

The full rosters:

Team USA

Forwards: Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs,Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, Chris Kreider, New York Rangers, Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks, Brock Nelson, New York Islanders, Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers

Defensemen: Adam Fox, New York Rangers, Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins

Goalies: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

Team Canada

Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins, Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning, Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers, Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning,  Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning, Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes, Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers, Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights

Defensemen: Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets, Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights, Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights, Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche

Goalies: Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues, Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights, Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens

Team Sweden

Forwards: Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, Viktor Arvidsson, Edmonton Oilers, Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils, Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks, Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild, William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights, Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings, Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins, Gustav Nyquist, Nashville Predators, Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings

Defensemen: Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers, Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins, Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames, Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild, Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers

Goalies: Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils, Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators

Team Finland

Forwards: Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes, Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers, Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche, Joel Armia, Montreal Canadiens, Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks, Erik Haula, New Jersey Devils, Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars, Kaapo Kakko, New York Rangers, Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche, Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers, Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens, Eetu Luostarinen, Florida Panthers, Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks

Defensemen: Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars, Esa Lindell, Stars, Jani Hakanpaa, Toronto Maple Leafs, Niko Mikkola, Florida Panthers, Olli Maatta, Utah Hockey Club, Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia Flyers, Juuso Valimaki, Utah Hockey Club

Goalies: Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators, Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres