Remember That Time Team USA Left Phil Kessel Off Of Their World Cup Roster?
0-0 game with 53 minutes down and just 7 to go. Who ya gonna call?
That’s right, folks. Captain America himself. Philip Joseph Kessel Jr. Truly one of god’s greatest gifts to Earth. He is a loathsome, offensive brute. But he can shoot the shit out of a hockey puck. You look at this man’s playoff stats his last 2 years in Pittsburgh. Last year he had 22 points (10, 12) in 24 games. This year he has 14 points (6, 8) in 14 games. If you’re looking for a devilishly handsome son of a bitch who is going to get his points when the stage is the biggest, there’s nobody better than Phil the Thrill. Which is why today is as good of a day as ever to remember Team USA left him off their roster for the World Cup of Hockey.
GOAT.
Obviously Kessel was nursing a hand injury from the season when the roster was finalized and he probably wouldn’t have been able to play anyway. But the fact that they left him off the initial roster completely was a slap in the dick to Americans everywhere. The fact that smacked asses like Justin Abdelkader and Derek Stepan were on the roster and not Phil Kessel was problematic to say the least. David Backes, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Blake Wheeler. All nice enough players that have roles to play in a regular NHL season. None of them are prolific goal scorers who are going to make immediate impacts in a two-week long tournament. As evidenced by the fact that they went 0-3 in the tournament.
Phil Kessel is a treasure. He is the American Dream. And he’s also a fucking lunatic which makes him even better.
I don’t care what jersey he’s wearing. I’ll never have anything but love for Philly Kess.