Rangers Sending 3 Olympians To Sochi, Okposo "Snubbed"
To no one’s surprise, Ryan Callahan & Ryan McDonagh were officially announced as members of Team USA yesterday. A third Ranger, Derek Stepan, is apparently having his selection questioned by Islanders fans butt hurt about Kyle Okposo being left home. They weren’t even competing for the same spot. USA’s strength is at the wings. Their weakness is up the middle. Stepan’s selection was much less of a “bubble” pick than people think. He’s a responsible two-way center who can play outside if needed. He’s also had recent international success at the World Juniors. He won’t see major ice time, and fans can argue he’s been outperformed on the stat sheet – but the fact is, with his history and limited competition at the center position, most unbiased hockey fans know he was the right depth choice.
As for Okposo – tough break. He’s had the best 40-game stretch of his career, but according to a great read on ESPN, he never really had a chance to play in Sochi. If you want to argue about Blake Wheeler making it, fine, but don’t forget Okposo is still behind Bobby Ryan and Brandon Saad who were also left off the roster. Ryan can be considered a “snub”. Keith Yandle was “snubbed”. Kyle Okposo simply doesn’t bring enough to the table at an already crowded position to even make the “snub” list. USA brass has made it clear this team wasn’t going to be built solely on point totals.