PLYMOUTH, Mich. — The United States was one goal short of defeating Canada in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, which naturally has led to plenty of second-guessing after the fact.

With a deep talent pool and a roster restricted to 13 forwards, there were always going to be snubs, and those included Clayton Keller, Cole Caufield and Jason Robertson.

But in the past four seasons, there’s only one American other than Auston Matthews in the top 10 in the NHL in goal scoring, and that’s the Buffalo Sabres’ Tage Thompson.

Thompson is tied for 10th in that span (158), including 47 in 2022-23 and 44 last season — the latter tied for third-most in the NHL and the most by an American.

“Tage was very much in the mix on the 4 Nations team, and he’s an incredible athlete,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan told The Athletic at the U.S.’s recent Olympic orientation camp. “But one of the challenges — just our approach with that 4 Nations team was it’s different than an All-Star team. You’re not just taking the 20-something best players. You need players to fill roles.

“One of the things we talked about a lot was player deployment. Go through a game: Who’s the first over the boards on your penalty kill? You’ve got a face-off on the left side, you’ve got a face-off on the right side, five-on-six at the end of a game. Who’s defending? What do your matchups look like? You need different skill sets for different things. And so you’re essentially trying to build a team.

“You’re not just saying, ‘OK, who are the best 20 players in the league?’ Especially if their skill sets might be redundant.”

And that’s what it came down to with Thompson, the hulking 6-foot-6, 27-year-old forward who can play in all situations. One thing that may have hurt him is his NHL team. Fair or not, he plays for Buffalo, which hasn’t made the playoffs in any of Thompson’s seven seasons. U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said over and over again during last year’s selection process that he was looking for players who had experience playing in pressure-packed situations.

There’s no doubt Thompson was stung by USA Hockey’s decision to keep him off the roster.

“A big goal of mine was to make that team,” Thompson said during a sitdown with The Athletic. “And I felt like I had done enough to maybe make the team, but obviously those are things you can’t control. I think, for me, it was the mindset I had was, I’m just going to do my job to help the team win. Play my game, and if they pick me, that’s awesome, and if they don’t, then (I) can’t really do anything about it.”

Thompson used the exclusion as motivation.

“I was a little disappointed. Felt like I had something to prove. But I think honestly that probably helped me the second half of the year and just gave me a little bit extra something to play for.”

From the snub in early December to season’s end, he scored 33 goals — the third-most goals in the NHL, behind only Leon Draisaitl’s 35 and David Pastrnak’s 34.

Fast forward several months, and Thompson has a new goal: to represent the United States at next February’s Winter Olympics in Milan. The United States will have one extra forward spot to fill, and there are players from the 4 Nations roster whose spots aren’t certain. Those could include Brock Nelson, Chris Kreider and even, as valuable as he is, Vincent Trocheck. Matthew Tkachuk’s health is up in the air after surgery last month, too, although Sullivan and Guerin are fully anticipating him being ready by the Olympics.

Interestingly, the way the U.S. brass talks now, it almost feels like Thompson is a shoo-in after scoring the golden goal in overtime to deliver the United States its first World Championship gold medal since 1933.

Tage Thompson makes USA GOLDEN! 👏🏆#MensWorlds #IIHF @usahockey pic.twitter.com/exwtHHDrsA

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 25, 2025

Still, after last season’s disappointment, there’s no chance Thompson is getting ahead of himself.

“You never know, right? I would hope scoring that goal would make a difference, but it’s also one play. It doesn’t define me as a player or mean that I had a great tournament or anything by that means,” Thompson said.

“It’s one of those things that was an awesome moment and something that I’ll remember forever, but at the same time, I don’t believe it solidifies me. I still think that (I’ve) got to obviously have a great summer and carry it over into the season and use that for the first half of the season as a trial. But I am motivated to help my (Sabres) team win and to make the Olympics.

“It definitely will be there. It’s hard not to think about it. But when we get into the grind of the season, not that you forget about it, but it definitely maybe goes to the subconscious or the back of your brain a little bit. Like, I want to be an Olympian, but getting the Sabres back into the playoffs is always at the forefront.”

Leading the Sabres to their first playoff appearance since 2011 is Tage Thompson’s top priority. (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

Plus, as Thompson looked around the room as Sullivan and Guerin addressed the group of 44 Olympic hopefuls the night before camp officially started, he couldn’t help but realize how tough a team this will be to crack. Remember, he was hardly the only so-called snub.

“It’s ridiculous, the amount of talent that’s here,” Thompson said. “But I think that’s a good thing. And the fact that there are that many good American (forwards) makes everyone better, including myself, because you’re always challenging each other. You’re always pushing and trying to fight for spots and trying to outdo the guy next to you.

“I think that’s why USA Hockey is growing at such a rapid rate, and the talent has gotten higher. It’s because you have all these players that are the best of the best, and you bring them all together. And they want to be the best of the best, and it just pushes guys to keep improving, keep growing their game, and I think it’s great. It’s obviously fun to be a part of, as nerve-racking as it is.”

And Thompson took to heart Sullivan’s reminder that not everybody can play the No. 1 power play or even the No. 2 or be the first over the boards at even strength or on the penalty kill.

“I don’t think there’s one guy out of all 44 here that wouldn’t accept any type of role to be included on an Olympic team,” Thompson said. “It happens once every four years, and careers aren’t that long. So, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So, if they tell you, ‘This is your role,’ obviously, you’re going to do it. So, I think just accepting a role, whatever I get, if I make the team, then, yeah, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”

Sullivan says there’s no doubt Thompson’s got a shot.

“Some of those decisions are very difficult,” Sullivan said. “Only so many guys can play in the power play. Who’s going to kill penalties for us? Who’s really good in the face-off circle? It’s difficult. Tage is one of those guys. I mean, he’s without question one of the more talented players in the league, and he’s emerging. He’s only getting better. But we have tons of tough decisions up front. Same thing on the blue line.”

One of the toughest blue-line decisions will be former Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, who had a tough 4 Nations, made a series of mistakes leading to Connor McDavid’s pivotal overtime championship-clincher and will play for Sullivan, who takes over as Rangers coach this season.

Sullivan says the start of Fox’s season will determine whether he’s an Olympian.

“I’m probably stating the obvious when I say this, but performance matters,” Sullivan said. “I think Foxy knows he’s capable of a better game. And him and I have had discussions about it, and I think he’s inspired with the opportunity to bring a better version of himself. And I told him when I became his coach that I was going to do everything in my power to help him become the best version of himself.

“And not only is that good for the New York Rangers, it’s also good for the U.S. team. He’s a Norris Trophy winner, and he’s a young guy. He’s not ageing out. He’s capable of an elite game. And it’s our job as coaching staff to help him get there. And we’re certainly going to do everything we can to do for that, but we think, we believe, that Foxy’s capable of a next-level game. A Norris Trophy-caliber game. You don’t win the Norris Trophy if you’re not capable of that, and we believe he still is.”

(Top photo: Jonathan Nackstrand / Getty Images)