ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski spoke with NHL players who were not included on Team USA’s Four Nations tournament team this past season, but were invited to Team USA’s Olympic orientation camp in August. One Patrick Kane still harbors Olympic aspirations:
Patrick Kane has had [an Olympic] opportunity twice, winning silver in 2010 and losing bronze in 2014 for the Americans. The 36-year-old winger’s absence from Team USA’s 4 Nations roster wasn’t a surprise, as Kane himself admitted his play last season didn’t warrant a selection. However, his presence at the U.S. Olympic orientation camp in August was a surprise to some, although not to Kane.
“They told my agent there’s the potential of maybe making the team. That I was under consideration. So when you hear that, it’s not really that big of a surprise that you’re there,” he said.
Kane said the real surprise was that his Detroit Red Wings teammate Alex DeBrincat wasn’t invited to camp after not making the 4 Nations cut either.
“I think both of us have some motivation to get off to good starts this year,” he said.
Kane remembers back in 2010 when he was a 21-year-old star on the U.S. Olympic team, surrounded by veteran national team members such as Chris Drury, Jamie Langenbrunner and Brian Rafalski. Now, he would be that elder statesman should he make the cut for 2026. But like every other NHL player that hasn’t formally been named to an Olympic roster, Kane knows he must earn it.
“I want to get to a point where obviously you put yourself in consideration for the team just on your play, right? Not for your name or what you’ve done in the past,” Kane said. “That’s the goal going into this year.”
