You have to feel for Claude Giroux a little bit, who was left off of the Canadian hockey team’s roster on Tuesday for the upcoming Olympics in February. The Philadelphia Flyers captain got off to a slow start this season, and while he’s been hot of late, well, that’s what happens.
How much did Giroux want to represent his country in Sochi next month? According to Frank Seravalli for the Daily News, it nearly brought the 25-year-old to tears. G responded to the snub before the Flyers’ tilt with the New Jersey Devils:
“It’s tough today,” Giroux said, nearly coming to tears. “It’s obviously disappointing. It was one of my dreams to be playing for Team Canada. I did the best I could and I didn’t make it.”
At a sincere loss for words, Giroux said: “It just happens.”
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Obviously, the opportunity to represent his country at the Olympics was genuinely a big deal to Giroux.
Seravalli also got Hockey Canada general manager Steve Yzerman’s thoughts on the decision to leave Giroux off of the roster, via TSN.
Yzerman was asked specifically by TSN about Giroux, who has 31 points in his last 27 games. That would be equal to a 97-point pace if played out over a full, 82-game season.
“I don’t know if I can give you a good answer,” Yzerman said. “I can’t criticize any player we didn’t put on this team. Some guys got off to really good starts, some guys didn’t. We took into account their overall careers, how they played in recent years, how they played internationally.”
With Giroux in a bad mood, I wouldn’t want to be Marty Brodeur or the Devils tonight. Hopefully G plays with a chip on his shoulder for the next four years.
