If you listened to a particular sector of the Montreal Canadiens fanbase, you'd believe Mike Matheson is the worst defenseman in the NHL. He has his moments defensively, and I don't always agree with his offensive decision-making, but he has been a valuable piece of the Habs' blue line. He might not be as productive as he once was, but it wasn't his fault that one of the best offensive rookie defenseman ever joined the Canadiens this season.
Team Canada's blueline features Travis Sanheim, MacKenzie Weegar, Ryker Evans, Noah Dobson, and Brandon Montour. Matheson will join the team today to fill out the top six, as Nicolas Beaudin, Zaryne Parekh, and Harrison Brunicke were on the team for the pre-tournament games. The coaching staff has been giving some of the players a break in those games, as Montour sat in the press box for this afternoon's game against Hungary. Sidney Crosby and Bo Horvat joined him as a healthy scratch.
Canada will likely add one or two more defensemen to their roster before the end of the tournament. They can roster 25 players in the tournament, and they are likely attempting to save some of those spots in the case of some late additions or players who will be eliminated quickly in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Nick Suzuki was weighing the idea of joining, but looks to be deciding to stay home after admitting he was a little banged up in the postseason. It's unforunate, as Suzuki didn't make the 4 Nations Face-Off roster amidst speculation that the front office was keeping him off because of his failure to answer the calls for World Championships. Not attending this year's tournament severely hurts his chances of making Team Canada for next year's Olympics.
It looks to be a light year for Canadiens representation at the Worlds. There have been plenty of Habs at tournaments over the past few years, but the good news is the absence of them this season is partly due to both the Canadiens and Laval Rocket making their respective postseasons.