Longtime Pitsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust has a chance to show his stuff in front of Team USA’s brass. He was one of the forwards chosen to attend the Olympic Orientation Camp in Plymouth, Michigan.
Rust has had making the US Olympic team as one of his goals for a while. He last played for Team USA in the World Juniors when he was part of USA’s Gold Medal winning team. Since becoming a professional he has not represented his country. This is an opportunity to change that.
The great news for Bryan Rust in trying to make this team is the people picking it know him very very well. Mike Sullivan will be the head coach and Bill Guerin is the acting general manager. These are two individuals who are very aware of both Rust’s tangibles and intangibles as a hockey player. I can guarantee you that both of those guys respect Bryan Rust quite a bit.
Rust has been a consistent goal scorer in the league. He has been one of the most consistent players in this regard.
Rust is no stranger to rising to the occasion in big moments. He scored twice in Game 7 during the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016 elevating Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup Final where they would defeat the Sharks for the Stanley Cup.
In a what have you done lately for me league he is coming off a career season. He had 31 goals, 34 assists, and 65 points, all career highs. He’s playing great hockey and can move up and down the lineup seamlessly.
Bryan Rust does have a lot of things going for him as a player. The issue is the talent pool for Team USA at forward is really deep. Here’s a look at the forwards invited to camp. This does not include Matthew Tkachuk who is not going to be available
Forwards: Matt Boldy, Cole Caufield, Logan Cooley, Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, Conor Garland, Jake Guentzel, Jack Hughes, Patrick Kane, Clayton Keller, Matthew Knies, Chris Kreider, Dylan Larkin, Auston Matthews, J.T. Miller, Frank Nazar, Brock Nelson, Shane Pinto, Jason Robertson, Bryan Rust, Tage Thompson, Brady Tkachuk, Vincent Trocheck, Alex Tuch
I bolded the players who I would take over Bryan Rust to be on the final roster. I have 13 players not counting Matthew Tkachuk. With Tkachuk you have 14 players. There just isn’t a lot of room for error if you are Rust trying to make this team. There are a few players I didn’t bold who I think have a claim to make the team over Rust including: JT Miller, Matthew Knies, and Alex Tuch.
Clearly, there is a ton of talent to draw from making this a tough task and one I don’t think is likely
I think a ton of Bryan Rust. I wasn’t bullish on him when he entered the league and he has done nothing but prove my initial assessment was way off the mark. I think it would be a deserving honor for Rust to make the team. He has put the work in and continued to become a better player even into his thirties. That said, he wouldn’t be on my final roster at the moment.
Rust has made a career out of proving doubters wrong and if he does it again it will be a really special accomplishment for him.
