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Ryan S. clarke
Florida Panthers guard seth jones Will not be able to participate in the Olympics, USA Hockey announced on Wednesday that he will be replaced anaheim ducks guard jackson lacombe.
Jones was moved to long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on Monday after suffering an upper-body injury in the first period of the Panthers’ 5-1 loss. New York Rangers Jan. 2 at the Winter Classic.
The 31-year-old Jones was initially considered out on a week-to-week basis. But the decision to move him to LTIR raised questions about whether the United States men’s national team would be healthy before playing its first game at the Olympics on Feb. 12 against Latvia in Milan.
Now it’s LaCombe who will head to Italy as he looks to help Team USA win its third Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey and its first since 1980.
The 25-year-old LaCombe used his second full campaign with the Ducks to present an argument for why he should be considered for games. He went from two goals and 17 points in 71 games as a rookie in 2023-24 to 14 goals and 43 points while playing more than 22 minutes per game last season. He entered Wednesday with six goals and 31 points while averaging more than 24 minutes per game in 49 contests.
He was part of the Team USA roster that won its first world championship title since 1960 in May. This was just the third time the United States had won a gold medal at the men’s world championships.
Adding LaCombe to the Olympic roster could accomplish a few things for Team USA. At 6-foot-2, he gives the Americans another big player on the back end who can be used as a puck-moving option in 5-on-5 play and on the power play. He has also logged over 100 short-handed minutes in three consecutive seasons.
Lacombe joins a defensive unit that already includes minnesota wild‘S brock faber And quinn hughes except for noah hanifin (golden knight), Charlie McEvoy (Bruins), jake sanderson (senators), jacob slavin (storm) And Zach Werenski (blue jacket).
