Team USA’s first six includes no Adam Fox and it makes no sense

Since making his NHL debut at the start of the 2019-20 season Adam Fox has been worth 89.6 goals above replacement, an all in metric by Evolving-Hockey used to evaluate players. Fox has been the 2nd most impactful defensemen during that stretch, and he only trails Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche. Fox also has won a Norris Trophy, been a runner up for the award, and arguably been the Rangers most valuable or second-most valuable player in any given year he's suited up.

For those reasons it is a big surprise that Fox was not one of the first six selections to represent the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Fox is no stranger to suiting up for Team USA, as he was part of the USNTDP Juniors team, the U.S. National U17 team, and the U.S. National U18 team prior to starting his collegiate career at Harvard University.

The Rangers' rear guard has also earned gold for Team USA at the World Junior Championship U20 tournament and bronze at both the U18 and U20 World Junior Championship tournaments. Fox most recently skated for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and some people really convinced themselves that his underwhelming performance would have kept him away from this squad. It looks like they may be right... for now.

Five of the names on the list make a ton of sense, and it is important to keep in mind this is just the initial list and Fox is very likely to make the roster. Charlie McAvoy is a great defenseman, but in the same span that Fox has been in the league he's been worth just 75.5 goals above replacement. He's appeared in fewer games than Fox, so when you adjust for GAR per 60, Fox comes in at .54 and McAvoy sits at .491.

Rangers' head coach Mike Sullivan is also coaching Team USA, and you certainly would have thought he would want one of his top defenseman to be a player he is going to coach this season and lean on in big situations. Fox is very likely to be part of the group that goes to the Olympics. He was snubbed here, but maybe this will just serve as motivation to take things to another level in 2025-26.