Brutal hit to Team USA as news on Quinn Hughes and current players turn to worse!

When it rains, it pours. There have been a lot of reports of injuries at the ongoing 4 nations tournament, with USA and Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital to cut out and clean an infection and will not play in the championship game on Thursday. He is expected to be sidelined on a week-to-week basis until the area can heal.

With McAvoy’s absence, Team USA put Quinn Hughes on standby Tuesday, however, the club just got the terrible news that the Vancouver Canucks’ blue liner has not been medically cleared and will not be able to travel to Boston to step in as replacement for the Americans.

To make matters worse, Pierre LeBrun also reports that Team USA needs to look into “bringing in a couple of other players just as insurance, because of illness going around.”

LeBrun reached out to Hughes’ agent, Pat Brisson, who informed him it was a very difficult decision for his client, that Hughes really, really wanted to join Team USA.

“But reality is he still isn’t medically cleared. And likely wasn’t going to play unless Team USA had another D injury or illness.”

McAvoy being sidelined reduced the U.S. to six healthy defensemen. Tournament rules are however clear. The rulebook states that teams can apply to bring in a player as emergency relief if they drop below the threshold of a half-dozen blue liners, 12 forwards or three goaltenders. Meaning that Hughes would not be allowed to practise with the U.S. unless his country drops below the defence threshold with another injury or illness.

We saw the almost exact situation with Team Canada earlier in the tournament when defenseman Thomas Harley was added to the roster for its game against the Americans on Saturday in Montreal after Shea Theodore sustained a brual upper-body injury and Cale Makar fell sick, leaving the Canadians with five available members of the defence corps. Harley was removed from the roster after Makar recovered.

Jake Sanderson, a late add to the roster to replace Hughes, made his tournament debut in Monday’s meaningless 2-1 loss to Sweden.

The Americans rotated different defence pairings during practice on Wednesday. Here is a quick look at the line combinations: