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Oshie is a little shocked he made the U.S. Olympic roster

tjoshiegetty

James OBrien

For every Olympic snub, there’s a player or two who surprised some by making the United States’ team on Wednesday. St. Louis Blues forward TJ Oshie didn’t deny his bubble status when reacting to the news, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeremy Rutherford reports.

“I was in shock a little bit,” Oshie said. “But very happy, very proud to be named to the team. Very, very excited to get to Sochi.”

He’ll join his fellow teammate David Backes, whose inclusion isn’t much of a surprise. Backes shared an amusing anecdote about hoping that he’d hear Oshie’s name during America’s announcements, which went in alphabetical order.

“I saw Orpik and I was trying to figure out the alphabet to see if ‘Os’ was before or after ‘Or,’” Backes said. “Then I saw the 74 coming and I almost jumped out of my chair I was so happy for Osh.”

(Good thing we’re not talking about the United States spelling bee team, huh?)

Overall, there will be three Blues on the U.S. team, as Kevin Shattenkirk accomplished something he “always dreamed of.”

A more recent dream means getting a break from Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock, a member of Team Canada’s staff.

“That’ll be a nice little two-week break,” Shattenkirk said. “Poor [Alex Pietrangelo] and [Jay Bouwmeester], they’re going to have to deal with it.”

The smack talk is starting already, but really, how often do you get to send a little your coach’s way?

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins