Hockey Canada gives Subban no love

Call him P.K. Snubban.

OK, so the nickname needs a little work but that doesn’t excuse the fact the reimagined World Cup of Hockey will be devoid of one of its marquee talents: the marvellous P.K. Subban.

Team Canada announced Friday the Montreal Canadiens’ defenceman has not earned a spot on Canada’s roster for the mid-to-late September tournament, with the national body tapping Jake Muzzin, Brent Burns and Alex Pietrangelo ahead of Subban as it finalized a seven-man back end.

Canada also named Brad Marchand, Matt Duchene, Joe Thornton and Claude Giroux to its 23-man roster, topping off a high-powered forward group that is 13 bodies deep.

“The decisions weren’t easy, and with the depth of player talent we have in Canada, we knew it would be a difficult process to finalize our roster,” Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong said, “but it’s what we signed up for, and we feel we’ve been able to put together the right balance to create a winning team.”

In March, nine forwards (Jamie Benn, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Tyler Seguin, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares and Jonathan Toews), four defencemen (Shea Weber, MarcÉdouard Vlasic, Drew Doughty and Duncan Keith) and three goalies (Braden Holtby, Corey Crawford and Carey Price) received spots on the squad.

Friday was the deadline for teams to submit a final roster for the showcase being brought back from the dead by the NHL and NHLPA. In previous events, Canada won in 2004, the United States in 1996.

Looking at who made it and who didn’t, though, it’s hard to argue Perry and Hall are more deserving of a chance at a World Cup title than those named.

Subban, on the other hand, should have been a lock from Day 1 of the selection process.

As for omissions on the World Cup’s other seven teams, a few rise to the top.

Kevin Shattenkirk and Phil Kessel not making the U.S. is downright criminal, while Alex Galchenyuk (North American Youngstars) and John Klingberg (Team Sweden) being left off their respective teams doesn’t seem right.