Sources: Without Quinn Hughes, USA invites Devils’ Pesce and Sabres’ Thompson as potential illness/injury replacements

BOSTON — Team USA has invited New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce and Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson to travel to Boston to serve as potential illness or injury replacements ahead of Thursday’s championship game against Canada, sources told Daily Faceoff.

Pesce and Thompson were extended invitations after news that Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes would not be making the cross-continent trek.

For both Pesce and Thompson, who were on USA’s radar during the initial roster selection process, the American team would need to drop below the minimum roster thresholds of either 12 forwards or six defensemen in order for either to officially join the team and play on Thursday.

To take it a step further, sources confirmed that the same rules apply to Pesce and Thompson that applied to Canada’s Thomas Harley on Saturday in Montreal. They will not be eligible to participate in Thursday’s morning skate at TD Garden unless USA drops below the roster threshold for practice. Harley was forced to watch Saturday’s morning skate at the Canadiens’ practice facility in full gear from the locker room, since Cale Makar did skate with the team, and only once the skate ended could Harley enter the ice surface to get in a twirl.

So it seems like a long shot that Pesce and Thompson factor into plans, and they may be strictly insurance, but we also don’t know the full extent of what Team USA is dealing with behind the scenes. Forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews were full participants in Wednesday’s practice ahead of the winner-take-all final. Matthews said he “wouldn’t have missed it,” even though he sat out Monday’s inconsequential round-robin wrapper with what coach Mike Sullivan called “upper-body soreness.”

However, there is an illness – specifically the norovirus – that has ravaged all four teams in the 4Nations tournament. Canadian star defenseman Cale Makar missed Saturday’s game due to illness and his availability figures to be one of the game-changers in sizing up this rematch. And Brady Tkachuk did miss Wednesday’s practice with an illness, according to Sullivan.

Unlike Hughes, aside from their health, one of the key differences between Pesce and Thompson is that their NHL clubs are located just a short hop from Boston. Both are within 45 minute flights, making travel a breeze and for them to arrive in town on Wednesday evening.

Pesce, 30, has collected one goal and 11 points in 48 games for the Devils this season, playing for Team USA assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald in New Jersey. Thompson, 27, has racked up 26 goals in 48 games in Buffalo and has notched a 47-goal season previously to go with his imposing 6-foot-6 frame.

With roster fluctuations still at play approximately 24 hours before puck drop, it’s just another added layer of intrigue to one of the most highly anticipated hockey games in decades.

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