What's the knock on him?
Probably his size and defense. He’s 5-foot-8, 180 pounds. He's minus-59 in his NHL career, minus-2 this season.
The U.S. executives and coaches also must project how each player would fit in the Olympic lineup and perform under pressure in a best-on-best situation. Many players will play a different role than they do for their NHL teams.
Take Dylan Larkin. In Detroit, he's the captain and No. 1 center. For the United States at 4 Nations, he played in the bottom six. Although he had 12 power-play goals at the time, third in the NHL, he didn't play on the power play. He killed penalties.
Would DeBrincat play in the top six for the United States? Would he play on the power play? If not, what would be his role? He doesn't kill penalties for the Red Wings.
Could he play with Larkin, a current linemate, or Patrick Kane, with whom he has had great chemistry with the Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks?
DeBrincat points out that he plays hard and has improved defensively, and he thinks he could adapt in the Olympics.
"This year I've been relatively good defensively," he said. "Overall, that's something I try to work on every year. I don't think I play soft by any means. I think I can go out there and grind and kind of play the same way I do now but in a lower role, I think, with a little less playing time. I think I'm capable of it.
"I think I try to play the same way no matter where I'm at, and that's working hard, getting pucks back and obviously trying to defend."
In the NHL at least, DeBrincat is relatively versatile and brings consistent effort, whether his puck luck is good or bad.
"He could go anywhere in our lineup and I think he'd play the same game over and over and over again," Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. "When you have a player like that that doesn't play outside his skin or change who he is when you move him around, that's pretty valuable.
"Sometimes individuals will try to do things that they normally aren't doing if they get elevated or dropped a little further down in the lineup, but 'Cat' plays the same game."
DeBrincat is far from alone in his Olympic predicament.
Entering Friday, 18 of the top 27 scorers born in the United States weren't on the U.S. roster for 4 Nations, and that doesn't include Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, who missed 4 Nations because of injury. But there are only so many spots.
The U.S. executives and coaches will weigh recent performance against body of work, and they likely will keep the core of the 4 Nations team together. Each team must submit its 25-man roster by the end of December. The tournament is Feb. 11-22.
"I'm sure they have some hard, tough choices," DeBrincat said. "It's not really my job. That's their job to see who fits best on the team. Obviously I hope I'm there and hope I've, to this point in the season, proven that I should be there. But again, I've got to control what I can control."
DeBrincat knows that all too well.
The United States cut him from the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship team, even though he had helped the U.S. win the bronze medal at the 2016 WJC and had 60 points (30 goals, 30 assists) in 28 games for Erie of the Ontario Hockey League at the time.
The U.S. went on to win gold. DeBrincat went on to lead Erie to the OHL championship, leading the league in goals (65) and points (127) in the regular season, then in assists (25) and points (38) during the playoffs. He was named Canadian Hockey League player of the year.
"I believe in myself, and I believe I'd be good for the [Olympic] team," DeBrincat said. "But like I said, it's up to them, so we'll see what happens."
