NHL players heading back to the Olympics as Hockey Canada reveals roster bound for Italy
Hockey Canada has unveiled a 25-player men’s hockey roster for February’s Winter Olympics in Italy made up mostly of experienced veterans.
NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, reports TSN. The league skipped the 2018 Games and COVID-19 derailed plans for the 2022 games. Canada captured gold with NHLers on the roster in 2010 and 2014.
One of the notable absences is young phenom, Connor Bedard, chosen first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023, tying for third in this year’s NHL scoring with 44 points in 31 games before sustaining an upper-body injury Dec. 12. Canadian general manager Doug Armstrong told SportsNet that his name “was right there until the last second, because we could have named him and moved forward, but I think the reality is there are so many good players and we just had difficult decisions to make.”
Instead, the 2026 Olympic team’s forward group is dominated by veterans. Scoring talent is abundant, led by Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) and Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), two of the fastest players in the game. Other well-known vets include: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburg Penguins), Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers) and Mitch Marner (Vegas Golden Knights). And Brad Marchand is now 37, but he has demonstrated high-level capacity, having helped the Florida Panthers to its second straight Stanley Cup championship last season, while looking good again this season.
However, one teenager, 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks), from North Vancouver, B.C., is among the forwards named by Canada, reports NHL.com .
The defensive core is made up of the same eight defensemen who played for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off: Thomas Harley of the Dallas Stars, Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings) who garnered Olympic experience with Team Canada in the Sochi games in 2014. Despite his experience, says NHL.com, Cale Makar, from the Colorado Avalanche is leading Canada’s back wall.
Goalies Darcy Kuemper (Los Angeles Kings) and Logan Thompson (Washington Capitals) are replacing Adin Hill of the Golden Knights and Sam Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens from the 4 Nations roster. Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues) was on that roster and made the Olympic team, despite struggling this season. Who will be the main netminder for the Olympic duration remains to be seen.
Here is the entire roster:
FORWARDS
Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning
Bo Horvat, New York Islanders
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers
Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning
Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals
DEFENSEMEN (8)
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers
Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights
Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche
GOALIES
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings
Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
The Olympic tournament will feature 12 national teams playing three preliminary games in their respective groupings. The three group winners and the best second-place team will get a bye into the quarterfinals. The other eight teams will play single-elimination games to determine the other four quarterfinalists.
Team Canada is in Group A and will open against Team Czechia on Feb. 12, then play Team Switzerland on Feb. 13 and Team France on Feb. 15. The gold medal game will be held on Feb. 22.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.