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.

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