With the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy less than a year away, the twelve national men`s hockey teams are beginning to unveil the initial six players who will represent their countries. The full rosters will be announced closer to the start of the Winter Games, scheduled for February.
Most participating nations have now revealed their preliminary selections. As anticipated, the teams for Canada and the United States are already packed with top talent. Stars like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby are among Canada`s first picks, while Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk headline the initial group for Team USA.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will feature NHL players for the first time in twelve years, marking their return since the 2014 Games in Sochi. Russia will not be competing, as the country`s athletes remain banned following the invasion of Ukraine.
Looking back at recent major tournaments, Finland secured the gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics, defeating Russia, while Slovakia claimed the bronze by beating Sweden. Both Canada and the United States were eliminated in the quarter-finals that year.
However, Canada recently demonstrated their strength in best-on-best competition by winning the 4 Nations Face-Off. They secured a 3-2 overtime victory against the United States in the final last February, with Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid scoring the game-winning goal.
Below is an early look at the initial players named for the twelve nations participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics:
Canada
- Connor McDavid (F, Edmonton Oilers)
- Sidney Crosby (F, Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Nathan MacKinnon (F, Colorado Avalanche)
- Sam Reinhart (F, Florida Panthers)
- Brayden Point (F, Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Cale Makar (D, Colorado Avalanche)
Czechia
- David Pastrnak (F, Boston Bruins)
- Martin Necas (F, Colorado Avalanche)
- Pavel Zacha (F, Boston Bruins)
- Ondrej Palat (F, New Jersey Devils)
- Radko Gudas (D, Anaheim Ducks)
- Lukas Dostal (G, Anaheim Ducks)
Denmark
- Nikolaj Ehler (F, Winnipeg Jets)
- Oliver Bjorkstrand (F, Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Lars Eller (F, Washington Capitals)
- Jonas Rondbjerg (F, Vegas Golden Knights)
- Jesper Jensen Abo (D, EC KAC)
- Frederik Andersen (G, Carolina Hurricanes)
France
- Hasn`t been announced yet
Finland
- Sebastian Aho (F, Carolina Hurricanes)
- Mikko Rantanen (F, Dallas Stars)
- Aleksander Barkov (F, Florida Panthers)
- Miro Heiskanen (D, Dallas Stars)
- Esa Lindell (D, Dallas Stars)
- Juuse Saros (G, Nashville Predators)
Germany
- Leon Draisaitl (F, Edmonton Oilers)
- Tim Stutzle (F, Ottawa Senators)
- Lukas Reichel (F, Chicago Blackhawks)
- Nico Sturm (F, Florida Panthers)
- Moritz Seider (D, Detroit Red Wings)
- Philipp Grubauer (G, Seattle Kraken)
Italy
- Diego Kostner (F, HC Ambrì-Piotta)
- Daniel Mantenuto (F, HC Bolzano)
- Tommy Purdeller (F, HC Pustertal)
- Luca Zanatta (D, HC Pustertal)
- Thomas Larkin (D, Schwenninger Wild Wings)
- Damian Clara (D, San Diego Gulls)
Latvia
- Rodrigo Abols (F, Philadelphia Flyers)
- Zemgus Girgensons (F, Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Teddy Blueger (F, Vancouver Canucks)
- Uvis Balinskis (D, Florida Panthers)
- Elvis Merzlikins (G, Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Arturs Silovs (G, Vancouver Canucks)
Slovakia
- Martin Pospisil (F, Calgary Flames)
- Tomas Tatar (F, EV Zug)
- Juraj Slafkovsky (F, Montreal Canadiens)
- Simon Nemec (D, New Jersey Devils)
- Erik Cernak (D, Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Martin Fehervary (D, Washington Capitals)
Sweden
- Gabriel Landeskog (F, Colorado Avalanche)
- Lucas Raymond (F, Detroit Red Wings)
- William Nylander (F, Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Adrian Kempe (F, Los Angeles Kings)
- Rasmus Dahlin (D, Buffalo Sabres)
- Victor Hedman (F, Tampa Bay Lightning)
Switzerland
- Kevin Fiala (F, Los Angeles Kings)
- Nico Hischier (F, New Jersey Devils)
- Timo Meier (F, New Jersey Devils)
- Nino Niederreiter (F, Winnipeg Jets)
- Roman Josi (D, Nashville Predators)
- Jonas Siegenthaler (D, New Jersey Devils)
United States
- Jack Eichel (C, Vegas Golden Knights)
- Auston Matthews (C, Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Matthew Tkachuk (F, Florida Panthers)
- Brady Tkachuk (F, Ottawa Senators)
- Quinn Hughes (D, Vancouver Canucks)
- Charlie McAvoy (D, Boston Bruins)
