Team Canada couldn’t wait to tell the world how loaded their roster is for the 2026 Winter Olympics, holding a press conference on the day rosters had to be submitted to reveal the team.
GM Doug Armstrong, overseeing a brain trust that included head coach Jon Cooper, has constructed a roster that offers some significant deviations from the one that won the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February — although in some cases, Team Canada simply cut-and-pasted from the roster.
Is this group good enough to win gold (again) for Canada and prevent their heated rivals from the U.S. from winning for the first time since 1980? Let’s grade it out.
Note: Players are listed alphabetically within each position group. Players listed with an asterisk were on the original selection lists in June.
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
It’s palpably unfair that Canada has the two best hockey players on the planet centering their top two lines: MacKinnon, with 32 goals and 66 points in 38 games this season; and McDavid, who has 69 points in 40 games, including 24 goals. Seriously, there should be international sanctions or something for having that kind of arsenal.
MacKinnon’s fellow Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby is expected to be on one of his wings. Sam Reinhart projects as the other wing, although Cooper had Mark Stone up with Sid and Nate during the 4 Nations Face-Off. Horvat also has experience playing with MacKinnon and could offer a presence near the net for them.
It’ll be interesting to see what Cooper wants to do with McDavid. Early projections have him playing with Celebrini, the 19-year-old San Jose phenom. Marner and Reinhart played with him at 4 Nations as well. Can Marchand keep up with Connor? That would be fun, given their battles in the Stanley Cup Final last season.
Suzuki, a new addition, likely centers their third line. Cooper will have Cirelli and Hagel as a duo down the lineup and on the penalty kill.
The three changes here from 4 Nations are swapping in Horvat, Wilson and Suzuki for Sam Bennett, Seth Jarvis and Travis Konecny. While there are quibbles about those decisions, there’s no debating that the forward group is the backbone of this team.
Overall forwards grade: A+
0:49
Connor McDavid lights the lamp for Oilers
Connor McDavid lights the lamp for Oilers
Defensemen
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
There was an opportunity for Team Canada to change their mix on the blue line, but Armstrong said the team decided to run it back with the same group of eight they used at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Some of that makes sense: There’s no reason why Canada would want to split Makar and Toews, while NHL stars like Doughty, Morrissey and Theodore were considered locks.
If there were changes to be made, it might have been with Parayko and Sanheim. But Armstrong put those two over as being tough to play against defensively. “We call it like going through a car wash. They’re all arms and legs. It’s hard to get to the net. It’s like swimming in seaweed. I love those big players,” Armstrong said.
Makar’s the star here, one of the most dynamic offensive defensemen the NHL has ever seen. He has 44 points in 38 games and can run their power play. It is a little surprising that Team Canada didn’t opt for another numbers-generating offensive defenseman here, someone like Evan Bouchard of the Oilers or Jakob Chychrun of the Capitals as an insurance policy, but it’s hard to argue with a group that was good enough to win 4 Nations gold.
Overall defensemen grade: B+
0:37
Makar’s goal ties it for Avs with 8 seconds left
Cale Makar nets the tying goal for the Avalanche with eight seconds left in regulation.
Goaltenders
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings
Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
The most dramatic change from the 4 Nations roster is in the crease.
Gone are Adin Hill of the Golden Knights, who has been out since October with a lower-body injury; and Sam Montembeault of the Canadiens, whose numbers this season (.863 save percentage, 3.52 goals-against average) certainly challenge Armstrong’s statement that no one played themselves off Team Canada.
Enter Kuemper, a Vezina Trophy finalist last season who has had two great seasons with the Kings and earned a Stanley Cup ring with the Avalanche in 2021-22; and Thompson, who has shown last season’s startling numbers with Washington weren’t a one-hit-wonder. He as a .915 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average while winning 15 of 28 games.
One of the biggest points of debate heading into the Team Canada decision: Would the gold medal game mastery of Jordan Binnington at 4 Nations make a strong enough case that his putrid numbers this season could be ignored? Binnington is 7-9-6 for the Blues, with an .870 save percentage and a 3.44 goals-against average. No goalie with at least 20 games played this season has worse numbers. His underlying numbers are even more brutal: minus-17.31 goals saved above expected.
Armstrong, the general manager of the Blues, said his team hasn’t played well enough in front of Binnington. But he also said that Binnington “never came up as a question mark” within the Team Canada management group.
It’s a slightly improved group from 4 Nations, but still easily Team Canada’s most vulnerable position.
Overall goaltending grade: B-
Surprises
Let’s say there’s a Canadian player with 60 points in 39 games, including 21 goals. Now let’s say that player is just 19 years old. Would you still want him in the biggest pressure-cooker hockey tournament in the world? Of course you would if he’s Macklin Celebrini, mature beyond his years and playing some of the best hockey you’ll see this season.
What really gave the San Jose Sharks star a boost was playing at the 2025 IIHF world championships for Team Canada, a team that included Crosby and MacKinnon. After Crosby basically knighted him as the real deal after that tournament, you could have started stitching his Olympic sweater immediately.
Wilson’s suspension history and occasional on-ice antics have always obscured how much skill he brings to the Washington Capitals. No doubt the start he had this season — 19 goals, 18 assists in 38 games to lead his team in points — opened some eyes to the fact that this guy can play. Wilson’s an underrated skater, too. The fact that the Olympic ice surface is slightly smaller than an NHL rink didn’t hurt his chances, given his size.
Then there’s one other obvious benefit to having Tom Wilson on the roster: To deploy him as an anti-Tkachuks countermeasure if Canada plays the U.S. again.
Team Canada had several options at forward but went with Horvat, who wasn’t a member of their 4 Nations roster. The Islanders center had three things going for him: an ability to get inside and score in the tough areas, as he has 21 goals this season; he’s awesome on faceoffs, winning 57.7% of the time; and as Armstrong noted, Horvat has history playing on MacKinnon’s wing.
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Bo Horvat’s lone goal wins the shootout for Islanders
Bo Horvat’s lone goal wins the shootout for Islanders
Snubs
Easily the buzziest snub of the roster announcement. Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in helping the Florida Panthers to their second straight Stanley Cup championship. He’s earned his reputation as a player who elevates his game in pressure situations with a win-at-all-costs style of play, which is what earned him a spot on the 4 Nations roster. With a priority on scoring in the high-danger areas, one assumed Bennett would have been an obvious choice … and yet, he’s not on the initial roster.
The fact that Cooper selected two of his Tampa Bay Lightning role players and Team Canada left Bennett home probably isn’t bringing down the temperature in the Battle of Florida anytime soon.
Celebrini, 19, made Team Canada but Bedard, 20, did not. That’s despite an incredible start of the season with the Chicago Blackhawks, with 44 points in 31 games, including 19 goals. There’s some plausible deniability for Team Canada as Bedard is out with a shoulder injury, and his timeline to return to Chicago doesn’t have a ton of clarity.
Did the fact that Bedard didn’t play for Canada at the world championships like Celebrini did play into this? Perhaps. Bedard is still in the mix, however, if the Canadians have some injuries.
Speaking of dynamic young players, the New York Islanders‘ 18-year-old rookie phenom was left off the Team Canada roster despite playing his way onto their radar this season with nine goals and 16 assists in 40 games.
Armstrong didn’t talk much about the snubs, but he made time to talk about Schaefer.
“He’s a fantastic talent. He brings you out of your seat every night. He’s got maturity beyond his years on and off the ice,” he said. “And so I was shocked at how quickly he worked his way into our conversations and that’s a credit to him.”
0:56
Matthew Schaefer makes NHL history with OT winner for Islanders
Matthew Schaefer becomes the youngest player in NHL history to score an overtime goal in the regular season.
Like Bedard, Scheifele is going to be one of the next forwards in line as an injury replacement before the tournament — which was the same position he was in at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Winnipeg Jets center has 18 goals and 27 assists in 37 games this season.
Two of McDavid’s teammates were left off the Team Canada roster. In Bouchard’s case, some believed that Canada might take the defenseman with the booming shot, who has seen goals and 30 assists in 40 games this season. But his reputation for defensive lapses didn’t do him any favors.
In Hyman’s case, the 33-year-old winger has 11 goals and 10 assists in 21 games since returning from injury. For a team constantly stressing over who can play effectively with McDavid, it’s a little surprising they didn’t take someone whose proven he can. (See also: Chris Kunitz, Crosby’s wing man, at the 2014 Olympics).
A justified snub and a real bummer for Jarvis, who played for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The tenacious Carolina Hurricanes winger is week-to-week after crashing into the goal post at a high velocity against Florida on Dec. 20. Said coach Rod Brind’Amour: “It’s not good. He’s going to be out for a while.” Jarvis had 19 goals on the season.
Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood
The Avalanche have the league’s best goals-against average this season but neither of their goalies got the call. Wedgewood (17-1-4, .919 save percentage) was probably a longshot to make the team, but many believed that Blackwood (12-1-1, .924 save percentage) had a shot. The lack of big-game experience for both of them was likely a factor, given the history that Binnington and Kuemper both have.
Overall team grade: A-
Even with specious goaltending and some questionable roster decisions, Team Canada is the tournament favorite in the 2026 Winter Olympics for two reasons.
The first is the unmatched offensive talent that they have up front, particularly at the center spot. The second is that this is a roster loaded with champions at every level. International tournaments. Stanley Cup Finals. And in the case of some of the veterans like Crosby and Doughty, at the Olympics themselves.
You can’t truly act like you’ve been there until you’ve been there. Team Canada has been there, and is primed to win a third straight gold medal in Olympic best-on-best tournaments.
