As the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy draw nearer, the 12 national men`s hockey teams preparing to compete are starting to unveil the initial six players named to their rosters. The remaining players for each team will be announced closer to the Games, which are scheduled to commence next February.
Several teams have now revealed their initial selections. As anticipated, the rosters for Canada and the United States are already packed with prominent stars. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby are set to wear Canada`s colors, while Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk will represent Team USA.
Significantly, the 2026 Winter Olympics will mark the first time NHL players have participated in the tournament in 12 years. The last time NHL players competed for their countries was in Russia in 2014. The Russian team will not be included in the 2026 competition, as the country`s athletes remain banned following Russia`s invasion of Ukraine.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Finland won the gold medal with a victory over Russia, and Slovakia secured the bronze medal by defeating Sweden. Both Canada and the United States were eliminated in the quarterfinals of that tournament.
However, Canada recently showcased its strength in best-on-best competition, securing a 3-2 overtime win against the United States in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid scored the decisive goal in that contest.
While the full preliminary rosters are still being finalized, here is an initial look at the headline players announced by the participating nations for 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 Ehlers (F, Winnipeg Jets)
- Oliver Bjorkstrand (F, Seattle Kraken)
- Lars Eller (F, Washington Capitals)
- Jonas Rondbjerg (F, Vegas Golden Knights)
- Jesper Jensen Aabo (D, EC KAC)
- Frederik Andersen (G, Carolina Hurricanes)
France
- Hasn`t been announced yet
Finland
- Sebastian Aho (F, Carolina Hurricanes)
- Mikko Rantanen (F, Colorado Avalanche)
- 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, Carolina Hurricanes)
- 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 (G, 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 (D, 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)
