With the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy approaching, national men`s hockey teams are beginning to announce their initial rosters. Each of the 12 participating nations is revealing the first six players, with the full squads to be finalized closer to the Games in February.
Many teams have already revealed their preliminary selections, and as anticipated, the United States and Canada feature star-studded lineups. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby are among the initial picks for Canada, while Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk headline Team USA`s first six.
Notably, the 2026 Olympics will mark the return of NHL players to the tournament for the first time since 2014. The Russian team, however, will not be participating due to ongoing sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.
At the previous Winter Olympics in 2022, Finland secured the gold medal by defeating Russia, while Slovakia took bronze over Sweden. Both Canada and the United States were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
However, Canada recently claimed victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament, defeating the United States 3-2 in overtime last February, with Connor McDavid scoring the winning goal. This suggests Canada will be a strong contender.
Although the full preliminary rosters are still being finalized, here is an early look at the initial wave of players announced by the dozen nations competing at 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)
