2026 Olympic men’s hockey team preview: Canada
It wasn’t quite “Aaaand still champion of the world…” given only four teams participated, but Canada did the closest thing to defending its best-on-best title belt by downing USA in overtime of the 4 Nations Face-Off Final last winter, with superstar Connor McDavid earning a signature international moment by beating goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with a wrister from the high slot. The goal capped off the first major international event involving top-tier NHL talent since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Looking back to the beginning of the century, Canada’s men have competed in seven best-on-best tournaments and won six of them: the 2002 Olympics, 2004 World Cup, 2010 Olympics, 2014 Olympics, 2016 World Cup and 2025 4 Nations. So whether you felt the 4 Nations was a true measuring stick of dominance or not, the Canadians indisputably roll into Milan wearing the crown.
Will they keep it? They were pushed to the brink by the Americans, as was the case at the 2010 Vancouver gold-medal game, which was also decided in overtime. But the Canadians always seem to persevere when it matters. Can they ride their star-studded forward group and overcome their question marks on defense and in goal to capture another gold medal?
LOOKING BACK TO 2022
The NHL pulled out of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games in late December 2021, leaving the participating nations’ international hockey bodies scrambling to patch together rosters mixed with prospects and journeyman pros playing in different leagues around the world. The Canadians had greybeard NHLer Eric Staal wearing the ‘C’ and brought along prospects such as blueliner Owen Power and center Mason McTavish. Canada emerged from its group with the second-best record and cruised past host China in the opening playoff round but got stymied 2-0 by Sweden in the quarterfinal. The team assembled by GM Shane Doan was big and experienced but a bit too slow to keep pace with the Tre Kronor, who broke a scoreless tie midway through the third period.
OFFENSE
Three of the NHL’s top four scorers in 2025-26 are Canadian: McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini. And Canada has the luxury of spreading them across three different lines if it chooses. That tells you plenty about Canada’s offense, which will undoubtedly be its strength, particularly coming from its forward group. Canada returns 18 of the 21 skaters who combined to average a tournament-best 3.25 goals per game at the 4 Nations and converted at 25 percent on the power play (albeit that was just 1 for 4 in a tiny sample).
McDavid took time at the 4 Nations to find the right linemates. Ironically, Mark Stone, probably the slowest skater on the team, found chemistry with McDavid because Stone thinks the game at high speed. Brayden Point rounded out that top line. Will coach Jon Cooper keep them together? We could also see Crosby, MacKinnon and Sam Reinhart lined up again after they were Canada’s most productive line at the 4 Nations, with MacKinnon earning tournament MVP honors. With Celebrini potentially playing on the third line and high-end scorers such as Mitch Marner, Brandon Hagel and Nick Suzuki available as theoretical “bottom-six” forwards, the potential permutations are all potent for Cooper. Pretty much anyone can play up in the lineup given every player on this team is a go-to contributor for his NHL club. Cooper can, for instance, tap into Brad Marchand’s Maritime and offseason workout chemistry with Crosby and MacKinnon or try Celebrini with Crosby after they worked so well together at the 2025 World Championship. Bo Horvat is an interesting multi-tool who wins faceoffs and can play a checking-line role but also scores goals. Canada’s 4 Nations top power-play unit of Crosby, MacKinnon, McDavid, Reinhart and Cale Makar was downright unfair and should be a major strength again.
The Canadians will get offense from their defense with Makar aboard and puck-movers Josh Morrissey and Shea Theodore likely driving their own pairs, with Thomas Harley also available to push the play offensively. But will Canada regret not taking Evan Bouchard and his lethal point shot? What about Matthew Schaefer and his scintillating skating? Canada is clearly betting on the fact its forwards can drive the offense and that Makar can play enough minutes to singlehandedly tilt the ice.
DEFENSE
Canada brings back the exact eight blueliners it deployed at the 4 Nations; it was allowed to select seven for that tournament, but Harley was the eighth after Theodore was injured in the first game and Makar missed a game due to illness. The goal in GM Doug Armstrong’s team selection is evidently balance. On top of the aforementioned mobile blueliners, Canada gets leadership and competitiveness from future Hall of Famer Drew Doughty, with Travis Sanheim and Colton Parayko providing the size, strength and reach. It’s a logical idea in theory, but the biggest, strongest defensemen aren’t always the best actual defenders. Parayko was Canada’s weak link at the 4 Nations, with 61.36 percent of scoring chances going the other team’s way when he was on the ice at 5-on-5. Bouchard wouldn’t only have been a better pick for offense; he’s better at defending, occasional embarrassing highlight be damned. Same goes for snubs like Schaefer and Jakob Chychrun.
With teams allowed to dress 20 skaters, per IIHF rules, Canada can consider using Parayko as a seventh defenseman purely as a penalty killer. Anthony Cirelli, Cooper’s pet Tampa Bay Lightning player, who would make sense as the 13th forward and PK1 center. Up front, Canada is loaded with strong play-drivers and two-way forwards. Between the likes of Cirelli, Hagel, Marner, Suzuki, Marchand and more, the Canadians won’t have trouble getting their forwards to backcheck.
Nor will they have trouble engaging physically, especially among their forwards. Sam Bennett isn’t aboard this time to uncage versus more rugged opponents, as he was last year starting in the second 4 Nations game against USA, but Tom Wilson will fill that role just as well. Wilson can really move and keep up with high-skill players for such a big man, and his hits are simply devastating. It’s just a matter of whether his game will translate effectively under the tighter IIHF rules; even his clean hits tend to hurt people.
GOALTENDING
What a glorious, fascinating mess. Jordan Binnington was wobbly at the 4 Nations but stepped up with some stellar clutch play when needed most in the final vs. USA. He was always a lock to make the team, especially given Armstrong is also Binnington’s GM with the St. Louis Blues. But among 30 NHL goalies with 25 or more games played this season, Binnington saves the fewest goals above expected per 60 minutes. He has been the NHL’s worst No. 1 goalie. It still feels like he’ll earn the first start for Canada given his poor play can be partially blamed on a disappointing Blues team in front of him. But how short will the leash be?
Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals’ Logan Thompson, previously blacklisted due to reported friction with his past Vegas Golden Knights coaches and Canada assistant coaches Bruce Cassidy and Pete DeBoer, was simply playing too well to be denied a roster spot. Thompson has been one of the best three or four goalies in the NHL since the start of last season and, on paper, is Canada’s best starting option. So, naturally, he had to take a puck to the mask last week, knocking him out of Washington’s lineup. Is Thompson still a lock to make the trip to Milan?
Between Binnington’s struggles and Thompson’s health: don’t be surprised if we see Darcy Kuemper in this tourney at some point. He started for Canada’s gold-winning squad at the 2021 World Championship. And there seems to be a history of goalies who weren’t Canada’s No. 1 at the start of the Olympics taking over the job, notably Marty Brodeur in 2002 and Roberto Luongo in 2010.
COACHING
Cooper was born to coach a team full of Hall of Famers. For one: he has a shorthand with his three Lightning forwards in Point, Hagel and Cirelli. Secondly: Cooper’s larger-than-life personality suits him to handle all the strong dressing room voices and egos. His gift of the gab lets him do the heaviest lifting at the pre- and post-game media availabilities, tractor-beaming attention away from his players. His Lightning teams, two of which have won the Stanley Cup and four of which have reached the Final, have consistently boasted great special teams. And ‘Coop’ already coached pretty much this entire team at the 4 Nations last year, giving him an existing familiarity – not to mention a group that trusts in him after they won the title together.
BURNING QUESTION
Did Canada bring the wrong eight defensemen? In Bouchard, Schaefer and Chychrun, Canada left behind not just skill or size or defensive ability or skating but players who possess all four of those traits. As currently constructed. Canada has to choose between a smaller, skill-heavy group or lowering its ceiling with bigger but more offensively limited options. If Canada had selected one or more of the aforementioned snub trio, its D-corps would’ve been much more versatile and possessed much higher upside.
PREDICTION
Canada’s strengths and weaknesses are similar to what they were entering the 4 Nations: unbelievably great forwards, merely good D-corps and Wildcard goaltending, albeit the brass backed up Binnington with sturdier netminders this time. Canada had the second most talented all-around team on paper at the 4 Nations but continued its tradition of peaking at the right time and gelling when the stakes got higher. Until the Canadians stop winning these events, we must continue calling them the gold-medal favorites – especially given USA botched a few of its roster choices and that Sweden and Finland are dealing with major injury woes.
FULL ROSTER
GOALTENDERS
Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues)
Darcy Kuemper (Los Angeles Kings)
Logan Thompson (Washington Capitals)
DEFENSEMEN
Drew Doughty (Los Angles 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)
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)
PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE
Feb. 12 vs. Czechia: 10:40 a.m. ET
Feb. 13 vs. Switzerland: 3:10 p.m. ET
Feb. 15 vs. France: 10:40 a.m. ET
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POST SPONSORED BY bet365
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