Draisaitl, Stutzle among six initial six players on Germany’s 2026 Olympic roster

Germany will look to snag a medal for the second time in the past three Winter Olympic tournaments, and has started by naming its first six players for the 2026 tournament in Italy.

Forwards Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stützle, Nico Sturm and Lukas Reichel, defenseman Moritz Seider and goaltender Philipp Grubauer were the initial players named to the shortlist with the tournament set for Feb. 11-22, 2026.

This has the potential to be the best German men’s national team roster in its history. Draisaitl, Stutzle and Seider are three of the biggest stars to ever come from the nation, but have not had an opportunity to play in previous Olympic competitions.

Internationally, Draisaitl was part of the German Olympic qualification team in 2016 that sent them to the main event two years later. Germany lost out on gold 4-3 to Russia in what could have been a major upset at the time. Draisaitl has nine goals and 27 points in 33 World Championship events and had another two points in six games en route to a second-place finish with Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup.

More importantly, though, Draisaitl has become one of the most feared players in the NHL. He has registered five of his six 100-point campaigns since the last time he represented his country in 2019, with his best output being his 128-point campaign in 2022-23. Draisaitl led the NHL with 67 assists and 110 points in 2019-20 en route to his first, and only, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s top player. Draisaitl is currently chasing his first Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers, with Game 6 set to take place on Tuesday in Florida.

Stützle has much more recent World Championship experience, having played in 2022 and 2025. He hasn’t been overly productive in those events with just four points in eight games, but he was outstanding at the 2021 World Juniors, scoring five goals and 10 points in five games in a tournament that saw the team plagued with health issues early on. Stützle is coming off a 24-goal, 79-point campaign in Ottawa, his fifth season with the club.

Seider, a Detroit Red Wings defender, has had the most prominent international career. While he struggled most recently with just one point against Kazakhstan, he does have 20 points in 40 World Championship events over five years, which was highlighted by his top defenseman award in 2021.

Germany has won two medals at the Olympics: a bronze in 1932 and a silver in 2018. The team didn’t qualify in 2014, the last year NHLers participated in the event. Germany most recently finished 10th in 2022.

SPONSORED BY bet365