Who are the top candidates in the men’s Olympic hockey MVP race?
It’s almost that time again.
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament has just four games left: Friday’s two semifinals, Saturday’s bronze medal game and the big event on Sunday afternoon in Milan, Italy. It’s crunch time, and some big decisions will be made quite soon.
The IOC will hand out seven awards after the tournament is over: three for top forwards, two for top defenders, one for a goalie and one for the most valuable player. Today, we’re looking at the MVP candidates – 10 guys who have absolutely left everything on the line for their countries.
With just four teams left in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament, here’s a look at the top 10 candidates to take home the coveted MVP title and become the first NHLer to win the MVP title since Teemu Selänne in 2014:
1. Connor McDavid, C (Canada)
McDavid is the frontrunner, as most probably would have predicted before the tournament began. He leads the tournament with two goals and 11 points in four games. Imagine if he put even just a few more in – insanity. Everything McDavid has touched at this tournament has turned to gold. Now, he wants some around his neck. McDavid has played a ton of meaningful hockey over the past three years, including two Stanley Cup fFnals with the Edmonton Oilers and the 4 Nations Face-Off. No matter what, his teams have been able to count on him. If Canada wins gold, it’s going to be hard to argue giving the MVP trophy to anyone else.
2. Juraj Slafkovský, LW (Slovakia)
The Slovaks wouldn’t have won Group B had it not been for Slaf’s outstanding tournament. The Montreal Canadiens star had three goals and six points in three preliminary round games, doing much of the heavy lifting, especially with a multi-goal effort against Finland. Slafkovský had seven goals during the 2022 Olympics without NHL players to earn MVP honors. Now, he has become one of the most productive players of the 21st Century. The timing is perfect. Slafkovský is having his best season to date with the Habs, which means he was guaranteed to be leaned on heavily for the Slovaks. He and the Slovak federation haven’t always seen eye to eye, but Slafkovský has been an absolute star just about every time he has donned the blue, red and white uniforms.
3. Lucas Raymond, RW (Sweden)
Once Raymond started producing, the Swedes started to contend. Raymond has a point in every game so far, including a pair of three-point efforts against Slovakia and Latvia. He’s a high-volume shooter, but he has also been the team’s top playmaker, as well. It’s not surprising, given that Raymond is in the midst of a career season for the Detroit Red Wings. Sweden’s forward group looked disjointed early in this tournament, but the more coach Sam Hallam relied on Raymond and his line with Gabe Landeskog and Mika Zibanejad, the better the team played.
4. Macklin Celebrini, LW (Canada)
Celebrini’s elite hockey sense enabled him to step onto McDavid’s line and make an immediate impact. McDavid could have played with anyone, but Celebrini never left his side, thanks to his ability to continuously generate scoring chances from just about anywhere. He scored in every game of the tournament so far, including a two-goal, three-point effort against France. Just about every shot he generated was a quality chance. You can’t claim he’s a McDavid merchant, either. Watch the tape – half of McDavid’s opportunities were started by Celebrini himself. It’s just remarkable how dominant the San Jose Sharks superstar is already in his career. He’ll have plenty more big-game moments in his career.
5. Cale Makar, D (Canada)
When your team scores five goals a game consistently, defense might not matter all too much. But Makar isn’t your average defenseman – his trophy case proves that. The Colorado Avalanche star generates so much offense by the way he rushes up the ice and confidently gets the puck to where it needs to be. His Corsi-for percentage of 66 shows that the puck is almost always in the attacking zone. Makar has been used in all situations, and even with Canada’s stacked blueline, Makar has been the best by a wide margin. It’ll be difficult for him to win the MVP award, but he has a legit chance at taking home top defenseman.
6. Leonardo Genoni, G (Switzerland)
With two shutouts, Genoni has been the top goaltender in this tournament. You can argue that maybe beating up on Italy and France isn’t overly impressive. But when he has needed to be good, he’s been electric. He was outstanding against the Finns, only for the team to fall apart in the end. We’ve talked about him plenty on DFO, and for a good reason – he is one of the most accomplished goaltenders to have not played in the NHL over the past 15 years. Entering the playoffs, he had allowed just five goals in his nine previous starts between the 2025 World Championship and the Olympics. Nobody has come close to those types of performances, but Genoni – a six-foot goaltender with tremendous athleticism – has been absolutely electric. Not to mention, he earned the starter’s gig ahead of Akira Schmid, the lone NHL goaltender from Switzerland.
7. Samuel Hlavaj, G (Slovakia)
If you didn’t know Hlavaj’s name before, you do now. The 24-year-old Slovakian keeper has been an absolute star internationally for the past half-decade. The Minnesota Wild signed him a few years ago after a great World Championship, and he has only gotten better ever since. His best hockey, though, has taken place in Italy. He was outstanding against Finland and then had another excellent showing against Sweden. Throw in another great effort against Germany in the quarterfinal round and it’s clear Havaj has made a huge impact for the Slovaks. The 24-year-old has never played in the NHL, but at this level, it doesn’t matter – Hlavaj has been out-of-his-mind good at times.
8. Martin Nečas, RW (Czechia)
Everyone expected David Pastrnak to be the shining star for the Czechs. Instead, Necas was by far the team’s best player, finishing game after game as the team’s top shot generator in the slot. He had the offense to back it up with eight points in five games. It just felt like whenever the Czechs needed a big goal, Nečas was there. He tried to single-handedly beat Switzerland, too. The Colorado Avalanche winger has often been overshadowed by Pasta when the pair have played internationally, but Nečas was the guy who continue to spark the offense whenever things started to go south.
9. Auston Matthews, C (USA)
The Toronto Maple Leafs star has come alive in this event. He has been USA’s top forward, in more ways than one. He’s producing, he’s getting the pucks into dangerous areas and won an incredible number of puck battles, as shown by NHL Network’s Mike Kelly. The metrics all prove Matthews’ tournament dominance, and then the eye test shows he has been using his speed and size to create opportunities for his linemates. If Matthews can’t win gold, he’ll get criticized for being a bad leader. We see that all the time in Toronto. But even the diehard Matthews haters can’t say he hasn’t had a major impact on USA’s championship hopes.
10. Juuse Saros, G (Finland)
Saros had a rough first game against Slovakia and then nearly threw away Finland’s hard work early against Switzerland. But he was great against Sweden, shut the door on Italy and then was a big reason why the Finns came back to beat the Swiss in the quarterfinal. Saros has played every minute of every game for the Finns, and has played some great hockey to keep a team that doesn’t have a game-breaking offensive talent in it every single night. Ironically, the Finns had the most dominant effort of any team so far, but the Nashville Predators netminder has been really important, especially late in games.
Also considered: Rasmus Dahlin, D (Sweden); Zach Werenski, D (USA), Filip Hronek, D (Czechia); Timo Meier, RW (Switzerland); Dalibor Dvorsky, C (St. Louis Blues)
PRESENTED BY DAILY FACEOFF’S OLYMPIC COVERAGE
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