Projecting every team’s starting goalie for 2026 men’s Winter Olympic hockey tournament

Oct 30, 2025, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 30, 2025, 11:51 EDT

Projecting every team’s starting goalie for 2026 men’s Winter Olympic hockey tournament

Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

There’s no position in hockey more fun than goaltending. And there’s no position that deals with more pressure, either.

The Olympics? Yeah, hard to beat that from an anxiety standpoint. Next year, the NHL is sending players to the grand event for the first time since 2014, while marking just the third best-on-best international tournament over the past decade. So there won’t be much overlap in terms of keepers we saw in Sochi and those headed to Italy.

All 12 teams had to submit their long-list rosters earlier this month but won’t finalize the main groups until Dec. 31. A lot can change between now and then, but here’s a look at each team’s projected starter with just more than 100 days to go until things get underway in Milan:

Canada: Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues)

Statistically, it SHOULD be Logan Thompson in net for Canada. There isn’t much more he could have done at this point to prove that. But given he wasn’t named to the 4 Nations team and wasn’t brought out to Calgary for the orientation camp, it feels like he’s still on the outside looking in. The Blues have had a rough start to the season, and Binnington is no exception. But for whatever reason, he continues to find ways to steal the spotlight in big moments – including the 4 Nations tournament. Binnington is a lock to make the team, especially with Adin Hill hurt and Samuel Montembeault struggling. We’ll see if Canada stays loyal to Binnington enough to make him “the guy,” though.

Czechia: Lukáš Dostál (Anaheim Ducks)

Dostál flew onto the scene in 2022-23 and has since established himself as Anaheim’s long-term No. 1. The 25-year-old has been great at just about every level, and even took home top goaltender honors at the 2024 World Championship after leading his country to gold. Dostál’s surface numbers have been just fine, but he continues to give the Ducks a fighting chance every night, no matter the competition. Fortunately, the Czechs have had some huge performances from a few other goaltenders as of late – notably Dan Vladar and Jakub Dobeš. While they don’t have their own Connor Hellebuyck, Czechia’s NHL goaltending depth is in a good spot right now.

Denmark: Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes)

Andersen’s numbers have dipped since the 2023-24 season, but he can still be hot in spurts. That’s exactly what the Danes need – and what they know he’s capable of, given his numerous outstanding performances, internationally. There’s plenty of time for Andersen’s numbers to stabilize before Italy, and as long as Andersen stays healthy, there’s little reason to be worried about his overall performance. If things do go south, Frederik Dichow was tremendous at the 2025 World Championship and is better than a bunch of other starter options on this list.

Finland: Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)

Saros has played some decent hockey for a struggling Predators team, with his 6.78 goals saved above expected putting him in the top 10 early on. Saros is a battler – he seems to play his best when the pressure is on. He had a so-so run at the 4 Nations but battled back for a much more impressive World Championship run. If Saros falters, the Finns like Kevin Lankinen, who has played some incredible hockey internationally in the past. Realistically, though, Finland’s downfall won’t be due to goaltending – they lack the depth of the other top nations.

France: Antoine Keller (Washington Capitals)

Keller has had a rough start to his ECHL career, but he’s still the best goalie France has to offer. He didn’t win a game en route to relegation at the World Championship, but he still had some solid showings despite difficult starts. Quentin Papillon had better numbers at the world’s, but has missed most of the season due to an ankle injury. It’ll be interesting if Keller can seize the opportunity and prove himself capable of outperforming his veteran counterpart for the No. 1 gig this winter.

Germany: Philipp Grubauer (Seattle Kraken)

Grubauer has been one of the worst NHL goaltenders over the past few years, with his $5.9-million cap hit looking uglier by the day. But he’s still Germany’s best option and its lone current NHL goaltender. Fortunately, he was excellent at the World Championship last year, which isn’t surprising given his international career record. Mathias Niederberger has extensive international experience and was even Germany’s No. 1 at the 2022 Olympics. Still, it feels like Grubauer’s job to lose.

Italy: Davide Fadani

Fagani looked solid in the top league in Switzerland this year, marking his first real action in the top circuit. He hasn’t played much this season due to injury, but he was fantastic with Kloten as the team’s starter early on. He was Italy’s No. 1 goalie at the World Championship for the first time last year and is expected to regain the honors again in February. Damian Clara has been a bit inconsistent with Brynas in the top Swedish league, but the 20-year-old Ducks prospect will definitely be in the conversation for the starter’s gig.

Latvia: Elvis Merzlikins (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Merzlikins has bounced back in a huge way this season, posting some of the best numbers of his career. His advanced analytics put him somewhere in the 10-15 range for most notable numbers, which is huge given he was at the bottom of the barrel a season ago. His international experience has been a mixed bag, but Merzlikins rarely had much offensive help in front of him. Maybe the newfound confidence this season will go a long way in helping him lead Latvia to wins – they’ll need him at his absolute best if they’re going to steal a win or two.

Slovakia: Samuel Hlavaj (Minnesota Wild)

Hlavaj had a solid first year in North America last season but has had a more difficult start to 2025-26. But that’s to be expected – Iowa simply isn’t a good team. That said, Hlavaj has proven time and time again that he can steal games for the Slovaks, including his tremendous run at the Olympic qualifiers. With no active NHL goalies from Slovakia, Hlavaj shouldn’t have any issue securing the crease in Italy. Hopefully, the situation improves for Hlavaj in the AHL.

Sweden: Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators)

Ullmark’s numbers are ugly, to say the least. But that’s the same for every other Swedish goalie so far (with the exception of Jonas Johansson, of all players). Jacob Markstrom could be an option here, and likely would have been the No. 1 at the 4 Nations had he not gotten injured. I’m giving Ullmark the edge here for now because he has been better so far and was so important in helping bring the Senators back to the playoffs last year. It feels like he’s just more capable of staying consistent in spurts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Sweden went for more of a rotation.

Switzerland: Leonardo Genoni

This might be the lone example of a European-based goaltender overtaking an active NHLer, but Genoni should get the No. 1 job over Akira Schmid. Genoni might not be a household name to NHL fans, but he has been a dominant force throughout his entire career in Europe. He proved that back in May, when he earned World Championship MVP honors with four shutouts in seven games. He’s 38, but he’s showing few signs of slowing down. Schmid could cement himself as the No. 1 if he excels with Adin Hill out of Vegas’ lineup, but it still feels like Genoni’s crease for now.

United States: Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets)

The future Hall of Famer might be the only true lock in net for the United States. Spencer Knight, Joey Daccord, Thatcher Demko and Alex Lyon have all been statistically better than Jeremy Swayman or Jake Oettinger, the presumed favorites to join Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck continues to be one of the greatest goalies of his generation, following up a Hart and Vezina Trophy campaign with near-identical numbers to kick off 2025-26. He was excellent at the 4 Nations Face-off last year, and he’ll be just as important for the United States as they chase their first best-on-best Olympic gold.

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